Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy
To describe The Band’s Visit, currently playing at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, one could regurgitate a thesaurus, say it is exquisite, outstanding, splendid, wonderful, refined… All of it would be true.
If I were to pick a single word, it would be “peaceful.”
The quality of The Band’s Visit cannot be overstated, and it will definitely be one of those few pieces of art that leave an indelible mark in the history of the performing arts. Despite being a new musical, premiering in December 2016, it already became one of the only four musicals in history to win the “big six” Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Direction.
The plot is exceedingly simple: A group of Egyptian musicians take the wrong bus and end up in a tiny, isolated town in Israel, and they have to spend the night with locals. The next morning, they take the first bus out of town, the end. There are no stakes, no objectives or twists, simply a meandering tale that does away with traditional storytelling. It creates a unique ambiance where the soothing chill of an Israeli night is suffused with the warmth of human connections, with a gorgeous backdrop made up of the melodic and exotic tunes of the band’s Egyptian music. The night unfurls in a kaleidoscope of existences meeting, moving apart and intertwining with poetry and simple beauty.
The audience worms their way into the lives of café owner Dina (Chilina Kennedy), her employees Itzik (Pomme Koch) and Papi (Adam Gabai), as well as their respective families, lovers, and the world that gravitates around them. Leading the band and some of the show’s most powerful moments is Sasson Gabai as Tewfiq, a role he already played in the movie of the same name. Each performance is perfectly on point, depicting a deep understanding of language and cultural rifts. All the musical numbers are beautifully executed and choreographed, bringing clarity and rhythm to the story, and each has the potential to be a hit on its own.
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The Band’s Visit is a rare confluence of the right authors, musicians, actors, technicians and artists to capture a fleeting bit of magic with beguiling Middle Eastern tones. In the end, nothing really happens, nobody really falls in love, no lives are really changed. As Dina says, “Once not long ago, a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt. You probably didn’t hear about it. It wasn’t very important.” But it was certainly worth witnessing.
Through Dec. 1 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcus.center-tickets.net.
