"The Band's Visit" at Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Production photo from company website

For the second time in the last several years, I was in New York City the night of the Tony awards. Not a planned thing--it just falls conveniently at the end of the school year, before summer really kicks in. And this time we happened to be seeing a couple of the most-nominated productions of the year: the Harry Potter play widely favored to be Best New Play and The Band's Visit, one of the favorites for Best New Musical. Both ended up winning (a lot of awards), and we had seen both before the awards were announced.

We had picked The Band's Visit based mostly on word-of-mouth and good reviews--none of us had seen the movie it was based on. So although we had read a quick blurb about what the show covered, we really didn't know much.

The Play

This is definitely not your typical Broadway musical. It has a relatively small cast, without a lot of flashy ensemble dance numbers or tunes that make you jump out of your seat to dance and clap. Instead, it's really a rather sweet, personal story, backed by Middle Eastern music. Also, fair chunks of the dialog are in either Hebrew or Arabic, though one need not understand those languages to appreciate and follow the plot.

The basic outline is that an Egyptian police orchestra is taking a bus trip to play at the opening of an Arabic Cultural Center in an Israeli city in 1996. Unfortunately, because of language difficulties, they end up in the wrong city, far away in the middle of nowhere. It's a tiny town with no hotel or other facilities, really, and no bus to take them back until tomorrow. So for a night they are stuck in this small town, and the locals take them into their homes in small groups.

There are little conflicts resulting from this imposition. Sometimes it's just a cultural misunderstanding or a language problem. Sometimes the presence of unexpected guests puts a strain on existing relationships. But in each case the people form a connection across cultures and language barriers. It's not a show about hatred and big conflicts, but a show about dealing with strangers and difficult circumstances. Also, it's full of music. After all, we have a traveling orchestra!

Another aspect I like about this show is that, although there are definitely leading characters in both the Israeli and Egyptian groups, it's not their show. Like a good orchestra, it is an ensemble show, and each player gets a turn to participate and even shine, either musically or personally or both. And that, ultimately, is the key to the show's appeal.

The Production

As befits a small, rather intimate play, the set is modest. Plus, we're in a tiny, nondescript town in the middle of the desert, so nothing is fancy or flashy. Things are utilitarian and a little drab, but personal and practical. The set is fairly elegant, but again, not big, not fancy. And the costumes are not fancy, either. The orchestra wears their matching uniforms and hats. The locals wear everyday clothes, though some dress up for an evening out.

The biggest star of the show, then is the music, and none of that is big or showy, either. Befitting the modesty of the show, it is pleasant, sometimes toe-tapping, but nothing that stands out particularly. It's clear that music is serious and meaningfully central the the members of the orchestra, and showing and sharing that passion is one of the things that helps break the ice in a lot of the interactions. The show is about people, and since a lot of those people are musicians, music is central.

I don't have a lot to add about the production. Dina (Katrina Lenk) has a lovely voice. Tony Shalhoub won the Tony for originating the role of Tewfiq, but he had left the company to start another show by the time we arrived, and the show really doesn't need his familiar and famous face. Indeed, I suspect that in some ways the ensemble nature of the piece works better without a single well-known actor.

Bottom Line

This is a lovely piece of work, a truly nice story about pretty ordinary people who unexpectedly find themselves in an awkward, uncomfortable situation. And as they make the best of it, they also find some of the best in each other. The fact that such a modest, human-scale show can find great success on Broadway is encouraging. In a world that seems increasingly driven by big Disney retreads, jukebox musicals, and revivals, it's pleasant to find a genuinely enjoyable show about realistic people.

As a side note, we met up with friends who live near New York City, and they also saw the show, though not the same performance we saw. I was particularly interested in their reactions because both of them speak Hebrew well and have spent time in Israel, and one of them has also studied Arabic. Their reaction was much like mine, although they could understand all the lines where I just had to go by context and emotion. As I had surmised, there is probably some value to having to struggle to grasp the gist of a shouted conversation in a language you don't know, but the show also works for an audience who understand all three languages being spoken.

I imagine this show will get a boost from winning so many Tony awards and continue running for a while before going on tour. I definitely recommend seeing it if you get a chance. Regardless of how you feel about musicals in general, there is a lot in this little show to like, and it's well worth the time invested to see it.