New York Theatre Workshop Introduces New Series Highlighting WE LIVE IN CAIRO

New York Theatre Workshop has announced details for their For The Culture Series for We Live in Cairo. Featuring a book, music & lyrics by Jonathan Larson Grant winners and NYTW Usual Suspects The Lazours (Night Side Songs), choreography and movement direction by Ann Yee (Next to Normal), and direction by Obie Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Taibi Magar (The Half-God of Rainfall), We Live in Cairo will begin previews October 9, 2024, at New York Theatre Workshop (79 E 4th Street), with opening night set for October 27, for a run through November 24, 2024.

 

Through their For The Culture Series (FTC), NYTW seeks to bridge the gap between the world we know and the world we are actively striving to build – where we harness the power of theatre to deepen human connections by learning and growing from the lived experiences of each other; connect through art, shared customs, traditions and heritage(s); and where we amplify artists and work by traditionally underrepresented groups or individuals, creating access to the Workshop for historically marginalized communities in order to build and sustain authentic relationships with our fellow community members and theatergoers.

 

For the Culture affinity events will be held on select dates and will include the following:

Tuesday October 15 – AFTERWORDS: DESIGNING WE LIVE IN CAIRO

Please join us for a post-show conversation with members of the creative team to hear about the development of We Live in Cairo. Moderated by NYTW Community Engagement Associate, Gaven Trinidad.

Wednesday October 16 @ 5pm – MENA SOCIAL NIGHT

TIMEP's quarterly MENA Social Night is coming to NYC! Join the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) and the MENA Artists Initiative at a special pre-show gathering to celebrate We Live in Cairo before attending the evening performance. Location TBA.

Wednesday October 16 – AFTERWORDS: ARTIST ACTIVISM

Stick around after the performance for a discussion about artist activism and the impact of artists in the fight for human rights. The panel is co-sponsored by the MENA Artists Initiative.

Saturday October 19 @ 1pm – NYTW OPEN HOUSE

As part of LES Arts & Culture Open House, New York Theatre Workshop will open its doors for a behind-the-scenes look at We Live in Cairo. The tours will bring the public through the theatre and administrative building, at which they will learn the history of the theatre and its spaces. In addition, an information table will be available throughout the afternoon, where you can ask staff members about upcoming community programs. Spots for tours are limited and will be first-come, first-served beginning at 4pm. Sign-ups will be at our table the day of the event. Please note that access to parts of the building during the tour are via a stoop and several flights of stairs.

Sunday October 20 – HORREYA NIGHT

Keep the music going! Join MENA artists after the evening performance to celebrate the first performances of We Live in Cairo. Join us for light bites and an Open Mic night for artists to share original poetry, music, dance, and other forms of artistic expression. This event is co-sponsored by MENA Artist Initiative. Horreya Night will be held in the Fourth Street Theatre which is accessed by climbing eight steps from street level. Unfortunately, the building is not equipped with an elevator.

 

Tuesday October 22 – AFTERWORDS: IN CONVERSATION WITH DANIEL & Patrick Lazour AND Taibi Magar

Please join us following the performance in a conversation with writers Daniel & Patrick Lazour and director Taibi Magar to hear about the origins of the piece, their multi-year collaboration, and the journey of bringing We Live in Cairo to New York Theatre Workshop. Moderated by NYTW Associate Artistic Director, Theatre and Productions, Aaron Malkin.

Tuesday October 29 @ 5:30PM – MASTERCLASS WITH David Bengali

Projection and lighting designer David Bengali (We Live in Cairo, Here There Are Blueberries) will delve into his artistic process and collaborative approach to projections. This masterclass will be held in the Fourth Street Theatre which is accessed by climbing eight steps from street level. Unfortunately, the building is not equipped with an elevator.

Thursday November 7 @ 5pm – CROSS SOLIDARITY GATHERING

Join the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) for a pre-show gathering to uplift the powerful work of cross-solidarity movements. Students, activists, organizers: let's break bread and support each other as a community. Location TBA.

Thursday November 7 – AFTERWORDS: SOLIDARITY ACROSS MOVEMENTS 

How do different political and cultural grassroots activist movements create solidarity among each other? Join us for a conversation with activists who are working on the ground in different social justice movements. This panel is sponsored by the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP). 

