Canada Review: "The Band’s Visit" - North American Tour
Joe Szekeres, Chief Toronto Critic
There’s a line in one of the musical numbers from last night’s opening of the North American touring production of ‘The Band’s Visit’ at Toronto’s Ed Mirvish Theatre that still resonates with me this morning:
“There is something so beautiful in something so unexpected.”
And in this mostly solid production now onstage until October 20, there’s beauty in this ordinary story. We are reminded from the top of the show that a band rolled into town one day, an uneventful moment. After a well earned and well-deserved standing ovation, I realized this show has a paradoxical meaning in this uneventful moment. A great deal has occurred when nothing or very little has occurred.
I had no idea about the plot of ‘The Band’s Visit’. I had heard there was a film, but I knew nothing about it. After seeing this performance, the film is now on my list to watch.
A see-through scrim greets audience members upon entrance to the theatre. The dimly lit set behind the scrim suggests that we are going back to another time. It is 1996. The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra (dressed in Sgt Pepper’s outfits according to Dina) have just arrived in Israel and are waiting in Tel Aviv’s central bus station. The organization expects to be welcomed by a representative from a local Arab cultural organization, but no one shows up for the welcome. The group’s leader, Tewfiq (Sasson Gabay) decides the group will take the bus. Tewfiq asks Haled (Joe Joseph), the lothario/womanizer of the group to order the bus tickets. In a comic turn of events with Haled ordering the tickets, the orchestra ends up in another isolated town instead of where they had to go.
It is in this deserted town where the band ends up in a café and meet the owner, Dina (Chilina Kennedy) and two café workers, Papi (Adam Gabay) and Itzik (Pomme Koch). As there are no more buses to take the orchestra where they are to go, they agree to spend the night in Dina’s home, Papi’s home and Itzik’s home. There are subplots going on as the story progresses over one night.
I had the opportunity to see Chilina Kennedy outstanding work last season as Carole King. In this opening night production, Ms. Kennedy is a marvelous sultry and sexy Dina who is all bravado outside but a different woman on the inside. As Tewfiq, Sasson Gabay was in the film version of ‘The Band’s Visit’ and the original Broadway cast. Although his Tewfiq is quietly reserved, there were moments where I couldn’t hear him along with several other cast members.
Additionally, there were moments where the sound quality did not allow me to hear some of the song lyrics from my seat in the house. For example, in Dina’s song with Tewfiq, I had no idea about whom she was seeing as I couldn’t hear the name of the celebrity. It was only after when giving the programme a good look that the song dealt with the late actor Omar Sharif. Hopefully, the sound quality will be balanced for future performances.
When I could hear the lyrics, these powerful moments were captured with dignity and grace. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but the musical number ‘Answer Me’ with Telephone Guy (Mike Cefalo) and the entire ensemble is haunting to hear and visually moving to watch. ‘Welcome to Nowhere’ sung by Ms. Kennedy and Messrs. Gabay and Koch made me feel that we are in a town of nowhere.
One strength of this production lies in the terrific ensemble work, especially where the cast utilizes dramatic, silent pauses forcefully. After seeing this opening night performance, I was reminded once again just how powerful silence can be on stage when it is timed nicely.
Another strength of this production was the use of music and how it was subtly captured and utilized in each of the scenes. Most of the time, at least one of the band members was on the stage playing in the background quietly. Indeed, music hath its charm in any context and situation, and in ‘The Band’s Visit’ it’s clear that music exists within all of us and that we are the composers of our destinies. You’ll understand this last reference when you see the production.
What I thought was a class act at the curtain call was the fact that Ms. Kennedy and Mr. Gabay chose not to step forward and be acknowledged but remained with the company for a bow. Make sure you stick around for ‘The Concert’ at the conclusion. Most enjoyable.
‘The Band’s Visit’ runs to October 20, 2019 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria Street, Toronto. For tickets, visit www.mirvish.com or call 1-800-461-3333 or 1-416-872-1212.
Running time: approximately 100 minutes with no intermission.
Director: David Cromer; Choreographer: Patrick McCollum; Music Director: Rick Bertone
The Cast: Chilina Kennedy, Sasson Gabay, Mike Cefalo, Pomme Koch, Joe Joseph, Adam Gabay, Ronne Malley, David Studwell, Jennifer Apple, Danny Burgos, Marc Ginsburg, Kendal Hartse, Sara Kapner, Loren Lester, Ahmad Maksoud, James Rana, Nick Sacks, Hannah Shankman, Bligh Voth
Photo of the North American Tour of ‘The Band’s Visit’ taken by Matthew Murphy. L-R: Sasson Gabay and Chilina Kennedy.