I adore “Haled’s Song About Love,” but to me, “The Beat of Your Heart” is the key to the entire show. It seems like just a story song, and it certainly works to help integrate the two band members (Simon and Camal) staying with Itzik’s family. But Avrum’s sweet tale of how, as a young musician, he met the woman he would marry—and how even now, after her death, the right music brings her back—that is the heart of THE BAND’S VISIT. How music brings us together, how we make connections, how we remember. Those themes play out in every interaction with every character.
I’m still heartbroken that Covid cancelled the first proposed tour of this show, and when it did reach LA, it was the peak of the Omicron surge. I have elderly and immune-compromised family, and I couldn’t risk it. I suspect I may never see a production.
Laura in LA |