Her Majesty Empress Farah
Pahlavi and Award Winning Actress and Human Rights Mary Apick at the
presentation of the Critic's choice play "Beneath The Veil" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing
Arts in Washington DC on October 8th, 2009
Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi and Mary Apick with legendry Iranian Actress Apick Youssefian
and the cast of actors after the presentation of her play
"Beneath The Veil" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the performing Arts in
Washington DC on Oct. 8th 2009. From left to Right:1-Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi and
Internationally Award Winning Actress and Human Rights activist Mary Apick after
the presentation of her Critic's choice play "Beneath The Veil" at the John F.
Kennedy Center for the performing Arts in Washington DC 2-Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi and
Mary Apick with
Iranian Actress Apick Youssefian.
3-
Her Majesty Empress Farah Pahlavi and
Ms.Mary Apick, Mrs.
Annie Totah, Congressman Ed Royce from California's 40th district and his wife. ___________________________
At 7:30 PM on October 8, 2009, the Critic’s Choice play, Beneath
the Veil, had its encore presentation at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
And the return engagement of this intense, eye-opening play about life beneath
the veil was another smashing success. Beneath the Veil deals with the
oppression of women and girls in various parts of the Middle East, especially
Iran. And with all that is going on in Iran at this time, the play was more
relevant and important than ever. This performance was dedicated to the memory
of Neda, and presented in support of all the other Iranians who continue to risk
their lives for freedom and true democracy in their country.
In attendance was Her Majesty, Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran, who flew in from
Paris for the second time to be there in support of the cause. Producer, star of
the show, Internationally Award Winning Actress and human rights activist, Mary
Apick, in her opening comments gave a warm welcome to Her Majesty, stating that
the Empress, “Who I first saw and admired as a child, is a woman who is both
soft and powerful, visionary and decisive, gracious and spiritual. She is a
champion of the arts, and after all these years, even though we live on opposite
sides of the ocean, both in exile from the country of our birth, it is an honor
and a pleasure to come together with her again in the theater.”
Among the many other dignitaries and honored guests in attendance were: US
Congressman Ed Royce - Honorable Director Bijan Kian of the Export-Import Bank
of the United States - Alyse Nelson Bloom, President of Vital Voices Global
Partnership - Layli Miller-Muro, Executive Director of the Tahirih Justice
Center - Cindy Andreotti, former Vice President of MCI - Rudi Bakhtiar, the
internationally known journalist, formerly of CNN, was the Honorary Chair for
the event and delivered the opening remarks. - Timothy Higdon, Deputy Executive
Director for External Affairs at Amnesty International, gave an impassioned
speech about the recent executions in Iran.
And then the play began, and the power of the stories and their message brought
tears to the eyes of many, including several men in the audience. Mary Apick and
the rest of the cast received a well-deserved ten-minute standing ovation at the
end. After the show, the Young African-American Drumming Musicians, who were
waiting in front of the Kennedy Center, accompanied the VIP guests to the After
Party, which was held at the nearby 600 Restaurant at the Watergate. There, on
the red carpet, the press had a photo opportunity with the cast, the Empress,
and the other dignitaries, and then everyone had a chance to celebrate and to
discuss the themes of the show with Mary and the rest of the cast. It was
another beautiful presentation of a riveting and very important play.
Click on arrow to see the Video Interview of
Mary Apick
