Published: 11 June 2018
Last updated: 5 March 2024
The Band’s Visit, about an Egyptian band that accidentally winds up in a dusty Israeli backwater, won awards for best direction, leading actor, leading actress, orchestration, sound design, original score, best book of a musical, lighting and featured actor Ari’el Stachel, who gave a heartfelt speech about his Israeli-American heritage.
“For so many years of my life I pretended I was not a Middle Eastern person,” he said, addressing his Israeli-Yemeni father and Ashkenazi New York mother in the audience. He thanked the creators of the show “for being courageous for telling a small story about Arabs and Israelis getting along at a time that we need that more than ever.”
FULL STORY ‘The Band’s Visit,’ based on Israeli film, wins best musical in Tony sweep (Times of Israel)
Photo: scene from the Broadway show
