The musical opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in November 2017, after its off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic Theater Company in December 2016.
The original production premiered in Off-Broadway previews at the Atlantic Theater Company on November 11, 2016, had its official opening on December 8, 2016, and closed on January 8, 2017.
[2] He was replaced by David Cromer, with choreography by Patrick McCollum, movement by Lee Sher, and starring Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk, and John Cariani.
[14] The musical had its European premiere at the Donmar Warehouse in London directed by artistic director Michael Longhurst from 28 September to 3 December 2022.
[15] The Band’s Visit opens with a message on a projector screen that displays during the overture, reading: “Once, not long ago, a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt.
It wasn’t very important.” In 1996, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, just arrived in Israel, are waiting in Tel Aviv's central bus station.
The group's leader and conductor, the reserved and dignified Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, gets annoyed with the behavior of Haled (the young trumpet player and ladies’ man of the band).
When the band arrives in Bet Hatikvah to blank stares, they approach two café workers, Papi and Itzik, to ask for directions to the Arab Culture Center for their performance the next day.
Tewfiq gives Haled an earful for the humiliation he has caused them, then asks Dina if the band can dine at the café on what little Israeli money they have left.
Dina then draws their attention to the only pay phone in town, which is guarded over every night by a man (known only as the “Telephone Guy”) who obsessively waits for his girlfriend to call him, even though it has been a month.
Meanwhile, Itzik allows Simon and Camal to stay with him and his family, consisting of his wife Iris and their baby, as well as his father-in-law, Avrum, who is visiting for the night.
He tells the story of how he met his wife many years ago at a club, and remembers how music had been the foundation for their entire relationship ("The Beat of Your Heart").
Itzik, Simon, and Camal are touched by the story, but Iris continues to eat silently, avoiding all interaction as her father reminisces.
As Dina and Tewfiq prepare to head out, Camal uses the pay phone to call the Egyptian embassy as the Telephone Guy watches him aggressively.
Itzik relates to Simon’s writer’s block with a story about how as a child he missed his own birthday because he had climbed a tree, staying there all day because it was too relaxing to leave.
Despite not being able to understand his Arabic lyrics, she remains mesmerized by him for reasons she cannot fully explain, and wonders if his visit to Bet Hatikvah was meant for her by fate ("Something Different").
The Egyptian embassy calls back about sending a bus and Camal responds, afterwards letting the Telephone Guy return to his post.
Suddenly, just as the Telephone Guy gives up hope, the phone rings and he speaks to his girlfriend for the first time in weeks as Camal observes in contentment.
[16] Based on the tracklist from the cast recording released on December 15, 2017 In addition, Boney M.'s cover of "Sunny" is heard in the roller rink, and Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine" is performed by Haled on the trumpet in the style of Chet Baker.
US National Tour (2019-2023) In the review of the Off-Broadway production, the Huffington Post called the musical "exquisite", noting that Itamar Moses and David Yazbek have "created a small, touching show... [with] character depth and strong sense of place.
When the ensemble, led by Mr. Liberman, delivers the show’s final number, 'Answer Me,' the music takes on a transcendent harmonic shimmer that stops the heart.
[25] The Chicago Tribune gave the "weird new Broadway musical" a very positive review and said it was a "remarkable and boundlessly compassionate and humanistic piece of theater.
"[27] Entertainment Weekly also reviewed The Band's Visit positively, praising Katrina Lenk's portrayal of the cafe owner Dina as "dazzling."
"[28] The Washington Post observed that "producers unaffiliated with the show say they are heartened by its run," as the "almost minimalist" production was doing well despite not having what seemed to be "a lot of overt commercial potential.
[30][31] Ari’el Stachel, who plays Haled, acknowledges this in his speech after winning the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical: “For so many years of my life I pretended I was not a Middle Eastern person.