TOURING PRODUCTION OF THE BANDS VISIT @ PLAYHOUSE SQUARE

Through November 24, 2019

(216) 241-6000

Or www.playhousesquare.org

Roy Berko

“The Band’s Visit” is a slice of life, character-centered show, woven together with spoken and sung words and music, that is filled with caring humanism.  

To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.

Kerry Clawson

The elegantly written and performed work stays true to a comment original filmmaker Eran Kolirin made about the movie as it was being adapted for the stage: What if there were an orchestra for all the little things in life? In a story with simple conversations, where not much happens, the music treats every moment as important.

That makes the quote both at the beginning and end of the show quite the understatement: “Once, not long ago, a group of musicians came to Israel from Egypt. You probably didn’t hear about it. It wasn’t very important.”

To see a full review of this show, read Kerry Clawson's review here.

Howard Gollop

Considering "The Band's Visit" is basically about a relatively irrelevant burg in Israel, of all places, where nothing ever happens, one may wonder if it could possibly be the kind of Broadway musical that won a Tony Award for best musical in 2018. Yes it is.

Through interwoven vignettes of deceptive insignificance, the cast compels the audience to savor the complexities and simplicities of human life. What the Broadway incarnation of "The Band's Visit" may lack the original film's cinematic verisimilitude, it more than compensates with a richly hued soul-revealling score. David Yazbek's songs evoke longing, waiting (actually the name of a song), epic romance and intimate small-town life.

Mark Horning

Every so often a show comes along bringing its own special magic to the stage. This is such a show. Lasting only 100 minutes with no intermission it is probably the best theater time you can experience. Bring someone you love to share in the magic.

To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.

Laura Kennelly

BOTTOM LINE: Tonic for the mind and soul. Watching it is like watching a tale from the Thousand and One Nights come to life. Moonlight, romance, music, and longing combine to weave a subtle musical magic in only 90 minutes.

To see a full review of this show see or read Laura's posts at Cool Cleveland.

Andrea Simakis

‘The Band’s Visit’ at Playhouse Square is a joyous musical celebration of life’s big questions at the scale of the human heart.

To see a full review of this show, read Andrea Simakis' blog or visit Cleveland.com here.