Michael Shayan‘s mother had a very humble reaction to seeing her son perform on stage for the first time.
“At first, when I started doing it, she said to me, ‘Why do you want to write a play about me, what is writing?'” Shayan said in laughing. “Now she says, ‘So what do we do in my play?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s your room now, I get it.’ She asks me, “When am I going to go to Broadway?”
Today, that show, Shayan’s solo “Avaaz,” begins its national tour – in Denver. It is not only a personal story, it is also a celebration of the Persian New Year which takes center stage in Denver Center Theater Company this month. The production marks a milestone as the first major Iranian American play to be performed in Colorado.
Every night, Shayan transforms into his mother Roya, organizing a traditional celebration of Nowruz it becomes a window into their shared history of immigration, cultural identity, and family ties. The show’s origins date back to a simple recorded conversation between a mother and her son.
“My mother never really talked about her story,” Shayan said. “Iran was sort of a taboo subject. I think that caused him a lot of pain.”
This first interview opened unexpected doors. “She started sharing things she had never shared with me before,” Shayan recalls. “And it also gave me permission to ask questions I’d never asked.”
While developing the script, Shayan discovered an almost supernatural connection to his mother’s experiences. “What was really shocking was that the parts of the play that I had imagined when I presented them to him turned out to be true to his story. Many of those parts overlapped with his actual story.”
Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel worked with Shayan to create a production that evolves fluidly through time and memory.
“What we wanted to do was let the design accompany him so that, in a way, we were riding his memories,” von Stuelpnagel explained. “There are stories we love to tell about ourselves, and there are stories that are harder to work with or harder to own, about choices we’ve made or chapters of our pass.”
Drawing on his experience in Los Angeles as a magician and stand-up comedian, Shayan crafted a performance that balances humor and heart. “I love the rollercoaster of emotions that happens in the theater…making the biggest belly laughs just before the biggest gut punches or vice versa.”
The production breaks cultural barriers, noted von Stuelpnagel: “When I talk to (Shayan’s mother), she says this in our culture: We don’t always share what’s going on privately. It’s just not something that we do And yet, here is a show that very honestly shows not only its joys but also its difficulties.
For Shayan, “Avaaz” connects multiple identities in today’s complex world.
“This piece is an offering to my communities. I’m queer, I’m Iranian, I’m Jewish. These things don’t necessarily go together, and especially with what’s going on in the world right now, there’s a lot of conflict . between these identities.
The show deeply resonated with audiences across demographics, with previous theaters reporting unprecedented numbers of repeat viewers. “I think it’s ultimately about a mother and a son,” Shayan muses. “And if you have a mother or if you had a mother, you can relate to this piece.”
Denver Center Theater Company presents “Avaaz” as part of a touring production rather than producing the show itself. This departure from the company’s traditional production model reflects the theater’s broader economic challenges, according to Art Director Chris Coleman:
“I think all of us in this industry right now are trying to figure out what our business model is going to look like in the future because we’re lucky,” Coleman said. “Our audience is basically back to where it was in 2019, but our spending is up sharply, as is everyone else’s in the industry.
The decision to introduce “Avaaz” is more than economic. Coleman sees this as an important opportunity to present an Iranian voice.
“My goal, and one of our goals here, is to tell stories about as many types of people as we can find in our region and in our country. And ‘Avaaz’ allows us to sort of invite you into a salon that you’ve never been to before and I think it’s one of the true joys of our art form,” Coleman said.
After its Denver run, “Avaaz” continues its national tour, potentially marking a watershed moment for Iranian-American theater in regional venues across the country. Yet for Shayan, each performance remains an intimate exploration of family, identity and the universal language of mother-child relationships.
“Avaaz” by Michael Shayan plays at Denver Center’s Singleton Theater through November 17. The Denver Center Theater Company financially supports CPR News. Financial supporters have no editorial influence.
