Broadway In Chicago brought THE BAND’S VISIT to Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre for a limited two-week engagement through September 15, 2019. THE BAND’S VISIT won 10 Tony Awards in 2018, including Best Musical.
After a mix-up at the border, an Egyptian Police Band is sent to a remote village in the middle of the Israeli desert. With no bus until morning and no hotel in sight, these unlikely travelers are taken in by the locals.
Under the spell of the desert sky, their lives become intertwined in the most unexpected ways. THE BAND’S VISIT celebrates the deeply human ways music, longing and laughter can connect us all.
Through language and culture barriers, the colorful cast of characters find ways to connect despite their glaring differences. With such a message, the production is timely and very poignant. It strikes a chord in today’s country divided, of tolerance, acceptance and friendship unexpected.
An honest and pointed exercise in humanity, THE BAND’S VISIT is worth its price of admission in gold. Prepare for your heart to break, inside the theatre and out, for those longing to connect.
No need to be preachy, just open-minded. No fancy footwork required, just a simple embrace. We are all different. We are all the same. We are all human. We can find common ground despite the odds.
Hebrew, Arabic, English… The languages differ. The message does not. We shall not be divided by our differences. Those are nothing to fear. We are at our core one and the same: human, flawed and accepted.
It would behoove all of us to remember that. If an Arabic band can find refuge in a desert Israeli town, there is hope for the world yet.
Award-winning Israeli film actor Sasson Gabay reprises the role of “Tewfiq” in the North American tour of THE BAND’S VISIT. He created this role in the 2007 film of The Band’s Visit and most recently played it on Broadway. Joining him for the tour is Chilina Kennedy in the role of “Dina” (known best for her historic run as Carole King in Broadway’s Beautiful – The Carole King Musical).
THE BAND’S VISIT features music and lyrics by Tony and Drama Desk Award winner David Yazbek, and a book by Tony Award, NY Drama Critics Circle, Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards winner Itamar Moses. It is based on the screenplay by Eran Kolirin, and is directed by Tony, Drama Desk, Lortel & Obie Award winner David Cromer.
The Executive Producers for THE BAND’S VISIT are Allan Williams and Seth Wenig. The original Broadway cast album received the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The musical is also the recipient of a 2019 Daytime Emmy Award for a performance of “Answer Me” on NBC’s “Today”.
Cadillac Palace is located at 151 W. Randolph Street in Chicago’s Theatre District.
The Local Tourist tickets for two to the opening night performance courtesy of Margie Korshak Inc.
Photos: Matthew Murphy