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We Live in Cairo

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Book, Music & Lyrics by The Lazours
Choreography & Movement Direction by Ann Yee
Directed by Taibi Magar

2024/25 Season

October 9, 2024—November 24, 2024

Read Synopsis

Inspired by the young Egyptians who took to the streets amidst the throes of the Arab Spring, We Live in Cairo follows six student activists using their street art, photography and song to overthrow a regime older than they are. Winner of the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater, this soaring new musical from Jonathan Larson Grant winners and NYTW Usual Suspects Daniel & Patrick Lazour journeys from the jubilation of the Tahrir Square protests through the aftermath of the years that followed. As escalating division and violence lead to a military crackdown, the young revolutionaries of Cairo must weigh the cost of how—or even whether—to keep their dreams of change alive. Obie Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Taibi Magar (The Half-God of Rainfall) directs.

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CAST / CREATIVE

  • Ali Louis Bourzgui

    Amir

    Ali is a Moroccan-American actor, singer, musician and creator based in NYC. Fresh off his Broadway debut as Tommy in Des McAnuff and Pete Townshend’s revival of The Who’s Tommy, he has received a Theatre World Award, Jeff Award, an Outer Critics Circle and a Drama League nomination for the role. Recent work includes Paul in the Company 1st National Tour, Haled in The Band’s Visit National Tour and Young Mazin/Yousif in The Goodman’s World Premiere play, Layalina. He recently wrapped filming the short film The Ghost Light (Tiny Viking Productions). You can also hear his voice on the Monkeypaw/Gimlet horror podcast “Quiet Part Loud” produced by Jordan Peele. Originally from Pittsfield, MA, he holds nature, art and community dear. When not performing you can usually find him hiking, gardening, geeking out over jazz, playing guitar and writing music with his songwriting duo Resident Lightweight (debut album coming soon).

  • Drew Elhamalawy

    Hassan

    (he/him) NYTW debut. Drew could not be more grateful to be part of this company. Recent credits include: The Queen of Versailles (Pre-Broadway), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (The MUNY), The 2024 MET Gala, Transcendence Theatre Company, Weathervane, etc. Shenandoah University Alum (M.S., B.F.A.) All love! Nothing but it! @DrewElhamalawy @DrewXPhotography

  • John El-Jor

    Karim

    NYTW debut. Film/TV: Mean Girls (Paramount), The Outlaws (Amazon Prime), Elsbeth (CBS), and FBI: Most Wanted (CBS), American Idol Season 21 (ABC), Slanted! Enchanted! (Matador Records). Off-Broadway: Hip Hop Cinderella (New Victory Theatre), Slanted! Enchanted! (Sheen Center), Rough Trade (The Public). Additional Projects: Tell Them I’m Still Young (New York Stage and Film), Untitled Hunter S. Thompson Musical (La Jolla/NYSAF), SHOOK (Northern Stage), Pump Up The Volume (ATF), and Purple Rain (New York Workshop). He holds a BFA from Penn State Musical Theatre. He is represented by HCKR and managed by Rochel Saks at SAKS&. Socials: @johneljor / www.johneljor.com

  • Nadina Hassan

    Layla

    NYTW debut! Nadina (she/her) is a proud Egyptian/Colombian actor based in New York City, originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan and cannot wait to share this story with New York and the world. After college, Nadina toured the country starring as Regina George in the 1st National Tour of Tina Fey’s Mean Girls the musical. Upon moving to New York after tour, Nadina performed in the annual Lyrics & Lyricists concert at the 92nd St. Y honoring the late Howard Ashman directed by Christian Borle. Select regional credits: West Side Story (Maria), Cabaret (Sally Bowles), Be More Chill (Brooke), and Tick, Tick… BOOM (Susan). Recent film credits: Voice Toy (Bowsprit Productions), Satellite (Go Be One Motion Pictures), and Spinning (Bowsprit Productions). She is a proud Baldwin Wallace University alum. @nadinahassan www.nadinahassan.com

  • Michael Khalid Karadsheh

    Hany

    Michael is delighted to make his NYTW debut. Off-Broadway: The Ally (The Public Theater). Other New York credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Classical Theatre of Harlem), The Most Oppressed of All (Target Margin Theater), and The Wilder Shorts (Lenfest Center for the Arts). Regional: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare on the Sound), Tomorrow Will Be Sunday (Chautauqua Theater Company), Sabra Falling (In The Heart of the Beast). TV/Film: “Everything’s Trash” (Freeform/Hulu). Michael received his MFA in acting at Columbia University and his BA from Macalester College.

