The cast is set for the upcoming national tour of the The Band's Visit. Reprising his performance as Tewfiq will be Israeli film star Sasson Gabay, who originated the role of the Egyptian police band leader in the 2007 movie before stepping into the Tony-winning musical adaptation on Broadway.
Joining him as Dina will be Chilina Kennedy, a perennial leading player in Beautiful—The Carole King Musical (she recently returned to the title role on Broadway). The Canadian performer has also been seen in Jesus Christ Superstar and This Ain't No Disco.
The tour will launch June 25 at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Rhode Island before going on to play over 30 cities in its first season, including Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, and Washington, D.C.
Three other alumni from the Broadway production will take the show on the road: Joe Joseph as Haled, Pomme Koch as Itzik, and James Rana as Simon. The cast will also include Adam Gabay (Sasson Gabay's son) as Papi, Jennifer Apple as Anna, Marc Ginsburg as Sammy, Kendal Hartse as Iris, Sara Kapner as Julia, Ronnie Malley as Camal, Or Schraiber as Zelger, David Studwell as Avrum, and Mike Cefalo as Telephone Guy.Rounding out the company as understudies are Danny Burgos, Loren Lester, Nick Sacks, Hannah Shankman, and Bligh Voth.
The Band's Visit, about an Egyptian police orchestra accidentally stranded in an Israeli desert town and the unexpected bonds that form over their single day there, premiered at Off-Broadway's Atlantic Theater Company before opening on Broadway in November 2017.
The Orin Wolf-produced musical went on to win 10 Tony Awards the following year: Best Musical, Best Original Score for David Yazbek, Best Book of a Musical for Itamar Moses, Best Direction of a Musical for David Cromer, Best Orchestrations for Jamshied Sharifi, Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Tyler Micoleau, Best Sound Design of a Musical for Kai Harada, and wins for original stars Tony Shalhoub, Katrina Lenk, and Ari'el Stachel.
The staging also features choreography by Patrick McCollum, sets by Scott Pask, costumes by Sarah Laux, and projections by Maya Ciarrocchi. Andrea Grody and Dean Sharenow serve as music supervisors.
