The Band's Visit

Production History

Off-Broadway (2016-2017)

The original production premiered in Off-Broadway previews at the Atlantic Theater Company on November 11, 2016, had its official opening on December 8, 2016, and closed on January 8, 2017. The musical was developed and produced with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's National Fund for New Musicals. Harold Prince was slated to direct but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by David Cromer, with choreography by Patrick McCollum, movement by Lee Sher, and starring Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk, and John Cariani.

Broadway (2017-2019)

The musical began previews on Broadway on October 7, 2017, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre prior to an official opening on November 9, 2017. On September 10, 2018, the producers announced that it had recouped its $8.75 million capitalization cost. The Broadway production closed on April 7, 2019 after 589 regular and 36 preview performances.

US National Tour (2019-2023)

The musical began its first national tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island on June 25, 2019. The tour had 27 stops across North America. The tour concluded in June 2023.

London (2022)

The musical had its European premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in London directed by artistic director Michael Longhurst from 28 September to 3 December 2022.

Winnipeg (2025)

In 2025, *The Band’s Visit* was produced in Winnipeg by Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, marking the first Canadian production of the musical. Directed by Dan Petrenko, the artistic director of Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, the production featured the first Canadian cast of the show. Israeli actor Anat Kriger starred as Dina, with Omar Alex Khan appearing as Tewfiq.

Tel Aviv (2026)

On September 1, 2025, it was announced that the original Cromer-directed production would play a limited run in Tel Aviv, performances scheduled to begin on January 8, 2026. It was also announced that actors Sasson Gabai and Miri Mesika are scheduled to reprise their roles as Tewfiq and Dina which they've previously played on Broadway and in London (respectively). The show is set to perform at Shlomo Arena in Tel Aviv.

Synopsis

The Band’s Visit opens with a message on a projector screen that displays during the overture, reading: "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."

In 1996, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, just arrived in Israel, are waiting in Tel Aviv's central bus station. They expect to be welcomed by a representative from a local Arab cultural organization, but no one shows up. The group's leader and conductor, the reserved and dignified Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, gets annoyed with the behavior of Haled (the young trumpet player and ladies’ man of the band). He explains to the band that they will act with professionalism and avoid any embarrassments, lest they give their critics and sponsors ammunition against them. Tewfiq decides that the group will take the bus and instructs Haled to purchase the group's bus tickets. At the ticket office, Haled asks the clerk for a ticket to the city of Petah Tikvah, but due to his Egyptian accent, she misunderstands him and sells him tickets to the isolated desert town of "Bet Hatikvah".

The scene shifts to Bet Hatikvah, where the residents bemoan the boring and monotonous lives they lead in the desert ("Waiting"). When the band arrives in Bet Hatikvah to blank stares, they approach two café workers, Papi and Itzik, to ask for directions to the Arab Culture Center for their performance the next day. Unsure who these men are and what they're asking about, they call for the café's owner, a charismatic woman named Dina. Tewfiq again asks for directions to the Culture Center before Dina realizes that they think this is Petah Tikvah, and explains that this is the wrong place, and they must have taken the wrong bus ("Welcome to Nowhere"). Tewfiq gives Haled an earful for the humiliation he has caused them, then asks Dina if the band can dine at the café on what little Israeli money they have left. As the rest of the band eats, the band’s assistant conductor and clarinetist, Simon, plays his original concerto (which he never finished). Dina returns and tells the group that the next bus does not arrive until the following day. After Camal, the band’s violinist, suggests contacting the Egyptian embassy, Dina begins to understand how much of a tight spot the band is in. She offers to have her, Papi, and Itzik house them for the night; Tewfiq is hesitant, but seeing no other option, he agrees.

Dina brings Tewfiq and Haled back to her apartment for a place to sleep. In her kitchen, Dina inquires about Alexandria and muses that the big city must make you feel like you’re alive. Haled asks her why she stays in Bet Hatikvah if she wants more out of life, and Dina tells how she was once married and naïve, but nothing panned out the way she ideally hoped ("It Is What It Is"). She asks Tewfiq if he has a wife back in Egypt, and he responds that he did at one time but not anymore, leading Dina to believe that they are in the same boat. Dina then draws their attention to the only pay phone in town, which is guarded over every night by a man (known only as the "Telephone Guy") who obsessively waits for his girlfriend to call him, even though it has been a month. Dina convinces Tewfiq to let her show him around the town and buy him dinner, and Haled chooses to stay behind and let them enjoy each other’s company.