  • Rotana Tarabzouni

    Fadwa

    I am deeply proud to be a Palestinian woman. I am deeply proud to be an artist and ever in service of our humanity. But these days, my faith in our humanity has been shaken. This humanity that allows the Palestinian people, be they a grown man or a newborn baby, to be starved, dehumanized and extinguished. As of September 5, 2024, at least 16,500 children have been killed in Gaza. My faith is shaken. But the faith I do have is in our art. This art of theatre which teaches us to find empathy for unimaginable circumstances. From this empathy we are creating this show and the space we will soon share together.  May you know me and may I know you. For when we are unknown we may be hated. So may we be known. And when we are known may we be loved. And when we are loved may we allow each other the dignity that is all of our birthright.

The Lazours / Book, Music & Lyrics

Daniel and Patrick Lazour are brothers and music theatre writers. Projects in development include a musical adaptation of Ritesh Batra’s film The Lunchbox (Lincoln Center Theater) and their show with communal singing, Night Side Songs (Under the Radar, PTC/A.R.T. co-production). They wrote original music for Caroline Lindy’s debut feature, Your Monster (Sundance 2024) and their movie musical Challenger: An American Dream is being developed with Bruce Cohen Productions and Spark Features. Their musical We Live in Cairo had its first production at American Repertory Theater in 2019, directed by Taibi Magar. Original songs by the Lazours can be heard on their independently released albums: Freres, Flap My Wings (Songs from We Live in Cairo), Beth’s Homemade Cowboy Breakfast and Lullabies. They are Jonathan Larson Grant and Richard Rodgers Award recipients, MacDowell and Yaddo Fellows, and New York Theater Workshop Usual Suspects. They have worked with Noor Theatre Company, Ars Nova and PAC NYC, and are proud teaching artists. Patrick holds a B.A. from Boston College and Daniel holds a B.A. from Columbia University. @frereslazour

Taibi Magar / Director

Taibi Magar is an Artistic Director of Philadelphia Theatre Company. As a freelance director, her most recent credits are: Half-God of Rainfall (NYTW), Help (The Shed) and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (Signature Theatre, Lortel Award Best Revival). Other NY credits include: Capsule by Whitney White and Peter Mark Kendall (Under the Radar Festival/The Public Theater, co-directed with Tyler Dobrowsky) Blue Ridge starring Marin Ireland and The Great Leap starring BD Wong (Atlantic Theater Company); Is God Is (Soho Rep, 2018 Obie Award;) Master (The Foundry); and Underground Railroad Game (Ars Nova, Obie Award). Regional: CTG, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, Alley Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, and Seattle Repertory Theatre, among others. International: Hamburg Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Malthouse Theatre (Melbourne), and Soho Theatre (London). MFA: Brown University 

 

Ann Yee / Choreography & Movement Director

Tilly Grimes / Scenic Design

Dina El-Aziz / Costume Design

Bradley King / Lighting Design

Justin Stasiw / Sound Design

David Bengali / Video Design

Daniel Lazour & Michael Starobin / Orchestrations

Madeline Benson / Vocal Arrangements & Music Supervisor

Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh / Music Director

Xavier Clark / Voice & Text Coach

Jon Knust / Properties Supervisor

Jon is happy to be making his NYTW debut. Selected credits include: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Broadway); Waiting for Godot, Des Moines, The Merchant of Venice, Gnit, The Winter’s Tale, The Skin of Our Teeth, About Alice, The Father, and A Doll’s House (TFANA); A Bright New Boise, Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, Big Love and Appropriate (Signature); and Peter and the Starcatcher (tour). Jon got his start in props at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University.

Raphael Mishler / Puppet

Claire Yenson / Casting

Jeff Brancato / Production Stage Manager

NEWS

ADDITIONAL CREDITS

We Live in Cairo is produced by special arrangement with Madison Wells Live.

ORIGIN STORY

The world premiere of We Live in Cairo was produced by the American Repertory Theater (Diane Paulus, Artistic Director; Diane Borger, Executive Producer).

We Live in Cairo was presented at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals in 2016.

We Live in Cairo was developed during a residency at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Music Theatre Conference in 2015 (Preston Whiteway, Executive Director; Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director).

We Live in Cairo was developed, in part, at SPACE on Ryder Farm.

We Live in Cairo was developed in part during a New York Theatre Workshop residency with the Theater Department at Dartmouth College, in collaboration with Dartmouth’s Hopkins Center for the Arts in 2018.

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