Many of the cast remembers have said that they traveled to Israel to get a feel for the place, the people and the accent before taking on their roles.
The Band’s Visit, the Broadway show based on an Israeli film, was nominated on Tuesday for a whopping 11 Tony Awards. That places the show just behind Mean Girls and Spongebob Squarepants for the most nominations overall, and tied with Angels in America. The Band’s Visit was nominated for best musical, best lead actor for Tony Shalhoub and best lead actress for Katrina Lenk. It was also nominated for best original score, for David Yazbek, best book, by Itamar Moses, best featured actor for Ariel Stachel and best direction, best orchestration, best scenic design, best sound design and best lighting design. Stachel, who comes from a Yemenite-Israeli family, plays Khaled in the show – his first ever role on Broadway.
