Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The world premiere musical THE VISITOR possesses heart and worthwhile intentions but is still in search of its identity

• By drediman
• November 5, 2021
• No Comments

Last night, the highly anticipated new musical The Visitor opened at the Public Theater. Based on the 2007 film of the the same name, the show, which has been in development for a number of years now and was supposed to have commenced performances back in March 2020, features a score by Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (lyrics) – the same duo responsible for the Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal – and a book by British playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah. Given the pedigree of the creative team, the piece arrives at the Public with significant hype. The musical tells the story of an economics professor who, while still mourning over the loss of his wife, encounters and forms a close bond with three undocumented immigrants (Tarek, Zainab, and Mouna), thereby changing the trajectory of all of their lives.

In its current state, the work is still very much a work in progress. Mr. Kwei-Armah’s book attempts to strip down the story to its bare essence, focusing solely on the journeys of the show’s four central characters. However, in its minimalism and general exclusion of the world around these protagonists, the musical ultimately comes across as skeletal – resulting in an awkward juxtaposition between the musical’s main characters and the hard-working ensemble that surrounds them – rather than poetically streamlined. As for the score, I find the inherent pop rock sensibility of Mr. Kitt’s music to be at times at odds with the underlying emotional turmoil of the material, particularly as experienced through the lens of the “other” (a challenge that David Yazbek navigated through so brilliantly in The Band’s Visit). Despite my misgivings, the show has real real heart, and some of Mr. Kitt’s music is admittedly quite lovely, mostly veering away from the driving rock rhythms of his previous musicals. Indeed, somewhere in there is a compelling chamber musical waiting to be discovered. Suffice to say, The Visitor, with its worthwhile intentions and themes, deserves further nurturing.

Veteran stage director Daniel Sullivan – more known for his work on straight plays rather than musicals – stages the piece efficiently if unremarkably. The cast is led by David Hyde Pierce, who plays the aforementioned economist with great nuance and captivating sensitivity, minimizing any sort of “white savior” aftertaste the musical may be tempted to inspire. Even at this point in the show’s development, his performance is already well-drawn and is currently the rock onto which the production latches. Other notable performances come from Alysha Deslorieux (Zainab) and Jacqueline Antaramian (Mouna), two actresses who have dug deep to come up with performances of convincing authenticity. Unfortunately, in the central role of Tarek, Ahmad Maksoud – who took over from Tony-winner Ari’el Stachel, who amicably departed the production over a disagreement about the character – has yet to find the character’s voice. Similarly, at this juncture, The Visitor, is sill very much a musical searching for its true identity.

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THE VISITOR
Off-Broadway, Musical
The Public Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 5