The Band's Visit

by Itamar Moses, David Yazbek (Composer)

Winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Musical After a mix-up at the border, Egypt’s Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, bound for the cosmopolitan Israeli city Petah Tikvah, is stranded in a small desert town. With no transportation until the next day, the band is taken in by the locals. By morning, the lives of visitors and hosts are forever altered. Itamar Moses and David Yazbek’s stunning musical adaptation of the 2007 acclaimed film finds transcendence in the surprising and tender relationships that are forged between strangers under the desert sky.

Genres: Plays, Music, Theatre, Drama

96 pages, Paperback

Published June 26, 2018

Reviews

[Meeghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably closer to 4.25

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cream puff, or maybe it's baba ganoush; sweet and light and just substantial enough to stay with you after it's long gone, but with no heft or weight to it. This is by design- Itamar Moses has created a wonderful slice of life, showing two similar but disparate cultures clashing only lightly as they realize they ultimately have nothing much to clash about. The characters, lightly sketched as they are, are nonetheless immediately memorable and recognizable. Listen to the music, and it goes to a whole new level.

[Bryan Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this musical on Broadway a few weeks ago and I loved it. If you make your way out to New York it is a must see. I got the script and read it in an hour. It is a short play. Ninety minutes without intermission. I wept through the whole thing. The last time that happened was during the movie Noah.

[Lilly Sorrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Band's Visit is unsatisfyingly satisfying. That makes no sense does it? Probably not. Though, it is definitely how my heart feels after reading this amazing script and listening to the beautiful music.

[Phanesia Pharel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is one moment of this play that really gets me. It’s when Dina begins to sing her solo of Egyptian music. I can feel it and the scenes from there are null of emotion and complexity. I feel inclined to offer a 3 because everything up until that point felt so passive. Yet I understand that is the point of this script and as someone who is not middle eastern my ability to understand this pieces full complexity is limited.

[Savanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I have seen this musical twice now, I really enjoyed reading the book, to be reminded of the dialogue that's not included on the cast album (which I've listened to countless times). This story is so sweet and hopeful– with the idea that people can simply be good to each other. Just can't get enough of it!

[tatum · Rating 5 out of 5]

:’)

[Olya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short play that feels incomplete. And sad. So, so sad - not a bit of humor in it anywhere.

[Jonathan Guttenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best musical of the 2010's, no discussion

[James Ruley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s difficult to review a screenplay, especially one with a musical component, because the finished work is intended to be heard, not read. That being said, having listened to the soundtrack, watched a live performance, and read the screenplay of “The Band’s Visit,” it is an enjoyable, simple piece on the significance of insignificant moments and the ways in which we have much more in common with others who are different from us than we might think.

3.5/5

[Brian McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

As when I saw the original Broadway cast of THE BAND’S VISIT, I appreciate the quiet strength of this piece. I look forward to the national tour opening in Providence in June.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful musical, I recommend to everyone who gets a chance to see it.