Sasson Gabay Joins Tony Award-winning Best Musical, THE BAND'S VISIT

SASSON GABAY

WILL MAKE HIS BROADWAY DEBUT AS “TEWFIQ”

IN THE 10-TIME TONY AWARD-WINNING BEST MUSICAL, THE BAND’S VISIT

REPRISING THE AWARD-WINNING ROLE HE CREATED IN THE FILM

BEGINNING TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2018

WINNER OF 10 TONY AWARDS – INCLUDING

BEST MUSICAL

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – David Yazbek

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL – Itamar Moses

BEST ACTRESS – Katrina Lenk

BEST ACTOR – Tony Shalhoub

BEST FEATURED ACTOR – Ari’el Stachel

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN – Tyler Micoleau

BEST SOUND DESIGN – Kai Harada

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS – Jamshied Sharifi

BEST DIRECTOR – David Cromer

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(New York, NY) Producers announced today the award-winning Israeli actor Sasson Gabay will make his Broadway debut as “Tewfiq” in the 10-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical, THE BAND’S VISIT, reprising the character he created in the 2007 film on which the musical is based. Sasson Gabay will begin performances in THE BAND’S VISIT on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

“Sasson Gabay is an icon of Israeli cinema, and we are thrilled this prolific Israeli actor will be making his Broadway debut in The Band’s Visit,” said Tony Award-winning director, David Cromer. “It has been fascinating to work with Sasson as he returns to a role he created on the screen as he reinterprets Tewfiq for the stage, in a Tony Award-winning musical.”

The Israeli star of stage, TV and screen, Sasson Gabay recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Israeli cinema at the Israeli Film Festival. Gabay is one of the most respected and outstanding actors in Israeli film with work spanning five decades, including some of Israel's most popular and critically-acclaimed films as well as international hits such as Rambo III, Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem, Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol and The Band's Visit (Israel's top-grossing film in the US).

The critically-acclaimed, best reviewed new Broadway musical of the season, THE BAND’S VISIT, has won “Best Musical” awards from the Tony Awards, Drama League, New York Drama Critics’ Circle, the Outer Critics Circle, the Lucille Lortel and the Obies.

THE BAND’S VISIT opened at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street) on Thursday, November 9, 2017, featuring music and lyrics by Tony and Drama Desk Award winner David Yazbek, and a book by Tony Award, NY Drama Critics Circle, Lortel and Outer Critics Circle awards winner Itamar Moses. It is based on the screenplay by Eran Kolirin, and is directed by Tony, Drama Desk, Lortel & Obie Award winner David Cromer.

The Broadway company of THE BAND’S VISIT currently includes Tony Award winner Katrina Lenk, Dariush Kashani, John Cariani, Tony Award winner Ari'el Stachel, George Abud, Etai Benson, Adam Kantor, Andrew Polk, Bill Army, Rachel Prather, Jonathan Raviv, Sharone Sayegh, Kristen Sieh, Alok Tewari, Layan Elwazani, Pomme Koch, Ahmad Maksoud, Madison Micucci and James Rana. Musicians include Andrea Grody, Alexandra Eckhardt, Ossama Farouk, Philip Mayer, Sam Sadigursky, Jeff Theiss, Harvey Valdes and Garo Yellin.

Sasson Gabay is appearing with the support of Actors' Equity Association.

THE BAND’S VISIT world premiere opened to critical acclaim at the Atlantic Theater Company on December 8, 2016, where the sold-out, limited engagement extended twice, playing its final performance on Sunday, January 8, 2017.

THE BAND’S VISIT has won 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score (David Yazbek), Best Book (Itamar Moses), Lead Actress (Katrina Lenk), Lead Actor (Tony Shalhoub), Featured Actor (Ari’el Stachel), Lighting Design (Tyler Micoleau), Sound Design (Kai Harada), Orchestrations (Jamshied Sharifi) and Director (David Cromer); the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical; the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical; two Lucille Lortel Awards, for Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical (Katrina Lenk); two Outer Critics Circle Awards, for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical and Outstanding Score (David Yazbek); two Obie Awards, for Musical Theater (David Yazbek & Itamar Moses), and Directing (David Cromer); three Drama Desk Awards, for Outstanding Director of a Musical (David Cromer), Outstanding Music (David Yazbek) and Outstanding Lyrics (David Yazbek); The Joe A. Callaway Award for outstanding direction (David Cromer); The Dramatists Guild’s 2017 Frederick Loewe Award for Dramatic Composition for David Yazbek’s score; and Theatre World Award’s Dorothy Louden Award for Theatre Excellence (Katrina Lenk). THE BAND’S VISIT has broken the all-time box office record at Broadway’s Barrymore Theatre twice.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of THE BAND’S VISIT was released by Ghostlight Records and is available digitally and in stores everywhere. Kurt Deutsch served as album executive producer; David Yazbek and Dean Sharenow served as producers.

After a mix-up at the border, an Egyptian Police Band is sent to a remote village in the middle of the Israeli desert. With no bus until morning and no hotel in sight, these unlikely travelers are taken in by the locals. Under the spell of the desert sky, their lives become intertwined in the most unexpected ways. THE BAND’S VISIT celebrates the deeply human ways music, longing and laughter can connect us all.

The creative team includes Patrick McCollum (Choreography), Scott Pask (Set Design), Sarah Laux (Costume Design), Tony Award winner Tyler Micoleau (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Kai Harada (Sound Design), Maya Ciarrocchi (Projection Design), Charles G. LaPointe (Hair Designer), Tony Award winner Jamshied Sharifi (Orchestrations), Andrea Grody (Music Supervisor, Music Director & Additional Arrangements) and Dean Sharenow (Music Supervisor & Music Coordinator).

THE BAND’S VISIT is produced by Orin Wolf, StylesFour Productions, Evamere Entertainment, Atlantic Theater Company, David F. Schwartz, Barbara Broccoli, Frederick Zollo, Grove•REG, Lassen Blume Baldwin, Thomas Steven Perakos, Marc Platt, The Shubert Organization, The Baruch/Routh/Frankel/Viertel Group, Robert Cole, DeRoy-Carr-Klausner, Federman-Moellenberg, FilmNation Entertainment, Roy Furman, FVSL Theatricals, Hendel-Karmazin, HoriPro Inc., IPN, JAM Theatricals, The John Gore Organization, Koenigsberg-Krauss, David Mirvish, James L. Nederlander, Al Nocciolino, Once Upon A Time Productions, Susan Rose and Paul Shiverick. The Executive Producer for THE BAND’S VISIT is Allan Williams.

The North American Tour of The Band’s Visit will launch in Providence, Rhode Island in June 2019. Exact dates and additional cities will be announced at a later date.

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) holds the worldwide licensing rights to The Band’s Visit.

Ticket Information

Tickets ($49 – $169, including the $2 facility fee) are available at telecharge.com, 212.239.6200, or at the Barrymore Theatre box office (243 West 47th Street). For groups of 10 or more, please contact Broadway Inbound at broadwayinbound.com or 866.302.0995.

Performance Schedule

The performance schedule for THE BAND’S VISIT is: Tuesday – Thursday at 7pm; Friday & Saturday at 8pm; with matinees at 2pm on Wednesday & Saturday; Sunday at 3pm.

TheBandsVisitMusical.com

@TheBandsVisit

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