"One of the most ravishing musicals you will ever be seduced by...A Broadway rarity seldom found these days outside of the canon of Stephen Sondheim: an honest-to-God musical for grown-ups...Directed by David Cromer with an inspired inventiveness that never calls attention to itself, 'The Band’s Visit' flows with the grave and joyful insistence of life itself...Close to perfect musically...A miraculous show."
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"'The Band’s Visit,' which feels even richer on Broadway, is unconventionally wise. It is rare to encounter a show that has such a graceful sense of time...Moses’s book embraces the unspoken...Yazbek’s score includes not only wryly witty character songs but also joyous instrumentals...Directed with David Cromer with an unblinking eye, the other actors sketch memorable portraits...Bittersweet and built for adults."
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"Remains quietly ravishing...Sasson Gabay now stars as Tewfiq...His performance is bone-dry and bone-deep, and his scenes with the stunning Katrina Lenk retain the delicate balance she had opposite Tony Shalhoub, with a slight shift in emphasis: Gabay has a more somber and paternal presence...The richness of the writing, the nuances of David Cromer’s production and the continued excellence of the ensemble cast make each return visit a pleasure."
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"Cromer, Moses, and Yazbek are clearly unified in their pursuit of the specific and the humane over the grandiose...A play of deep integrity — funny, generous, sweet without sentimentality, poignant without melodrama, and emotionally expansive even as it insists upon its own smallness...'The Band’s Visit' is quietly modeling real theatrical and musical courage. Its sound—dense and atmospheric and drawn from a non-Western musical idiom—is utterly distinctive on Broadway."
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"Such minimalist material requires tremendous trust and patience, and Cromer has both, letting the story’s emotional music find its way to the surface...Plot-wise, 'The Band’s Visit' is a show about nothing, but it fills the stage with feeling—the muted kind that dwells in missed connections...'The Band’s Visit' doesn’t quite shake its cinematic roots but it succeeds on the strength of its cast and creators, who know exactly what, and when, to hold back."
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"The best musical of the year...Directed with supreme finesse by Cromer and performed by the best cast imaginable, this small-scale show is fine enough to fill you with fresh hope for a genre that has lately been running on fumes...Part of what makes 'The Band’s Visit' so special is that it steers clear of the obvious...Moses has translated the screenplay of 'The Band’s Visit' into musical-comedy terms with quiet skill...This fairy tale is one in which it is pure happiness to believe."
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"Feed your soul: Go see 'The Band’s Visit'...Has stayed with me in the year since it opened off-Broadway, like a dream from which I never wanted to awaken...David Cromer’s production and an incomparable ensemble could not be bettered...Each character is carefully fleshed out over the course of the show’s single act...'The Band’s Visit' flows as if in a seamless, tidal movement, like an ode."
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"Like a mirage, it shimmers. But better. Because this hushed, heart-melting musical is real — and truly magical...The show is a quiet musical meditation that casts a spell through its songs, alluring ambience, and excellent actors...The book packs warmth, wit, and economy. Irresistible songs blend strains of Arabic and Israeli melodies and flecks of jazz...One resists gushing about a musical that works so wonderfully because it never overstates. It doesn't belt. It whispers."
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