Off-Broadway versus Broadway productions

In addition to numerous script tweaks, the musical arrangements for several songs were updated for the Broadway production. "Itzik's Lullaby", for example, was changed from a solo piece to a partial duet with Camal singing in Arabic.

Musical numbers

Based on the tracklist from the cast recording released on December 15, 2017

"Overture" – The Band

"Waiting" – The Residents of Bet Hatikva

"Welcome to Nowhere" – Dina, Itzik, Papi

"It Is What It Is" – Dina

"Beat Of Your Heart" – Avrum, Itzik, Simon, Camal

"Soraya" – The Band (added for Broadway, replacing "Aziza")

"Omar Sharif" – Dina

"Haj-Butrus" – The Band

"Papi Hears the Ocean" – Papi

"Haled's Song About Love" – Haled, Papi

"The Park" (Dialogue Track) – Dina, Tewfiq

"Itgara'a" – Tewfiq

"Something Different" – Dina, Tewfiq

"Itzik's Lullaby" – Itzik and Camal (Camal added for Broadway)

"Something Different" (Reprise) – Dina

"Answer Me" – Telephone Guy and Ensemble

"The Concert" – The Band

In addition, Boney M.'s cover of "Sunny" is heard in the roller rink, and Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine" is performed by Haled on the trumpet in the style of Chet Baker.

Critical response

In the review of the Off-Broadway production, the Huffington Post called the musical "exquisite", noting that Itamar Moses and David Yazbek have "created a small, touching show... [with] character depth and strong sense of place." The New York Times praised the cast, noting, "There’s not a performance, or a sung note, that feels out of key here... When the ensemble, led by Mr. Liberman, delivers the show’s final number, 'Answer Me,' the music takes on a transcendent harmonic shimmer that stops the heart."

According to Forbes, by October 2017, the Broadway show was "making a great impression" with critics with its first seven performances. The Broadway production, which featured a revised script and score, was praised by the Twin Cities Arts Reader as "one of the best new musicals of the year, gifted with a beautiful score and touching performances." The New York Times said it was "one of the most ravishing musicals you will ever be seduced by," and also "a Broadway rarity seldom found these days outside of the canon of Stephen Sondheim: an honest-to-God musical for grown-ups." It also praised the adaptation for the bigger stage, due to an "impeccably coordinated creative team." Deadline also gave the musical a positive review. The review's only criticism was that seating at a far distance in the new theater made the sound somewhat muddled and sight lines limited.

The Chicago Tribune gave the "weird new Broadway musical" a very positive review and said it was a "remarkable and boundlessly compassionate and humanistic piece of theater." Tablet Magazine thought it was "terrific." Entertainment Weekly also reviewed The Band's Visit positively, praising Katrina Lenk's portrayal of the cafe owner Dina as "dazzling." It gave the production an A−, and said it is "understated, probably better described as charming than life-altering, but its scale reinforces the moral themes of the musical itself." The Washington Post observed that "producers unaffiliated with the show say they are heartened by its run," as the "almost minimalist" production was doing well despite not having what seemed to be "a lot of overt commercial potential."

Representation

The show has had a positive impact on Middle-Eastern actors and audiences, as many feel represented by the authentic characters that are not negative stereotypes. Ari’el Stachel, who plays Haled, acknowledges this in his speech after winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical: "For so many years of my life I pretended I was not a Middle Eastern person. […] I am part of a cast of actors who never believed that they'd be able to portray their own races and we are doing that. And not only that but we're getting messages from kids all over the Middle East thanking us and telling us how transformative our representation is for them. […] I want any kid that's watching to know that your biggest obstacle may turn into your purpose."

Awards and honors

Recording

An original Broadway cast recording was released on December 15, 2017 through Sh-K-Boom Records. It peaked at number 62 on the Top Current Album Sales chart and number three on the Cast Albums chart.