Photos by Matthew Murphy

Taking home ten Tony Awards would’ve been a magnificent feat in and of itself, but “The Band’s Visit” became the fourth in all of Broadway history to take home the “Big Six”: “Best Musical,” “Best Book,” “Best Score,” “Best Actor In A Musical,” “Best Actress In A Musical” and “Best Direction Of A Musical.” Along with a 2019 Grammy Award for “Best Musical Theater Album,” expectations sure were set high as to whether or not the show would align with the buildup, but Chicago audiences at the Cadillac Palace Theatre (where it runs through September 15) thus far seemed supportive.

Despite geographic and language differences throughout “The Band’s Visit,” the bonds, connections and commonalities formed between everyone are enlightening and applicable to any culture.

As far as opening night went, the top-notch cast (headed by Sasson Gabay as Tewfiq and Chilina Kennedy as Dina) and musicians earned all those accolades for their adaptation of the 2007 Israeli film with the same name. In a nutshell, the story centers around an Egyptian Police Band on their way to a concert at an Arab cultural center, but after a mistake at the bus station’s ticket booth, wind up in a rarely visited region of the Israeli desert.

Luckily, the locals are willing to take in these strangers for the evening, since the next bus naturally doesn’t come until the morning, but it’s what happens overnight that sets the stage for mostly a drama with enough chuckles to even out the mood. Despite geographic and language differences (outside bits of shared English), the bonds, connections and commonalities formed between everyone are enlightening and applicable to any culture.

“The Band’s Visit” runs around 100 minutes without an intermission, and while it takes its time getting there and could probably benefit from a break, it’s worth paying attention to every subtlety to get the richer meaning behind each seemingly ordinary daily occurrence. It’s also worth sticking around after the curtain call for an internationally-flavored instrumental that might not have resemble typical Broadway conventions, but found a welcome place with those who embraced this unique and quaint buzz builder.

“The Band’s Visit” continues at the Cadillac Palace Theatre through Sept. 15. For additional details, visit TheBandsVisitMusical.com and BroadwayInChicago.com.

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