Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The stage adaptation of THE KITE RUNNER is mired by dutiful, play-by-play storytelling

• By drediman
• August 9, 2022
• No Comments

One of the first entries of the nascent 2022-2023 Broadway season is Matthew Spangler’s stage adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s seminal 2003 novel The Kite Runner, which I caught this past weekend at the Helen Hayes Theatre. The production finally makes its way to New York after various runs in the U.K. (including a 2017 stint in the West End), as well as a run out west at San Jose Repertory Theatre. The story chronicles the life of the character Amir from a sensitive boy in Kabul to his harrowing escape from Afghanistan with his father to his eventual adulthood in San Francisco. All the while, he is tormented and haunted by an act of betrayal he committed as a boy towards Hassan, his childhood friend and the son of his family’s longtime servant.

In short, the adaptation of Mr. Hosseini’s bestselling novel comes arrives on the stage with good intentions but is only intermittently comes to life in theatrical terms. Indeed, although Mr. Spangler’s narrative-heavy adaptation faithfully and neatly fits in the plot’s parade of events via efficient play-by-play theatrical storytelling, it registers more as a dutiful transposal of the novel than it does an inspired one. As such, the play loses steam about halfway through the story (the segment depicting Amir’s adult life in the United States particularly falls flat). Only towards the end of the plot when the character returns to Afghanistan does the pulse of the production speed up again. Additionally, director Giles Croft’s simplistic staging lacks the masterful theatrical invention of such page-to-stage adaptations such as The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and even Coram Boy.

Nevertheless, there’s no disputing that the inherent beauty of Mr. Hosseini’s story. Taken strictly as an act of storytelling, the production at the Helen Hayes is effective enough. The acting by the ensemble company is admirably earnest. In the central role of Amir, The Blacklist‘s Amir Arison is heartfelt if ultimately unremarkable. Coming across most affectingly is the haunting, radiant performance of Eric Sirakian as Hassan; his work is the heart and soul of the production and embodies everything that’s missing from this stage adaptation of The Kite Runner.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED

THE KITE RUNNER
Broadway, Play
Helen Hayes Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through October 30