The Band's Visit (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (2,088)
See it if you like heart warming stories of different cultures that meet and enjoy each other. Lovely songs and beautiful moments.
Don't see it if you are expecting a big musical. This is more of a play with music. If you don't respect and like other cultures then this isn't for you.
See it if Loved it off-Broadway. Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub. Beauty in simplicity, big in heart. Perfection.
Don't see it if Expecting over-the-too musical.
See it if You like strong characters who give 100% of themselves while on stage and share a story that captivates you from the beginning to the end.
Don't see it if You have trouble understanding people who speak with a different accent or you dislike a fabulous story.
See it if you want to see an amazing production integrating Israeli and Arab culture and music. You are a fan of the original film.
Don't see it if You don’t understand Hebrew and/or Arabic and will be bothered by small jokes you won’t understand that aren’t translated Read more
See it if If you love intimate shows that have exquisite music and resonate with you long after you leave the theater.
Don't see it if If you only like plot driven shows or elaborate over the top spectacles.
See it if this is a show of rare and appealing excellence, exquisite musical score, impeccable cast, and flawless performances.Outstanding.A MUST SEE!
Don't see it if do not miss this opportunity to be transported to another time and place by the seductive and sublime music and story of this musical. Read more
See it if You enjoy more cerebral, unusual, adult musicals. So exciting to see a show like this having a commercial run. Stunning, stunning, stunning.
Don't see it if It is abstract at times. The ‘story’, such as it is, is quiet and, some would say, unremarkable. Those people would be wrong, but they exist Read more
See it if you delight in the electricity of pauses and small moments, and want to hear the most achingly beautiful score of the decade.
Don't see it if you're expecting a big, bombastic, flashy musical with fast-paced, snappy dialogue; this one requires patience and investment.
Critic Reviews (62)
“The subtle revelations brought on by forced intimacy make ‘The Band's Visit’ a joy. There is as much emotion in this musical as in a Eugene O'Neill play but served with wit, a wonderful sense of human frailties and, of course, music. Yazbek's songs-ranging from the darkly comic ‘Welcome to Nowhere’ (sung by the town folk) to Dina's romantically tinged ‘Omar Sharif’ and ending with the upbeat, danceable ‘Concert’ played as a finale by the Band - rise magically from the dialogue.”
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“The transfer of ‘The Band’s Visit’ hasn’t tarnished the sheer brilliance and joy of Yazbek and Moses’ dazzling, humorous rendering of Eran Kolirin’s 2007 Israeli film of the same name. In fact, it has heightened the real humanity that resounds making one actually believe that it is music that could be the catalyst to solving the world’s problems!...Cromer sensitively directs this exceptional cast with subtlety, finesse, and a sense of humor.”
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“This thoroughly enjoyable new musical is the Seinfeld-of-musicals, in that nothing much happens — but it gently embraces all that is elemental about living life...Katrina Lenk is stunning...The music has an earthy, familiar, convivial quality. It feels old and new at once...The pace of this 95-minute production is all but perfect. The mix of foot-stomping, jump-up-and-join-us numbers artfully juxtaposed with quiet, sweet, introspective solos and duets, is just right.”
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“A small gem of a show...Director Cromer has created a play with a slow-pace and much introspection. The skilled actors go from excellent Hebrew and Egyptian to perfectly accented English...Yazbek’s music has a decidedly Middle Eastern flavor with use of the clarinet and Egyptian musical instruments...Most of the Egyptian band members play as well."
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"Absolutely and quietly devastating in its magnificence. It has a beauty to its sadness, and a sense of goodness and hope in its desire. Not much has changed with this perfectly constructed piece...'The Band’s Visit' has become more solid and in some way, sits more squarely and securely on stage...The cast is exceptional...What stood out for me on this visit to Bet Haatikva is the slow build of sadness and longing that settles on every surface in town."
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“It is a strong production...But this brisk unexpected journey to an Israeli town in the middle of nowhere never tipped into the sublime...Despite a fine cast and an unusual Middle Eastern inflected score, these quiet interactions have a repetitive familiarity to them...Feels strangely denuded of specificity. The ordinariness never becomes extraordinary...Each dramatic moment is equal to the one before it and after it, making few beats stand out.”
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“I was thoroughly touched, amused, and impressed…Musical theatre fans shouldn't expect a show with all the familiar Broadway ingredients…The songs are so well-integrated with the book that they arise organically from the dialogue and situations…Shalhoub…uses his mellifluous voice and delicate gestures to create a man of assured integrity and grace…Lenk is enthralling, her sinewy slenderness and feline features combining with a…lived-in sensibility to create a vibrantly compelling persona.”
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"The same widely acclaimed show plus better acoustics, and better accents...On a second viewing, the musical feels terribly sad, but a beautiful, pleasurable sad, like a song that you can’t stop listening to...This is a Broadway musical unafraid to be different...The tensions between Arabs and Israelis are acknowledged in an understated way, delivering no artificial happiness but suggesting reasons to be hopeful."
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