The Band's Visit, Huntington Theatre and SpeakEasy Stage Company, Huntington Theatre main stage, Boston, through December 17. 617-266-0800 or huntingtontheatre.org
"The Band's Visit" may seem like a 'small musical' to some seasoned theatergoers, but this disarmingly sweet show actually has a lot to say about shared human needs for love, friendship and understanding. Based on the award-winning 2007 film of the same name, the 2016 musical (Off-Broadway; 2017 Broadway) also focuses on a 1996 visit by an Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra to Israel.
Modern day understanding between Israel and Egypt began with their 1979 peace treaty. This Tony Award winner—as with the acclaimed film—explores an understated but very real peace between the countries' citizens themselves.
Both affecting and amusing, "The Band's Visit" is now being stirringly orchestrated by a gifted collaboration of Huntington Theatre and SpeakEasy Stage Company talents on the former's mainstage.
In both the film and the musical, two-country harmony in question begins by accident. Due to trumpeter Haled's thick Egyptian accent, a request for tickets to culturally thriving Petah Tikvah ends up putting the title band in a largely deserted fictional Negev Desert town named Bet Tikvah rather than their intended destination. Stranded in Bet Tikvah until the next available bus to Petah Tikvah the next day, the band collectively and individually share food, lodgings and time with the few Israeli men and women they meet.
That sharing—thanks to the insightful book of playwright Itamar Moses (the son of Israeli immigrants) and the evocative score of David Yazbek (the son of a Lebanese father and a half-Jewish mother) of "The Full Monty" fame—becomes a mutually rewarding experience for the residents and visitors alike and an alternately humorous and touching 90-minute odyssey for audience members.
Under Paul Daigneault's seamless direction, a big voiced cast shines in ensemble as well as solo and duo numbers. Jennifer Apple captures café owner Dina's resilience, tenacity and warmth. She delivers the standout number "Omar Sharif" with a winning combination of sentiment and sweetness.
Kareem Elsamadicy finds all of charismatic Haled's style and good nature—especially as he advises café worker Papi—played with proper diffidence by Jesse Garlick—in "Haled's Song About Love." Jared Troilo is very moving as fellow worker and father Itzik—particularly on "Itzik's Lullaby." Other strong efforts include Brian Thomas Abraham as band leading widower Colonel Tafiq, James Rana as composer-musician Simon, Robert Saoud as grandfather Avrum and Marianna Bassham as Itzik's conflicted wife Iris.
Jose Delgado conducts the band—featuring the pear-shaped oud and goblet shaped darbuka drum—with nuance and great feeling. Daniel Pelzig's evocative choreography ranges from Middle Eastern debka to a wonderfully exuberant and stunning roller skating rink sequence. Look for even a brief stretch in which Saoud sways and moves with the energy and spirit of Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof."
There are powerfully subtle moments of sharing between Israeli and Egyptian characters. Call "The Band's Visit", sharply staged by Huntington Theatre and SpeakEasy Stage Company, a sub-textual symphony to peace and understanding.