By Jason Hagey and Alisha Hagey
As part of Broadway Across America’s tour, Broadway at the Eccles presents the Tony award-winning The Band’s Visit in downtown Salt Lake City. The Band’s Visit isn’t your traditional musical, and that’s part of what makes it special. Bookending the play is the following comment: “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.” So much of our lives are lived in these times when someone crosses our path even for a few seconds. Yet it is possible that our lives can turn on a dime, forever affecting us. Those moments are very important but likely never known by others. The Band’s Visit is about this kind of experience.
Between laughter and longing, we live. As they say in the show, “What is life without hope?” The Band’s Visit is an exploration of music, of silence, of love and hope. Unlike most plays, there isn’t a plot. There is an accident: eight men of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrive in Israel from Egypt, but not at the Arab cultural center in Petah Tikva where they are expected to perform. Instead, they end up having a miscommunication at the ticket booth that takes them to the middle of the desert in a small fictitious town called Bet Hatikva.
Bet Hatikva is an offbeat little city where people are authentic. The citizens are full of yearning for something new. For them, every day is the same. With a beautiful balance of songs and silences, David Yazbek’s music and lyrics capture this sense of longing better than any other play I have ever seen. The hopes and fears of Bet Hatikva emerge through every note, every pause, and in the simple, perfect choreography of Patrick McCollum. When the titular band connects with the people of Bet Hatikva, their interwoven experiences change each others’ lives forever.
As an audience, the experience is electrifying. There is no surprise as to why this production won 10 Tony Awards in 2018. With David Cromer (Director) at the helm, he deftly guides us through the lives of Bet Hatikva as strands of jasmine floating on the wind. We hear and see just enough to know that everyone has joys and sorrows and a longing that connects the audience to a time and places very distant from our own.
Scott Pask (Scenic Design), Sarah Laux (Costume Designer), and Tyler Micoleau (Lighting Designer) create such a rich tapestry that for a brief moment we are transported to Israel. Adrian Ries (Music Director) emphasizes just the right notes, allowing for silence when it is stronger than music, and allowing the music to swell at just the perfect moments. This is part of what makes this production brilliant. There isn’t a gimmick. This isn’t spectacle theatre. It is, however, transformative. Much of that transformation is found in the countermelodies and subtext of the script.
It would be a travesty to not mention what incredible actors and musicians the company really are. The talent and honesty on stage are brilliant. Truly the entire cast is breathtaking. They don’t upstage one another or go for cheap laughs. Each of them finds and focuses on the humanity of the characters.
Janet Dacal (Dina) and Sasson Gabay (Tewfiq) are phenomenal. Perhaps it is the understated nature of this production, but it is easy to relate to these characters and their situations. They allow us in on their journeys, and just for one night, we are visitors in their shared history. Dacal moves with such grace and hunger. “Something Different” is mesmerizing. Gabay opens the song and it is almost like a prayer but also something otherworldly. When Dacal joins in, there is magic on stage.
Joe Joseph (Haled) truly is the soul and the connection between the band, the Israelis, and the audience. He connects our feelings of angst and joy and shared hope. Ultimately this is a role about and surrounding love, and that is a shared trait among all nations. Joseph is so charismatic and charming, that you fall in love with his character.
Joshua Grosso (Telephone Guy) is fabulous. His voice starting “Answer Me” is such a beautiful parallel to his character’s actions. There isn’t a wasted moment or beat.
We live in an age of constant mediated connection: cellphones, social media, Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and the internet as a whole. Special interest groups abound, ideologies clash, all with a hungering for true connection. Then there is the pandemic which has further physically separated us. In our modern times, communal experiences are slowly fading away from typical life. The Band’s Visit is ultimately a simple story about ordinary people who come together for nothing more than true connection itself – something our souls desperately need. The Band’s Visit is a testament to our very human need to intermingle, experience together, and enjoy the satisfaction of other people, especially those unlike ourselves. The intimacy of The Band’s Visit will, through the magic of music and simple, extraordinary storytelling, sneak into your soul and awaken your own hopes for the future. This is a “must-see” event.
Duration: 110 minutes
Recommended for ages 10+
Zions Bank/Broadway at the Eccles presents The Band’s Visit, music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Itamar Moses
At the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, 131 Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
March 15-20, 2022, March 15-17 7:30 PM, March 18 8:00 PM, March 19 2:00 PM, 8:00 PM, March 20 1:00 PM, 6:30 PM
Tickets are $40-119
Eccles Theater Website
Purchase Tickets at ArtTix.org
Facebook Event
Photography By Evan Zimmerman
Accessible Performances
Open Captioned: Saturday, March 19, 2022 at 2:00 p.m.
Patrons who are interested in the captioned performance should select seats located at Orchestra Right on the Main Floor (excluding Orchestra Pit seating).
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