Layalina
by Martin Yousif Zebari
World Premiere, Goodman Theatre, Chicago, March 3 - April 2, 2023
photos by Liz Lauren
In 2003, newly-wed Layal and her family prepare to immigrate from Baghdad, Iraq, to a Chicago suburb. Seventeen years later, Layal’s life looks unimaginably different from what she had envisioned two decades prior, as she and her siblings explore queerness, face their grief, and discover what it takes to make home in a new place.
Directed by Sivan Battat
Cast: Waseem Alzer, Atra Asdou, Ali Louis Bourzgui, Mattico David, Becca Khalil
Understudy Cast: Angel Alzeidan, Chris Khoshaba, Jonathan Shaboo, Shadee Vossoughi
Scenic: casaboyce
Costumes: Dina El-Aziz
Lights: Jason Lynch
Sound: Eric Backus and Ronnie Malley
Dramaturg/Line Producer: Jonathan L. Green
Dramaturg: Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel
Stage Management: Jaci Entwisle and Abigail Medrano
Casting: Rachael Jimenez and Lauren Port
Assistant Director/Intimacy Facilitator: Gloria Imseih Petrelli
Script Assistant: Layla Bahmanziari
Vocal Coach: Eva Breneman
Khigga Instructor: Phaedra Darwish
Dialect Coach: Louis Sallan
Arabic Language Coach: Martin Yousif Zebari