THE BAND'S VISIT - A Charming Musical Delight that Doesn't Overstay Its Welcome

The new musical THE BAND'S VISIT is by veteran composer/lyricist David Yazbek (b Amer 1961). His previous Tony nominated musicals include THE FULL MONTY, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS &  WOMEN on the VERGE of a NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.  THE BAND's VISIT is based the true, inadvertent but serendipitous stopover of an Egyptian Band in a small Israeli town.  The Band was invited in 1966 to come to Israel to perform at the Cultural Center in a nearby, similarly named village but the language barrier resulted in the band's bus arrival in the wrong village.  This village doesn't have a cultural center or much of anything else for the inhabitants to do but wait & put their lives on hold.  "Waiting" for what, no one knows.  Tewfiq, the band leader (the always stupendous Tony Shalhoub) entreats in broken English hospitality from Dina (a lovely Katrin Lenk) the owner of the local small cafe.  Dina and the locals sing "Welcome to Nowhere" and graciously open their doors to these strangers from Egypt, a longstanding foe nation to Israel.  The invite, which initially surprises the locals, is intended as a peace broaching effort.  It's no surprise (blah blah) with shared close quarters & the universal language of music, commonalities are drawn & mutual admiration grows.  There is a bountiful blending of musical styles, Arabic, Israeli, classical, jazz, lullabies and possibly hymns all performed by the actors/musicians onstage.  The multiple characters share their family histories, fallibilites and bestow simple acts of kindness.  A symbiotic symphony is conducted by Tewfiq, Dina who are followed by the likable, kindhearted townspeople and foreigners.  My favorite numbers were both love songs: "The Beat of Your Heart" & "Haled's Song About Love".   Haled (Ari'el Stachel in his B'wy debut) was a standout character in the fray.  Some of the storylines sunk but this charming musical never overstayed its upbeat welcome like guests who've stunk.