Ensemble Cast |
The
Kimmel Center, as part of its 2019-2020 Broadway Philadelphia series, is
presenting The Band’s Visit at the Academy of Music through January 19,
2020. This one-act is a surprising vision of stark sets, delightful projections and
phenomenal music.
A Superscript begins with:
No one has ever heard this story
It
is not very important.
An Egyptian orchestral ensemble appears on the
doorsteps of an Israeli cafe which is located in the middle of nowhere. Laughter
ensues as the language barrier between the owner and the bandleader explains
the confusion. The band has chosen the wrong destination for their expected
concert the following evening. Dina, the café owner, declares that speaking in
English would help everyone. Perhaps out of boredom, perhaps because she is
inherently kind, Dina, (Janet Dacal) offers to feed the band in the café and
later to put them up for the night. Yet we see another side of Dina as she sits
in a night spot with the band leader (Sasson Gabbay). Dina sees her lover out
with his wife in “their” place and becomes jealous so she calls out to him. A
short angry exchange in Hebrew ensues between Dina and her boyfriend Sammy (Marc Ginsburg) as his wife walks offstage. It is brief and doesn’t matter whether
or not the audience can understand the words. She then turns all of her
attention back to the bandleader Tewfiq. The
Band’s Visit begins with a minimalistic set with a partial circular revolving
stage. This leads to the ease of multiple set changes by adding chairs, lamps and
tables. The bare walls are a surprising set-up for future projections which
play an integral part of this beautiful production. As scenes progress, they
become progressively more complex. Bare walls turn and rooms have a small
amount of furniture. Egyptian band members interact with Israelis,
finding common ground. Music is the universal language that connects them. Walls
turn again and Dina is magnificently shadowed on a back wall as she slowly
moves across the stage, singing “Omar Sharif". Underlying everything is the
music. There is always the band’s music, either accompanying the singers or
playing in groups of two or three in the corner of the stage or solo as part of
the script. It is delightfully both Middle Eastern and contemporary. The music
sets a basis for commonality in the two distinct cultures. There is a comedic note
running throughout the story. A Telephone Guy (Mike Cefalo) waits by a phone
booth for a girl to return his call. As various characters pass him, some will
ask “Has she called yet?” to which he always replies, “Soon.” He tries to fend
off others from using the phone booth in case he should miss his call. What a
joyful moment when the phone rings! After the band has departed the following day, Dina closes
the café with a parting, “This is not a very important story.” It is, however,
a very important story. It is a story of people from one culture helping to solve problems in another; it is the story of people forgetting their differences and joining together over their similarities. To see the wonderful acting of this ensemble cast, the
marvelous blend of melodies in their singing, and the breathtaking music of the
band, visit www.kimmelcenter.org for
tickets or more information. It is not music that you will sing on your way out
of the theatre but it is music that you will revel in while you are there.
No comments:
Post a Comment