ENGLISH - WINNER OF 2023 Pulitzer Prize!
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"The oldest student in the class is the elegant Roya (Leyla Modirzadeh). Roya wants to learn English so she can communicate better with her grandchild in Canada when she moves there to live with her son and his family. Modirzadeh beautifully captures Roya's pain when she realizes that 'when' might actually be an 'if' - and also the resurgence of Roya's confidence and pride in her Iranian identity. Along with Elham, it is Roya who embodies the challenge underlying 'English': How to find the words without losing yourself." Don Aucoin, Boston Globe, Oct 24, 2022
"The marvelous Leyla Modirzadeh's Roya...movingly explores cultural identity and the price of learning 'English'." Jacquinn Sinclair, WBUR Oct 25, 2022 
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And here are some photos and clips from the vault...
Mrs. Allonby in Oscar Wilde's A Woman of No Importance
Postcard for Lubbock or Leave It! solo show, NYC
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On the Razzle, TheatreWorks, Palo Alto
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I was 18 when I got the role of Leah in Wisdom Bridge Theatre's production of The Immigrant by Mark Harelick in Chicago. Over the course of the play, I aged from 18 to 45. With this show I joined Actors Equity.
"Best of all, though, is Leyla Modir as Leah. The young actress making her Chicago debut is like an Ellis Island photograph come to life. She lights up the stage with a truth and vibrance that instantly encapsulate the American Dream." Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times "The Immigrant" at Wisdom Bridge Theatre |
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"Leyla Modir, looking a bit like Carol Kane in Hester Street, is instantly endearing, her Leah both bashful and forthright, resourceful and idealistic." Windy City Times "The Immigrant"
"Leyla Modir's Leah is pixie-like with her huge eyes and with her slightly embarrassed/utterly trusting manner it's Carol Kane she recalls." The Reader "The Immigrant" "Leyla Modir is a winner as the immigrant wife." Chicago Tribune
"The Immigrant" 
Some of my favorite shows happened at Seattle's Group Theatre. When I was 27 years old, I had the opportunity to play 15 year old Angela in Roosters. In La Bete, I played a mono-syllabic maid named Dorine (one of my all time favorite parts). And in Undesirable Elements, I met Ping Chong with whom I would collaborate for many years to come.
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"Hector's sister Angela practically steals the show...played by a very talented, completely believable and supremely comical Leyla Modirzadeh." Russ Abel, Queen Anne Times, Seattle "Roosters" at the Group Theatre
"Leyla Modirzadeh skillfully adds humor as the 15 year old daughter." The Stranger, Seattle "Roosters"
"Actress Leyla Modirzadeh captures Angela's calloused piety perfectly." Seattle Times "Roosters"
"Leyla Modirzadeh plays Angela with a knowing innocence as an entirely appealing eccentric." Tacoma News Tribune "Roosters" "Angela, played here very skillfully by Leyla Modirzadeh." Seattle Weekly "Roosters"
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Backstage La Bete, Group Theatre, Seattle
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"Dorine is wildly entertaining as rendered with wind-up doll precision by Leyla Modirzadeh" Roger Downey, The Reader, Seattle "La Bete"
"As the monosyllabic maid Dorine, Leyla Modirzadeh is a kind of performance artist in her own right." Misha Berson, Seattle Times "La Bete" 
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Dorine, in La Bete at The Group Theatre, Seattle (directed by Tim Bond)
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Undesirable Elements, below, directed by Ping Chong at the Group Theatre in Seattle.
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"Still, the production had its shining moments. A Persian song by Leyla Modirzadeh arrested our attention. Though the audience couldn't discern the words, we understood the feeling. Modirzadeh has spent her life shuffling to and from places like Durham, N.C., Montpellier, France, Tehran, Iran, and San Jose, California - in that order. She is a product of Russian, Irish, and Iranian blood. As she sang, her face took on a faraway look. It was as if her body had dispossessed itself and was roaming the earth in search of a home. Her voice transmitted a yearning a sweetness that is hard to put into words. If 'Undesirable Elements' only had more moments like this, when culture was manifest in its truest and purest form, the production would have fulfilled its promise." Seattle Examiner, "Undesirable Elements"
"...the lovely but realistic Belle (a solid Leyla Modirzadeh)..." Joe Adcock, Post Intelligencer Seattle,
"A Christmas Carol" at A Contemporary Theatre (ACT), Seattle |
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Woodcutter in Rashomon, Laughing Horse Summer Theatre
Putana in Tis Pity She's a Whore at the Glen Hughes Playhouse, Seattle
Film stills from Long Journey Home
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Brenda in An Act of the Imagination, Laughing Horse Summer Theater
Olga in Maxim Gorky's Summerfolk at the Penthouse Theatre, Seattle
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Film stills from Long Journey Home