The Band's Visit tour cast- Page 2

[lt03302]

Posted: 5/10/19 at 11:59am

Um Kulthum said: "I'm glad to see Pomme Koch continuing! And how cool to have the father-son duo :)

I've never seen Chilina Kennedy in anything, though I've heard of her in context of "Beautiful." What do we think??

"

I've seen her in Beautiful six times and she is one of the most talented performers I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. I think she'll do an amazing job in this role and I am so excited for her.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/10/19 at 2:39pm

Such a stacked cast! I can’t wait to see this in Chicago!!

[Um Kulthum]

Posted: 6/11/19 at 7:06pm

A clip of "Welcome to Nowhere" and the new band! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqE_YQriJng 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 6/11/19 at 9:49pm

I won’t be seeing this on tour until it hits Pittsburgh in March 2020, but that rendition of Welcome to Nowhere just didn’t do it for me. I’m sure it’ll be amazing once they’ve had a few performances under their belts. I hope. :)

[LLW2]

Posted: 6/11/19 at 11:13pm

dmwnc1959 said: "I won’t be seeing this on tour until it hits Pittsburgh in March 2020, but that rendition of Welcome to Nowhere just didn’t do it for me. I’m sure it’ll be amazing once they’ve had a few performances under their belts. I hope. :)"

Yeah, I saw it with both Katrina Lenk and Madison Micucci as Dina on Broadway, and they were both wonderful in the role, with different interpretations of the character for sure, but both compelling. The Dina in this video leaves me cold. I was planning to see it when it came to Kennedy Center but now I'm not so sure.

[taylortrensch]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 8:00am

dmwnc1959 said: "I won’t be seeing this on tour until it hits Pittsburgh in March 2020, but that rendition of Welcome to Nowhere just didn’t do it for me. I’m sure it’ll be amazing once they’ve had a few performances under their belts. I hope. :)"

i'm with you there! i wasn't sure of how i felt about Chilina as Dina and her rendition did not impress me. i'm even more grateful that sasson is going on tour.

[Um Kulthum]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 9:09am

taylortrensch said: "dmwnc1959 said: "I won’t be seeing this on tour until it hits Pittsburgh in March 2020, but that rendition of Welcome to Nowhere just didn’t do it for me. I’m sure it’ll be amazing once they’ve had a few performances under their belts. I hope. :)"

i'm with you there! i wasn't sure of how i felt about Chilina as Dina and her rendition did not impress me. i'm even more grateful that sasson is going on tour."

Someone in the youtube comments said they thought she was trying too much to imitate Katrina Lenk, rather than making Dina her own, which I think is a good way of putting it. She has a different sort of voice for sure, I can hear it in this clip, and I hope with time she'll be able to make the character her own and feel more natural. 

I'm going to see it in DC, and probably will again when it comes to Baltimore next spring. Should be interesting to see how it compares, after a few weeks of performances versus several months. 

Updated On: 6/12/19 at 09:09 AM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 11:00am

That clip didn't thrill me. The music was swallowing her voice and the diction wasn't great. One thing about Lenk-her diction was flawless with the accent. Also, they all seemed to be flailing around during the choreo and that didn't really work. How old is Papi supposed to be? That dude looked 40.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 11:11am

Bettyboy72 said: "That clip didn't thrill me. The music was swallowing her voice and the diction wasn't great. One thing about Lenk-her diction was flawless with the accent. Also, they all seemed to be flailing around during the choreo and that didn't really work. How old is Papi supposed to be? That dude looked 40."

Papi is supposed to be fairly young and Adam Gabay (son of Sasson Gabay who plays Tewfiq) is only 21 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 8:31pm

ElphabaGoodman said: "Bettyboy72 said: "That clip didn't thrill me. The music was swallowing her voice and the diction wasn't great. One thing about Lenk-her diction was flawless with the accent. Also, they all seemed to be flailing around during the choreo and that didn't really work. How old is Papi supposed to be? That dude looked 40."

Papi is supposed to be fairly young and Adam Gabay (son of Sasson Gabay who plays Tewfiq) is only 21"

Well he reads much older than 21 in the clip I just saw. He needs to shave.

 

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 6/12/19 at 8:37pm

Bettyboy72 said: "Well he reads much older than 21 in the clip I just saw. He needs to shave."

 

I loved Etai Benson is this role: baby faced, anxious, and bashful. His routine of being bored in Welcome to Nowhere was effortless, whereas his tour counterpart just looks like he’s getting ready to fall asleep. 

I do hope some reviews come across this forum from all of you as the show starts its tour in just a couple of weeks. 

 

Updated On: 6/12/19 at 08:37 PM

[itzikslullaby]

Posted: 6/13/19 at 1:03am

LLW2 said: "Yeah, I saw it with both Katrina Lenk and Madison Micucci as Dina on Broadway, and they were both wonderful in the role, with different interpretations of the character for sure, but both compelling. The Dina in this video leaves me cold. I was planning to see it when it came to Kennedy Center but now I'm not so sure."

I have seen all versions of Dina on Broadway (Katrina, Madison, Sharone) & while this is just a clip of Chilina, she is not up to par with any of the Broadway Dinas. I hope she improves, but her fake accent is not doing it for me at all.

