THE BAND'S VISIT Opening Night Review March 8, 2022 Eclectic Arts

THE BAND’S VISIT
A New Musical

Premera Blue Cross Broadway At The Paramount
Seattle, WA


Opening Night Review: March 8, 2022

(The company of The Band’s Visit North American Tour, Photo by Evan Zimmerman, MurphyMade)

The further I delve into the Arts, the more they reveal their truths as a collective. In May of 2018, I had no foundation for musical theatre. Sure, I had seen a few musicals that I could count on one hand but overall, I couldn’t tell anyone much about the world of musicals. Since then, I can add in numerous plays, a ton of film work, and the pleasure of interviewing many artistic guests from around the world during the pandemic. My perspective in 2022 is vastly different than it was when I first started expanding the “arts” in Eclectic Arts.


I mention this as the new musical, “The Band’s Visit” really touches on many of the global themes I’ve come to know over the past five years.


The basic premise is a band from Egypt is headed to play a concert in Israel. Their journey and the people they encounter is the thrust of the musical. The film version came first which I have never seen. So, I honestly expected to see a more traditional musical with musical numbers, dialogue, more musical numbers, dialogue, rinse and repeat, etc.


But “The Band’s Visit” was something different than that. Very.


The first thirty minutes it took awhile to adjust to the dialogue, the accents, and just where this unusual musical was headed. But once it found its stride, it started to resonate with me, and that’s when the richness of the story really came through.


The musical touches on many different themes but it does it in such a subtle way. From things as simple as breaking bread with those we don’t know to ethnic and cultural differences as well as the art of forgiveness, the performers deftly defy stereotypes and tell a story that we just don’t see very often on stage.


This is a musical so the music was as appropriate as possible, with many of the performers playing instruments as a part of the band. There were musical interludes between scenes at times and of course there were songs to be sung.


The epilogue instrumental was a great way to send the audience out on a high note.


“The Band’s Visit” won best musical in 2018, as well as many other awards. Now that I’ve seen a performance, I now know why. It’s just that good.


Don’t miss this one, folks!


“The Band’s Visit” runs through Sunday March 13th. Tickets are available HERE!

Best,

Mark Sugiyama

Eclectic Arts

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