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| Sasson Gabay & Janet Dacal Photo by Evan Zimmerman, MurphyMade |
By Emily Mai/ASU Gammage
The Band’s Visit follows an Egyptian band that by a miscommunication accidentally arrives in an isolated desert town in Israel and shows the band’s interactions with the town’s forlorn Arabic inhabitants as they must communicate and rely on these total strangers.
“We [should] all embrace strangers, rather than push them away, they can impact us in beautiful and meaningful ways,” said Janet Dacal, the lead actress of the national tour of The Band’s Visit, coming to ASU Gammage February 8-13.
Dacal plays the role of Dina, a local café owner in the town. She is the first person to offer the musicians help by offering them food and shelter for the night. She has experienced love and loss but has lost sight of her hope for the future.
Dacal has also portrayed other strong female characters such as Carla from In The Heights and Alice from Wonderland.
“I think that this role is one of the most beautiful roles written for women in the musical theater genre in a very, very long time,” Dacal said.
The story focuses on two very different groups of people, the Egyptian musicians and the Israeli locals, who speak different languages and must communicate using a tentative English. The language barrier between the two groups creates obstacles for them and only becomes bridged through the music and culture the two groups share.
Dina starts as a woman who is just living her life from one day to the next, but as the musical progresses, she continues to open up and learn new things about herself by speaking with these new visitors. This is a story about the revitalization of life within the members of the town.
“I feel like all of us human beings are living our lives day to day not yet knowing when the moment will come that will change us,” Dacal said. “Whether it’s significant or just something that nudges us in a very minimal way that eventually has a very long impact.”
The Band’s Visit is a representative story of the diverse lives and cultures in the Middle East, but the story also goes beyond that and becomes representative of the human experience as a whole.
“It's an opportunity for people to see themselves on stage and for people to be exposed to different cultures, different music, and see that at our core, we're really all the same, but it is a celebration of humanity and how we are able to relate to each other despite our differences,” said Dacal.
In the wake of the pandemic, many people have experienced some form of isolation and a need for something to change in the world. The characters in The Band’s Visit embody the spirit of these very human needs and tendencies.
“I promise that you will be moved in some capacity and given the time that we're living in having that connection and sort of experiencing the show will make an impression,” Dacal said.
“The Band’s Visit” will be at ASU Gammage from February 8-13. For tickets and more information visit https://www.asugammage.com/bandsvisit
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| The National Tour Cast of The Band's Visit Photo by Evan Zimmerman, MurphyMade |
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