Sunday November 10 @ 5PM – NOOR NIGHT

Mix and mingle with fellow MENA artists! Join NYTW Company-in-Residence Noor Theatre for a pre-show event before heading to a performance of We Live in Cairo. This gathering is co-sponsored by Noor Theatre and MENA Artists Initiative. Location TBA.

Monday November 11 @ 5:30pm – MASTERCLASS WITH The Lazours

Work on your original song! BYO instrument and dive in at this masterclass to explore songwriting with the duo behind We Live in Cairo, Daniel & Patrick Lazour. Space is limited. This masterclass will be held in the Fourth Street Theatre which is accessed by climbing eight steps from street level. Unfortunately, the building is not equipped with an elevator. 

Tuesday November 12 – SHOPTALK

Join us after the performance for an informal “book club” style discussion with fellow audience members, facilitated by an NYTW staff member.  

Wednesday November 13 – AFTERWORDS: THE GENEALOGY OF SONG

How do you write a song for the stage? Playwright and songwriter Mona Pirnot (I Love You So Much I Could Die) joins Daniel & Patrick Lazour to explore the power of song in shaping theatrical narratives.

 

Tuesday November 19 – SHOPTALK

Join us after the performance for an informal “book club” style discussion with fellow audience members, facilitated by an NYTW staff member.  

 

Wednesday November 20 – IN CONVERSATION WITH EZZEDINE FISHERE

Join us for a discussion with Dartmouth professor Ezzedine Fishere, a novelist and diplomat who has been engaged with Egyptian pro-democracy groups since the 2011 Tahrir Uprising. This event is co-sponsored by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP). 

 

Thursday November 21 – DARTMOUTH NIGHT

Join the Dartmouth College community for a night to honor the amazing multi-decade collaboration with New York Theatre Workshop that has supported thousands of artists working on projects from Rent to Hadestown to We Live in Cairo.

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.

 

The cast of We Live in Cairo will include Ali Louis Bourzgui (The Who's Tommy), Drew Elhamalawy (Cupid for Christmas), John El-Jor (Mean Girls), Nadina Hassan (Mean Girls National Tour), Michael Khalid Karadsheh (The Ally), and Rotana Tarabzouni (Alien of Extraordinary Ability).

 

We Live in Cairo will feature scenic design by Tilly Grimes (Shucked), costume design by Dina El-Aziz (Selling Kabul), lighting design by Bradley King (Hadestown), sound design by Justin Stasiw (Lempicka), and video design by David Bengali (Here There Are Blueberries). Orchestrations are by Daniel Lazour and Michael Starobin (Suffs), with vocal arrangements by Madeline Benson (Walk on Through). Madeline Benson is the Music Supervisor, Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh (Terce) is the Music Director, Xavier Clark (The Three Musketeers National Tour) is the Voice and Text Coach, and Jeff Brancato (Girl from the North Country) is the Production Stage Manager. Casting is by Claire Yenson. We Live in Cairo is produced by special arrangement with Madison Wells Live.

 

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. This production 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.

 

The performance schedule for We Live in Cairo is Tuesday through Sunday at 7pm, with matinees at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Exceptions: there will be no 2pm performance on Saturday October 12, no performances on Sunday October 27, no performance on Tuesday November 5, and no 7pm performance on Sunday November 17. There will be an added performance on Monday November 4 at 7pm.

 

Single tickets for We Live in Cairo begin at $49 and vary by performance date and time. $25 tickets will be available for the first two CHEAPTIX performances on October 9th and 10th. Tickets are available at NYTW.org or by phone from the NYTW Box Office at 212-460-5475.

 

In order to provide access to those in their surrounding community and those with income limitations, NYTW launched CHEAPTIX, an affordable ticket program. At the first two performances of every NYTW production, tickets are sold to the general public for just $25. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, online at NYTW.org or by phone from the NYTW Box Office at 212-460-5475. Standard ticketing fees apply.

 

Additionally, a $25 day-of CHEAPTIX RUSH will be available for young people, seniors, artists and Lower East Side residents. Rush tickets are subject to availability and are sold cash-only, limit two per person. Proper identification is required for all rush tickets. Youth (ages 25 and under) and seniors (ages 65+) may present an ID indicating date-of-birth; Artists may present an ID and a program or union card; Lower East Side residents may present an ID that includes your address.

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