The Huntington Theatre and Speakeasy Stage, just steps away from East Village residence hall, recently welcomed their co-production of the Tony Award-winning comedic musical, “The Band’s Visit,” directed by Paul Daigneault, holding performances until Dec. 17. The show is about an Egyptian band and their adventures in a foreign city, where the members and locals bond over their love of music.
The musical starts with the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra stranded in the fictional Israeli town of Bet Havitka after a transportation mix-up. It was supposed to perform at the Arab Cultural Center in the city of Petah Tikva, but because the two locations are pronounced nearly identically, the clerk misheard the intended destination, dooming the musicians to the middle of the desert.
Local cafe owner Dina (Jennifer Apple) and her two employees Papi (Jesse Garlick) and Itzik (Jared Troilo) welcomed and offered to house the band members for the night. Because the conductor, Tewfiq (Brian Thomas Abraham), found his band in a hard place with nowhere to stay that night, he had no choice but to accept her offer, despite his reservations about staying in strangers’ homes.
As the musical went on, the locals and band members got to know each other through broken English and exaggerated hand gestures. Although there is a significant language barrier, as the band is from Egypt, the two groups bonded over their shared love for music — a universal language. The musical, though mostly in English, included Hebrew and Arabic dialogue, though it would have been beneficial to display closed-captioned translations to better understand the context of certain scenes.
To show the visitors how boring Bet Havitka is, Dina sang, “Basically bleak and beige and blah, blah, blah,” during the song “Welcome to Nowhere,” eliciting many chuckles throughout the theatre. At random times throughout the play, Haled (Kareem Elsamadicy), the band’s flirtatious trumpet player, would bring up Chet Baker, a renowned trumpeter and pioneer of cool jazz, in hopes that any of the Bet Havitka residents would recognize the name. These lighthearted moments sprinkled into the play provided a harmonic mixture of seriousness and comfort.
One of the most memorable characteristics of “The Band’s Visit” was the live music present throughout the production. All the actors portraying the band members actually played their instruments, and it truly put the “band” in “The Band’s Visit.” It felt as if the audience members were not only seeing a musical but also a concert. Because the play is set in Israel, all the tunes were inspired by Middle Eastern culture, making the audience feel as if they were actually in the middle of the Negev Desert in 1996.
As for the set, it reflected the setting wonderfully. Dina’s cafe storefront was dilapidated and looked as if it needed a new paint job; the kitchen felt authentic, with a sink and utensils, and it was easy to distinguish one location from another.
One of the more popular sets among the audience was the roller rink, where Papi, notorious for being nervous around women, goes on a date with Julia (Josephine Moshiri Elwood).
Within a matter of seconds, a disco was suspended in the air above the stage and colorful lights were projected throughout the auditorium. The setting brought the characters to life, through places that were familiar to most people regardless of their background.
For the Bet Havitka locals, the costumes were not too elaborate, composed mostly of streetwear. For the band members, however, they looked out of place, wearing elegant pastel blue uniforms darned with red embroidery. When looking at makeup, Dina’s dark cherry lipstick emphasizes her character’s personality, signifying her boldness and charisma.
The production, though comedic at the core, tugged at heartstrings as well, especially when Tewfiq rejected Dina’s romantic advances, attributing it to his selfish personality. He later revealed that he took the blame for his late wife’s death and son’s suicide. As a result of Tewfiq’s rejection, Dina kissed Haled impulsively. These sadder moments portrayed the many sides of Dina and Tewfiq.
The next day, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra finally made it to the Arab Cultural Center in time for its performance. Tewfiq took to the podium and started to conduct, and it was revealed that more band members were behind the stage. After its music performance concluded, the stage went black.
This heart-wrenching and comedic musical is bound to make people shed some tears and laugh within the same sentence. Seamlessly blending humor, music and emotions, this performance was unforgettable.
