From the Pulitzer Prize-winning English, which earned five Tony Award nominations, to Roundabout Theatre Company’s The Imaginary Invalid, Ava Lalezarzadeh opens up about embracing comedy, working alongside Bill Irwin, and the deeply personal stories shaping her artistic journey.
There is something wonderfully compelling about an actress who can move between theatrical worlds with such curiosity and conviction. For Ava Lalezarzadeh, the journey from the emotional intimacy of English to the delightful absurdity of Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid has been one of discovery, artistic growth, and a little unexpected clowning.
Currently starring as Angélique opposite Tony Award winner Bill Irwin in Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of The Imaginary Invalid, adapted by Irwin and directed by Brandon J. Dirden, Lalezarzadeh is embracing a new chapter in an already remarkable career. The production is playing a limited engagement at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre through November 22, 2026.
For this exclusive BroadwayWorld feature, I had the pleasure of photographing Lalezarzadeh inside the Todd Haimes Theatre, where she brings Angélique to life each night. As photographer and creative director, I wanted to capture something of the intelligence, warmth, and playful spirit that define this moment in her career, allowing the theater itself to become part of the visual storytelling.
In our conversation, Lalezarzadeh reflected on the joy of discovering comedy, the influence of extraordinary collaborators, her deeply personal filmmaking, and the importance of creating opportunities rather than waiting for them.
Finding Her Funny in The Imaginary Invalid
After spending years developing the role of Goli in Sanaz Toossi’s acclaimed English, Lalezarzadeh was eager to find another theatrical experience that would challenge and nourish her.
“When I saw the breakdown for The Imaginary Invalid, I thought ‘Oh, I love clown. This will be fun.’ At its helm is Bill Irwin, a clown genius. A satire, a period piece, and Molière!”
But what began as an opportunity to explore broad comedy revealed a surprising emotional subtlety.
“As fate would have it, I discovered in rehearsal actually just how restrained Angélique has to be to serve her function as the sincere pure heart of the play.”
Playing a young woman caught between her father’s expectations and the intoxicating experience of first love has allowed Lalezarzadeh to explore both the comedy and sincerity of Molière’s world.
“I admire her good nature and her graciousness towards Papa (Bill Irwin), even when he doesn’t deserve it. And to exude the delight of a person falling in love for the first time!”
She recalls her own experience of first love at fifteen, describing it as “equal parts delicious and agonizing,” a feeling that helps inform Angélique’s emotional journey.
The actress has also enjoyed studying the traditions of commedia dell’arte, particularly the Inamorata archetype.
“Ironically, the parameters of the archetype have given me a great sense of freedom.”
And while Molière’s comedy was written more than three centuries ago, Lalezarzadeh sees something remarkably contemporary in its exploration of family, independence, and personal identity.
“We’re all always negotiating what it means to be part of a community, our family, our friends, and how to remain true to ourselves, especially when it misaligns with the tribe’s values.”
At its heart, she explains, the comedy is a story about family and the courage to stand up for what we want.
Learning from a Master: Bill Irwin
Sharing the stage with Bill Irwin has offered Lalezarzadeh an invaluable education in both comedy and collaboration.
While Irwin’s extraordinary physical comedy is central to the production, what impresses her most is something far more subtle.
“Though I’ll say what unexpectedly draws me most to Bill on stage every night is his sensitive listening eyes. He has this wonderful ability to go from ruthless to childlike in a flash of a moment. His sensitivity is really beautiful to watch.”
Beyond his performances, she has been particularly inspired by his humility.
“Despite all his wealth of experience and acclaim, Bill, to my eyes, approaches the craft like a student. That’s had an impact on me. I want to take a bit of Bill-humility (Bill-ility?!) with me.”
It’s a wonderfully revealing observation from an actress who clearly values not only the craft of performing, but the generosity and openness of the artists around her.
From English to Broadway: A Defining Journey
Before The Imaginary Invalid, Lalezarzadeh originated the role of Goli in Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning English, first Off-Broadway and later in its Broadway transfer. The production earned five Tony Award nominations in 2025, including Best Play.
For Lalezarzadeh, the experience was profoundly personal.
