Why The Band's Visit Should Really Be A Classic British Musical

Now I'm generally not that up to date with contemporary Broadway shows, or anything, really. (I'm still using Blogger, for heaven's sake.) Which is one of the reasons why I've only recently caught up with The Band's Visit. 

If I'm honest, a lot of modern Broadway doesn't always float my flotilla; generally speaking, I prefer the older stuff. And I'm also getting very parochial (blame it on Brexit) and tend to be more interested in musicals from this side of the pond. But The Band's Visit feels very different. For, despite being both modern and Broadway, The Band's Visit feels more like a classic and, frankly, just a little bit British.

I should caveat the following by saying that I've never seen the show. For reasons unfathomable, I don't think it's ever been performed in the UK. I'm going by the cast recording, a few video clips, podcasts, reviews and whatever else I could find. I still haven't quite grasped the plot and only have a vague idea of the staging, so I could be barking up the wrong lamppost here.

But bear with me.

Firstly, the British connection. I appreciate it's not obvious. The show is based on an Israeli film and that the story is set in Israel. It was written and produced by a bunch of Americans and the eclectic score uses Arab instrumentation, Jewish scales and jazz harmonies. (By the way, how does that score hang together? I mean, it does, but how?) In fact, as far as I can tell, there is zero British input or influence.

But bear with me.

You see, it has emotional reticence and emotional reticence is, traditionally, a very British trait. The whole 'stiff upper lip' understatement thing is part of our national stereotype and, like all good stereotypes, contains at least a smidgen of truth. And that emotional reticence is the opposite of what we often get in modern Broadway musicals where characters tend to express their emotions fully and openly. In the Band's Visit, the emotions are bubbling away under the surface.

It's a bit like whale watching. 

Unlikely analogy coming up.

But bear with me. 

I once went on one of those touristy whale watching trips. It was memorable, even though you never actually see a whale, only part of one. What you see is the arch of their back whenever a whale surfaces. Then, as they dive, the tail fin rises out of the water and, for a moment, you get the sense of their size and beauty.

This is what it feels like listening to The Band's Visit. Often the emotion is below the surface. When it breaks the surface, you get a glimpse of what is going on inside. It's only a glimpse but it's enough to get a sense of the whole. The effect is to work on our imaginations. Like the whale, we don't see everything but we can imagine the whole.  

Take the big song from the show, "Omar Sharif". 

The emotion is obviously there with that beautiful minor melody. But it doesn't really burst through until the bridge where the words turn more abstract and poetic:

"And the living room becomes a garden

And the TV set becomes a fountain

And the music flows in the garden

And everything grows"

Then, as soon as its surfaced, the emotion recedes. And I love the way the actor playing Tewfiq (Tony Shalhoub) just sits through the whole thing with a contented little smile on his face.

This all reminds me of a story about the Gershwins. 

Tangential anecdote coming up.

But bear with me.

The Gershwins were introducing their new song "They Can't Take That Away From Me" to a potential producer. They started singing - "The way you wear your hat / The way you sip your tea..." - but only got as far as the second line when the producer called them a halt. "This is a love song, right?" he asked. 

You see, in those days, love songs sidled up to you and gently murmured something about hats. Nowadays, they tend to deafen with Celine Dion-volume vocals. I wrote something about that difference in an old post with click-baity title of Everyone Says I Love You (Oblique and Declamatory). 

The point is that the old songs had more emotional reticence and perhaps this is why The Band's Visit feels closer to a classic show than a modern one.

Now, if you're still bear-ing with me, then you're probably expecting Goldilocks to turn up any moment. So I'd better leave a bowl of porridge and wrap things up.

Basically The Band's Visit is one of the most exciting things I've heard in a long time and I'm still trying to work out why.

It's experimental but feels old-fashioned. 

It's full of foreign sounds but feels oddly British. 

In short, it feels like something different.

Definitely worth bearing with.