this show is not a mess. its not a great musical, don't get me wrong, but its a mostly enjoyable quick moving show with some fine performances. if anything, it suffers from expectations: David Hyde Pierce! At the Public! KItt! Yorkey! Sullivan! It feels like it should be an Event, and it isn't. But a mess of a show? Not in the slightest.
Some of the songs are great, though I think the score is not especially strong overall. The finest numbers go to Zainab, and the bigger ensemble numbers were pretty forgettable. But its a touching story, told well and to devastating effect. The central role is a sad wet noodle- so its critical that someone like DHP with so much Celebrity Capital handles it. Right off the bat, we recognize and like him, and can forgive the relatively little explanation we are given for why he's such a sad sack. What he lacks in vocals, he makes up for in passionate, committed singing- it almost fits the character that his singing is not much more than passable.
While I missed Stachel's voice here and there, Ahmad Maksoud is stepping up to the plate quite nicely. His character speaks with no accent, and I find it somewhat outrageous that his character ever did. What a fundamental and ugly misunderstanding of DACA eligible Americans, and I find it hard to stomach that Stachel was the first/only person to point out such lunacy. His character is somewhat underwritten but I thought his relationship with both Walter and Zainab felt genuine. Alysha Deslorieux probably has the most layered character and most traditionally Musical Theater in that Zainab is tough and protective but then uses her musical numbers to let us in her head a bit. Girl sings gorgeously throughout.
Is this a White Savior story? Yeah, on some level. Immigrants of color are in trouble and without resources; saintly White man gives of his time and resources to help as much as he could. If that tale as old as time bothers people, I get it. But ultimately the White Savior here is financially comfortable and securely at home in America, but hes a broken mess. Zainab and Tarek are living in fear of ICE and struggling to get by, but are happily in love, and whole. Walter is jealous of them, explicitly. And when he tries to get himself a piece of their happiness with Mouna, he's essentially rebuffed because the comfort he offers is nothing next to the familial bonds he is excluded from. Walter's big number in Act 2--which DHP delivered full of fury-- is a White man scolding himself/White America for it has become. So, yes, a White Savior, but one with a message of rebuke for his own apathy and society. I'd like to see more stories about immigrants that don't revolve around a White protagonist, so I get the criticism, but it hardly strikes me as a same ole predictable White Savior story that doesnt deserve its moment now.
running time was closer to 1 hr 45 min, fwiw.
