Playwright/actress Heather Raffo wrapped a two-night engagement in Cincinnati with 90 minutes at the Mercantile Library Wednesday night, a 45 minute excerpt from her “Nine Parts of Desire” followed by 45 minutes of Q&A on her first-hand anecdotes about Iraqi views of the U.S., at least as she can report on her extended family in Baghdad.

The condensed version of “Desire” nevertheless makes clear that the central desires are “peace” and “freedom” – the conundrum being is it possible to have both? With a magical piece of black cloth and embracing and precise characterizations, Raffo created disparate Iraqi women, all distinctly and indelibly drawn: the young girl pulled out of school and uncomprehending of adult motives; the artist; the political activist; the Bedouin rejected by her husband and then by a would-be lover; the frantic Iraqi-American glued to the television and trying to intuit the fates of loved ones as she frantically watches the news for each new piece of information and identifies landmarks in neighborhoods left in rubble.

“Desire” is a rare look at the women of Iraq and has the ring of truth. I suspect the conversation about it by the people who saw it will continue on for days and weeks to come.