Remy Bumppo: Wish You Were Here
Tina Arfee, Shadee Vossoughi, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Joan Nahid and Yourtana Sulaiman
Remy Bumppo Theatre Presents WISH YOU WERE HERE Review - A Best Friend’s Love Runs Deep
TLDR: Five Iranian women meet and gather throughout the years and show us a glimpse into their friendship and how it changes. Wish You Were Here is a heartfelt play that shows the impacts larger situations have on a personal level.
Gloria Imseih Petrelli and Shadee Vossoughi
Surrounded by Friends at Remy Bumppo
Lives change over the years. There's happy moments. Tragedies. Families grow. Friends go their separate ways. That's just the normal trajectory of life. But what about when world events bigger than you dramatically alter what you thought your life would look like?
A one set play, we’re taken to a generic, but inviting living room. A plush velvet couch stands proudly in the center with chairs around it making a sitting circle. A china cabinet is upright against the back wall of the dining room with a lace table runner on top of it. A phone rests on the combination chair desk, just waiting for the person who answers to sit down for a long chat.
It’s 1978 and a group of five Iranian women all gather here in Wish You Were Here. Without the fourth wall of the house, we feel like we’re peering into snapshots of their lives. They study together and play cribbage. They help each other get ready for weddings. It’s a flurry of activity as they all, tell jokes, poke fun, pray, and talk over each other. It’s a circle of support, even as each of them wants different things out of life.
Nazanin and Rana want to move somewhere warm and live outside the traditional norms for women.
Salme is devoted to her faith and the one who holds the group together
Zari has her hair flipped out at the ends and her nails painted fire engine red.
Shideh is the first to get up and dance as the other girls cheer her on and has hopes of becoming a doctor and applying to schools in the US.
We immediately see and feel the differences between each, but also how this group dynamic works as they all bounce between each other. They're loving and supportive, even though they're all different.
What Does A Friendship Look Like Apart?
The years are projected on the top frame of the stage and we span a decade as the years tick by. As we enter the 1980s, Iran is caught in war. Universities are closed. Sirens are heard through all hours of the day and night. Gaslights are lit during times when the electricity is cut out. Suddenly this isn’t a story just about women figuring out their lives as they had originally planned. The world around them has changed.
As Nazanin remains in Iran, in the country she loves, we see how she changes what she wants out of life. We feel her heart closing as more and more disappointments find her and one by one each of her friends changes.
Tina Arfee, Gloria Imseih Petrelli, Shadee Vossoughi and Yourtana Suliaman
The After Party Thoughts
Wish You Were Here is inherently women focused and doesn’t hold back as we get a peek into the inner workings of this circle of friends. We know the social circumstances and world events these women are living in, but the heart of the show is about these women and how their lives were impacted. It’s a timely play as it feels like the United States is heading for (and quite frankly already in) unprecedented times. It also gives us a view into a world many of us may not have been privy too and feels like it's holding a mirror up to now.
If you’re interested in plays that expand your worldview and are about human connection, Wish You Were Here would be a good fit for you.
RECOMMENDED
Tina Arfee and Shadee Vossoughi
When
Now through October 19, 2025
Where
Theater Wit
1229 W. Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
Runtime: 100min, no intermission
Tickets
$15+
Tickets can be purchased through the Remy Bumppo website
Photos
Michael Brosilow
Shadee Vossoughi and Gloria Imseih Petrelli
CAST
Shadee Vossoughi (Nazanin)
Gloria Imseih Petrelli (Salme)
Yourtana Sulaiman (Zari)
Tina Arfaee (Shideh/New Friend)
Joan Nahid (Rana)
Joelle Sarab Denhof (u/s Nazanin)
Preeti Thaker (u/s Salme)
Maliha Sayed (u/s Zari)
Sahar Dika (u/s Shideh/New Friend)
Kseniya Janyan (u/s Rana)
CREATIVE
Sanaz Toossi (Playwright)
Azar Kazemi (Director)
Paige Mesina (Assistant Director)
Adelina Feldman-Schultz, Tertulia Creative Solutions (Casting Director)
Katie Galetti (Casting Consultant)
Kristina Fluty (Intimacy Director)
Jacob C. Shuler (Dramaturg)
Lauren M. Nichols (Scenic Director)
Saskia Bakker (Properties Designer)
Conchita Avitia (Lighting Designer)
Amina Gilbert (Assistant Lighting Designer)
Thomas Dixon (Sound Designer)
Emily Lynch (Assistant Sound Designer)
Kristy Leigh Hall (Costume Designer)
Anna Finerty (Assistant Costume Designer)
Lindsay Wilkinson (Seamstress)
Johnnie Schleyer (Production Manager)
Chris Stopka (Technical Director)
Caitlyn Girten (Scenic Charge)
Nick Chamernik (Lighting Supervisor)
Ali Westendorf (Wardrobe Supervisor)
Olivia Sullam (Stage Manager)
Macy Mateer (Assistant Stage Manager)
Marti Lyons (Artistic Director)
Margaret McCloskey (Executive Director)
Christina Casano (Creative Producer)
Missy Preston (Development Manager)
John Craig (Operations Manager)
Emily Szymanski (Patron Services & Communications Coordinator)
Cynthia A. Hanks (AEA Representative)