the band's visit - director

CHICAGO TRIBUNE'S TOP 10 THEATRE OF 2024:

'For his revealing new staging of this melancholy musical at Writers Theatre, the gifted director Zi Alikhan discovered that the Glencoe theater adapted easily to surround sound. He positioned his actors accordingly and filled the theater with David Yazbek’s haunting music, and with actors fully committed to telling Itamar Moses’s story of a Egyptian band lost in a small Israeli town, struggling for human connections. It was tough to follow director David Cromer’s superb original production, but thanks in no small part to the lead performer, Sophie Madorsky, this new staging brought much to the work I’d not felt before.'-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune.

'I enjoyed the piece immensely on Broadway, but I was far more deeply moved by this intimate, intensely engaging production at Writers Theater, directed by Zi Alikhan. He’s making an extremely memorable mark in his Chicago debut. 4/4 Stars.'-Steven Oxman, Chicago Sun-Times.

'The show comes with uncommon warmth, as currently intensified by an intimate Writers Theatre production from director Zi Alikhan that interprets Yazbek’s superb score in surround sound. You might have seen “The Band’s Visit” (before). I’d argue this staging (and this fine cast) adds a whole lot to the piece and it merits another look. 4/4 Stars.'-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune.

the band's visit

by itamar moses, music and lyrics by david yazbek

writers theatre, glencoe, il//theatresquared, fayetteville, ar

2023//2024

photos by michael brosilow