Are there any Egyptians in the Bands Visit?

[wavingthrough1998]

Are there any actual people of Egyptian decent in the cast of the Bands Visit? No disrespect to Tony, but I kind of find it troubling someone with a Jewish background is playing someone with an Islamic background. For a show that’s about bring two different cultures together, they don’t really succeed at it in the real world.

[WayTooBroadway]

From your friend, Wiki Pedia:
Shalhoub, the ninth of ten children, was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. His father, Joe, was from Lebanon and immigrated to the United States as an orphan at the age of eight. He was a meat peddler who drove a refrigerated truck. He bought his meat in Sheboygan, Wis., and sold it to stores in the region. Joe married Shalhoub's mother, Helen (née Seroogy), a second-generation Lebanese-American.

Don't be surprised that Katrina Lenk has an Eastern European background. Feel free to stage door and ask every ensemble member and musician if they're of Egyptian "decent."

[EllieRose2]

Yes,  Please ask every single actor at the stage door if they are Egyptian.  They will love that.  

[BalconyClub]

Are the girls really mean who perform in Mean Girls?

[EllieRose2]

Is Caissie Levy, like, really cold?

[BroadwayConcierge]

EllieRose2 said: "Yes, Please ask every single actor at the stage door if they are Egyptian. They will love that."

I audibly laughed.

[Oak2]

At least one show on Broadway is doing casting right - Nathan Lane is, in fact, an Angel.

[WayTooBroadway]

But is he American?

[WayTooBroadway]

Because posts like this just make me angry...

Ossama Farouk, who plays the darbouka and riq, with bio from http://egyptianacademy.com:
Ossama Farouk, known as Farouk to friends and colleagues, is an exceptionally talented, self-taught performer of Middle Eastern percussion. Egyptian-born, he has been playing the popular Arabic hand drum instrument named tabla (other names for this drum include darbuka, dumbek, doumbek) since the age of 5.

Do you need to see his passport?
 

[UncleCharlie]

EllieRose2 said: "Yes, Please ask every single actor at the stage door if they are Egyptian. They will love that."

They might lie. The only way is to demand to see whether or not they've had a bris.

[sparepart973]

Egypt (part of the "Arab world&rdquo and “Muslim countries” are two separate populations. The countries with the largest Muslim populations happen to be ethnically non-Arab (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iran and Turkey). While Islam is the dominant religion in Arab world, there are close to one million Christians in Syria, one million Christians in Lebanon, 70,000 Christians in Palestinian, and one million Christians in Egypt.

The material in the play does not refer to the faith of the musicians. We can immediately infer from their names that this group has more than one religious denomination: 

-Tewfik (Maestro/Tony Shalhoub’s character) and Camal (Oud/George Abud’s character) have religiously ambiguous names that are commonly used by any of the denominations in Egypt. 

-The name Halid (Trumpet/Ari’el Stachel’s) is typically given to Muslim boys, while Simon (Clarinet/Alok Tewari’s character) is typically given to Christian boys. 

 

[qolbinau]

An “Islamic” background? Whether or not he happened to be indoctrinated as a child with one major belief system over another has nothing to do with whether he can act he role or not. And the great thing about religion is you can basically instantly convert-in - do you need him to go and convert to Islam for him to play the role?

Please, just make it stop.

[dmwnc1959]

I watched this the other day, found it lots of fun and quite fascinating. It’s long, almost an hour, but well worth your time if you’re at all interested in “The Band’s Visit” and the people that made it happen...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0jDSg2uQRXU

[henrikegerman]

wavingthrough1998 said: "Are there any actual people of Egyptian decent in the cast of the Bands Visit? No disrespect to Tony, but I kind of find it troubling someone with a Jewish background is playing someone with an Islamic background. For a show that’s about bring two different cultures together, they don’t really succeed at it in the real world."

Tony Shalhoub has a Jewish background?  
It seems you are confusing the Marvelous Mr. Shalhoub with the Marvelous Mr. Maisel.  Which he is playing marvelously.