“Goli is my heart. That production brought me to the New York theater scene and set the standard of the kind of excellence and rigor I want to pursue in my projects.”
Fresh out of college and emerging from the pandemic, she found herself identifying deeply with Goli’s earnest optimism and her search for confidence in an unfamiliar world.
“So much of Goli’s earnest optimism and her place in that classroom was a mirror to my own life, fresh in New York, the youngest cast member, finding my way and my courage, just as Goli was in that TOEFL classroom.”
By the time the production reached Broadway, both actress and character had evolved.
“The funny became funnier. The sad became sadder.”
Rather than recreating their original performances, the company approached the Broadway production as an opportunity to rediscover the play, allowing its emotional complexities to deepen.
The experience brought Lalezarzadeh Clive Barnes Award recognition and an Obie Special Citation as part of the ensemble, but her connection to Goli extends far beyond professional accolades.
“By nature Goli and I are similar in sensibility. She’s possibly the best version of myself.”
From Broadway to the Screen
Lalezarzadeh’s career has also taken her into television, including Before with Billy Crystal and The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston.
Although the demands of stage and screen differ, her approach to storytelling remains rooted in the same principles.
“My North Star is always about story, relationship, and my characters needs and yearnings, whether onstage or on screen. And, of course, play.”
She describes theater as a more chronological storytelling experience, while working on screen requires maintaining emotional continuity when scenes are filmed out of sequence.
Both, however, offer opportunities to grow through collaboration with extraordinary performers.
In the Garden of Tulips: A Story Close to Home
Beyond acting, Lalezarzadeh is also a passionate writer and filmmaker whose creative interests are deeply connected to her family’s history.
Her short film, In the Garden of Tulips, which she wrote, produced, and starred in, was inspired by her mother’s experience fleeing Iran during the Iran–Iraq War.
“Making Tulips was a profound experience.”
“It’s difficult to fathom that my mother, poised like Audrey Hepburn and a successful psychologist now, is also the same 15-year-old kid who fled home to seek asylum.”
The experience of exploring her family’s past through filmmaking has become an important part of her artistic identity.
“I’m struck by the resilience of the human spirit. My family’s resilience. I can’t stop making films about my family leaving Iran. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s my origin story.”
Having never visited Iran herself, Lalezarzadeh describes filmmaking as a way of connecting with the homeland her parents knew.
“It fills me with a great longing…perhaps I’ve brought the Iran of my parents’ generation to me, through my films.”
She is currently in pre-production on Period of Waiting, a sequel that follows her character Caroline to a refugee center in Vienna, exploring the complicated emotions of beginning a new life after leaving everything familiar behind.
The project will also allow her to explore directing more seriously.
“As an actor, I get to travel to different worlds and personalities, and in my writing, it’s like returning home. A reimagined home. It’s my lineage, my ancestry, my origin story.”
With Broadway, television, and filmmaking all part of her creative world, Lalezarzadeh has no intention of waiting for opportunities to come to her.
“Patience is not a virtue of mine. I resist sitting idly by for outside forces to give me the chance to do what I do.”
In addition to Period of Waiting, she recently completed her first leading role in a psychological-thriller feature, which is preparing for the festival circuit. She has also voiced a character for an upcoming Netflix animated series.
And in a delightful twist, she hopes to develop a series of comedic sketches featuring her own clown character, Robert, an awkward middle-aged man with a potbelly, an ill-fitting suit, and a mustache.
From the emotional intimacy of English to the exuberant comedy of Roundabout Theatre Company’s The Imaginary Invalid, Ava Lalezarzadeh is building a career defined by versatility, imagination, and a genuine love of storytelling.
As she continues to explore new characters, new mediums, and the stories closest to her heart, one thing is clear: this is an artist whose most exciting chapters are still ahead.
The Imaginary Invalid, adapted by Bill Irwin and directed by Brandon J. Dirden, is presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre, playing through November 22, 2026.
Editorial Photography Credits
Nicole Wilson | Photographer / Creative Director | @nicolewilsonphoto / @nicolewilsonnyc
Isa Grace Harris | Photographer’s Assistant | @IsaGraceHarris
