Review: THE BAND'S VISIT at the Eccles Theater Shows Each Person Has a Story

The national tour of THE BAND'S VISIT, currently playing the Eccles Theater, presents a slow-moving, introspective slice of life that washes over the audience, occasionally grabbing them as it illuminates glimpses of the story each person has to tell.

THE BAND'S VISIT (music and lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Ithmar Moses), based on the 2007 film of the same name, was the 2018 winner of 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. When an Egyptian band find itself stranded in a remote Israeli town due to a travel mix-up, they are taken in by local residents and spend one memorable night in each other's company.

The onstage instrumental performances by members of the band, both diegetic and theatrical, are impressive. Combined with the pit band (conducted by music director Adrian Ries), the striking Middle Eastern-flavored live music (with orchestrations by Jamshied Sharifi) is haunting and healing.

The ensemble cast, compellingly directed by David Cromer, is world-class with highly nuanced, screen-worthy performances. These include Janet Dacal as Dina, who played memorable roles in the original Broadway casts of IN THE HEIGHTS (Carla) and WONDERLAND (Alice), and Sasson Gabay as Tewfiq, who interestingly originated the same role in the film.

Other highlights include Joe Joseph as Haled, Clay Singer as Itzik, Yoni Avi Battat as Camal, Coby Getzug as Papi, Joshua Grosso as Telephone Guy, Kendal Hartse as Iris, and David Studwell as Avrum.

Unfortunately, the volume of the dialogue at the reviewed performance was not adequately amplified and so was difficult to hear. Combined with thick accents and a story and setting that are unfamiliar to some, the sound issue likely rendered portions of the show unintelligible to many audience members, requiring the use of contextual clues to understand what was happening.

However, the rest of the production is very high quality. The unassuming costume design by Sarah Laux is transportive, as is the realistic scenic design by Scott Pask. Simple but quite effective, the set features lifelike details and elegant transitions orchestrated by a turntable. The show would be worth seeing even just for the evocative Tony-winning lighting by Tyler Micoleau. Moody and unafraid of dark and shadow, it is utterly ravishing.

THE BAND'S VISIT plays the Eccles Theater for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 20, 2022. For tickets, call ArtTix at 801-355-ARTS (2787) or visit www.artsaltlake.org.

Photo Credit: L-R Sasson Gabay (Tewfiq), Joe Joseph (Haled), Janet Dacal (Dina). Photo by Evan Zimmerman.

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