Shalhoub, a nice non-Jewish (and non-Muslim) Lebanese man from Green Bay, and Marin Hinkle and Rachel Brosnahan, two nice non-Jewish women from, respectfully, Dar es Salaam and Milwaukee and Highland Park, are giving the performances of their lives playing what may strike many as a vividly recognizable, perhaps even quintessential, nice Upper West Side Jewish family - they sure strike me that way.

Similarly, Ari'el Stachel is a Jewish man of Yemeni ancestry from Berkeley.
Is there any reason he shouldn't be playing an Egyptian Muslim (If in fact Halid is Muslim)?

Or are you suggesting that we now cast people based on religion?
 

[BrodyFosse123]

Well, there goes any and all credibility to Valerie Harper and Anne Bancroft.  Both actresses are known for several legendary Jewish roles yet both are of Italian heritage.

Heck, even half the cast of the now-gone ABC series NASHVILLE wasn't even American.  How dare ABC even consider casting non-American actors in American roles.  

Someone needs to put a stop to this Andrew Garfield.  He has NO right being in ANGELS IN AMERICA as he's not even American! 

 

[macnyc]

I get your point, but Andrew Garfield was born in Los Angeles. 

[givesmevoice]

henrikegerman said: "wavingthrough1998 said: "Are there any actual people of Egyptian decent in the cast of the Bands Visit? No disrespect to Tony, but I kind of find it troubling someone with a Jewish background is playing someone with an Islamic background. For a show that’s about bring two different cultures together, they don’t really succeed at it in the real world."

Tony Shalhoub has a Jewish background?
It seems you are confusing the Marvelous Mr. Shalhoub with the Marvelous Mr. Maisel. Which he is playing marvelously.

Shalhoub, a nice non-Jewish (and non-Muslim)Lebanese manfrom Green Bay, and MarinHinkle and Rachel Brosnahan, two nice non-Jewish women from, respectfully, Dar es Salaam and Milwaukee and Highland Park, are giving the performances of their lives playing what may strike many as a vividly recognizable, perhaps even quintessential,nice Upper West Side Jewish family - they sure strike me that way.

Similarly, Ari'el Stachel is a Jewish manof Yemeni ancestry from Berkeley.
Is there any reason he shouldn't be playing anEgyptian Muslim (If in fact Halid is Muslim)?

Or are you suggesting that we now cast people based on religion?"

It's funny, because even though I know Coptic Christians, I did kind of assume the Egyptian characters in The Band's Visit were Muslim. But Muslim is the majority religion in Egypt, so...

Anyway, no, we should not cast people based on religion. And having as many people of Middle Eastern descent on one stage, regardless of their religious background, is a major achievement in representation. 

[poisonivy2]

The musical is not about religion so I don't know why the religious backgrounds are relevant. In fact, the show is not even about Israel vs. Egypt. "Beta tikva" with a "b" is basically a stand-in for any isolated small town. it's like River City in Music Man. The theme of the musical is that a small, sleepy town where nothing happens is disrupted by the arrival of a new mix of people (the band), the way River City is disrupted by Harold Hill. 

[givesmevoice]

Well for me it was about learning that there is no "p" sound in Arabic, which is how they wound up in Beit Hatikva instead of Petah Tikva in the first place.

[Smaxie]

Are there any cannibals in Sweeney Todd? 

[adamgreer]

Smaxie said: "Are there any cannibals in Sweeney Todd?"

Patti, obviously. 

[wavingthrough1998]

Wow. All of you stink like feces. And to compare Egyptians to camnibals is really racist and y’all should check yourself.

[WayTooBroadway]

LOLOLOLOLOL. See you at the Barrymore stage door!

[dramamama611]

wavingthrough1998 said: "Wow. All of you stink like feces. And to compare Egyptians to camnibals is really racist and y’all should check yourself."

 

Right....because it can't be you and your premise that it's offensive to have a (presumed) Jewish man play an Islamic man? 

NO one made that comparison but you.   The analogy is if you demand Egyptians or Islamics to play the roles in this show, you must also want cannibals to play the roles of all the chorus people in Sweeney Todd -- since those characters love the people they consume.

 

And, if case you didn't notice, TBV is about what these people have in common - their humanness, and the  need to be connected to other humans.  It has nothing to do with Judaism, Islam or Christianity.

 

[WayTooBroadway]

But they don’t really succeed at cultural awareness in the real world...