Review: KING GILGAMESH & THE MAN OF THE WILD at Jungle Theater

KING GILGAMESH & THE MAN OF THE WILD is a one-act theater-music production featuring Ahmed Moneka and Jesse LaVercombe alongside celebrated Arabic-maqam / jazz band, Moneka Arabic Jazz. A present-day story of friendship interweaves with the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, and along the way traces Ahmed's real-life journey from exiled actor to acclaimed musician.

This was a neat production and story telling. It was a mixture of script and song all in 100 minutes that talks about two individuals journey and friendship. They both play themselves as their characters, which made sense as they had a strong chemistry with each other as they meet in a cafe in Toronto and get to know each other through music and comedic moments. It was a two man show but there were additional characters that appeared throughout.

The music was in Arabic and it was music I was not familiar with but I enjoyed it. They both were so comforting on stage that it felt like we were just hanging out with friends. As there was a time when they came out of character as they continued to tell their story.

The set was simple, there was a band, desk, piano, table and chairs. They utilized all of the props. There were some neat lighting and production effects that happened in certain moments throughout.

I would recommend seeing this production before it heads off to New York!

Minneapolis / St. Paul Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. 9 TO 5: THE MUSICAL (Eagan Summer Theatre)

13.6% of votes

2. URINETOWN (Buffalo Community Theatre)

10.6% of votes

3. CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES (Rags to Rags Productions)

8.2% of votes

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