“You don’t really want to go home; you just want to know that it’s there,” Iris says to her cousin Jasmine in “The Trinity River Plays” and it seems to summarize the entire work.

These three plays run in succession and represent a sort of homecoming for playwright Regina Taylor herself.

They are in many ways autobiographical, as Taylor like Iris grew up in Oak Cliff and attended SMU.

The plays contain some of the pivotal moments in Iris’ life, and we watch her just like a flower slowly bloom in spite of her somewhat harsh conditions.

When we meet her in the first play, “Jarfly,” Iris is turning 17 years old and is an ambitious writer.

She is full of hope and ready to face life, but it is on this day that she is forced to acknowledge the darker side of life.

In this play she is constantly trying to finish the sentence “I like to write because…” The end of this play, which is really more like an act than a full play, ends with her climbing into the tree, where she can detach herself from the world.

“Jarfly” seems to be a reference to the way Iris has self-identified with a bug.

The struggle with self-definition is presented in a relevant, gripping way in this first play of the trilogy, but the energy between the characters languishes underneath the rich dialogue.

Although the second play is just as verbose as the first, the character development and the masterful way in which Taylor presents the issues of returning home and facing death makes the play much stronger than the first.

“Rain” seems to represent the renewal that comes after a storm, and it is in this play that every actress seems to be at her best.

Karen Aldridge’s performance of Iris is the perfect vantage point for the audience to recognize themselves in the story.

Every character is an identifiable, albeit dysfunctional, family member, yet there seems to be no stereotypes.

Jasmine (Christiana Clark) is the cousin who allows her scars to affect the course of her life, and is constantly trying to clean up.

Aunt Daisy (Jacqueline Williams) is the highly medicated, but loveable aunt, and Rose (Penny Johnson Jerald) is the feisty, hardened single mother.

The men? Well, this isn’t really their story.

The final installment of the trilogy, “Ghost” depicts Iris as she learns to deal with loss and navigate the life she’s been given.

“The Trinity River Plays” tell a story that is entirely relevant and necessary, both in Dallas and the rest of the country.

Hardship is faced without flinching, and the mixture of courage and vulnerability in every character makes this play relatable without being kitschy.

The minute you walk into the Wyly, you will notice that something special has taken the stage.

The attention to detail present in both Todd Rosenthal’s set and Taylor’s script make this an experience that anyone who calls Dallas home won’t want to miss.

Even if a runtime of 195 minutes is intimidating, the three hours are well-spent.

“The Trinity River Plays” run through Dec. 5 at the Wyly Theatre.

For more information about the show and for tickets visit www.dallastheatercenter.org.