[LLW2]

Posted: 6/22/19 at 9:40pm

New video of her doing Omar Sharif. I can't get into it. It's lifeless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MElOrtye4LQ

 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 6/22/19 at 10:29pm

LLW2 said: "New video of her doing Omar Sharif. I can't get into it. It's lifeless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MElOrtye4LQ

She's clearly an incredible vocalist, but this rendition isn't selling me. She's awfully brassy on this. One of the things I love about the song is that it is hypnotic, it seductively draws you in. It's sensual and introspective. I went into The Band's Visit cold (and actually wasn't jazzed about seeing it) and Lenk seduced me. 

I am sure Kennedy will grow and I will reserve judgment until I see the tour, but she's doing all these big expressions with her face and hands. I'm not feeling it. The Band's Visit will also be harder to connect with audiences in some of these larger touring houses of 3000+ seats. I hope the cast is tight and finds their rhythm. 

 

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 6/22/19 at 10:48pm

I’m just not getting into it. I’m certain things will settle some as Kennedy settles into the role, but right now, I don’t feel like all the pieces are together. It’s making my mind wander.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/22/19 at 11:56pm

I’ve actually been very impressed with the stuff we’ve seen of Kennedy so far. When she was announced, I could not see her in the role at all.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/23/19 at 12:25am

Lenny def had a quality to her. But I think I need to se Kennedy in the context of the show.

[inception]

Posted: 6/23/19 at 9:29am

I'm going to be in Chicago while it plays there, but I've decided to skip this. I don't want to ruin the memory of seeing the show in NY.

[Um Kulthum]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 5:02pm

It got a good review in the Providence Journal: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190627/theater-review-ppacs-quirky-and-bittersweet-the-bands-visit-charming-musical

Has anyone on here been to see it yet??

[Zion24]

Posted: 6/30/19 at 11:18pm

i saw Kennedy in "beautiful" and she certainly has the vocal chops for Dina. From what I heard in these links, she actually does a more Arabic-lilt in her notes, and i kinda like it. 

that said, i agree with everyone here that its not a kind comparison re Lenk. Im just not sure if thats because Lenk so owned/embodied/created the role, that we cant get past it. (at least i cant)

[BobPopa]

Posted: 7/1/19 at 3:37pm

I saw the show this past Friday in Providence and it was fantastic.

And to comment on many above about Chilina...she was amazing in the role. She was mesmerizing and intoxicating.

Some who saw Katrina might prefer Katrina...personal preference of course, but anyone who would say Chilina didn't do a great job, or pull off the role well.should never comment again about quality of one's performance because they simply haven't a clue.

[LLW2]

Posted: 7/11/19 at 10:31pm

It's at Kennedy Center now and the Washington Post likes it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/the-bands-visit-settles-in-at-the-kennedy-center/2019/07/11/e249386e-a33f-11e9-b732-41a79c2551bf_story.html?utm_term=.6f8c79157294

 

[Um Kulthum]

Posted: 7/13/19 at 6:15pm

I went to see it yesterday evening! The audience enjoyed it (lots of laughs, audible ohs when Tewfiq tells Dina about his son, and awws when Amalia finally calls) and the cast was good. I enjoyed it too, really, although I am glad I got to see the Broadway cast. 

Chilina Kennedy played Dina louder & more brash, I think, compared to Katrina Lenk's Dina being more soulful and sadder. I felt like Sasson Gabay dialed up his performance a bit to match her. She was charming, though I still prefer Katrina's performance. 

There's a slight change that I really liked: now Dina comes onstage toward the end of "Beat of Your Heart"– when Avrum is singing about "I'll see an angel swirling, moving/ young and so alive," Dina is swirling/dancing around her apartment, getting ready to go out.
(I think this is new from Broadway?? Surely I'd have noticed that??) 

The moment in "Answer Me" when the whole ensemble sings together is still so powerful.

Updated On: 8/7/19 at 06:15 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 10/9/19 at 11:44pm

Saw today in Toronto. Overall it’s in great shape. Kennedy’s interpretation is very different from Lenk. Kennedy has a much more flesh and blood feel to the character. She feels more scrappy and human. Lenk had a stoic sadness and eroticism that bewitched me. Her Dina felt like a siren, so you wondered if Tewfiq would succumb, like the married guy. There was some tension.

Kennedy was not as erotic to me, but I still liked her. I watched the show and set Lenk’s performance aside. Kennedy looks very young next to Tewfiq and I don’t know how that worked. Some chemistry wasn’t there for me, but not a deal breaker. Kinda felt like she was sick of her situation and hitting on a old dude.

Adam Gabay as Papi was a wash for me. He reads really old so no baby faced naïveté came through for me. He also plays Papi as a stoner with squinted eyes and his mouth hanging open, catching flies. I wasn’t rooting for him. Also his diction was lousy. He swallowed most of the lyrics to Papi Hears The Ocean and that’s a great story song.

The rest of the cast is stellar. It all still works-sets, gorgeous lighting and everyone aside from Adam has glorious voices.

I think this has a hard time playing in large venues. I’ll only see this show from the first few rows. A lot of people left and there was a lot of grumbling afterward that people thought it was boring and nothing happened. A lot of the reviews on the Mirvish site are very critical.

I don’t think I’d have gotten into this show as much sitting in the rafters of a 3000 seat theatre.

[ElphabaGoodman]

Posted: 11/21/19 at 1:56pm

http://www.playbill.com/article/janeth-dacal-will-join-cast-of-the-bands-visit-national-tour

Janet Dacal will be joining the tour as Dina beginning January 3, 2020!