We Live in Cairo @ New York Theatre Workshop

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The Play: We Live in Cairo, six young people—one of them played by Ali Louis Borzgui, who broke out in last season’s too-short-lived revival of “The Who’s Tommy”—live, love and put themselves on the line for democracy in this musical set in Egypt during the Arab Spring of 2011 and its aftermath

Written by: The Lazours        Directed by: Taibi Magar

One good thing: It’s great to get a story about a major historical event like the Arab Spring told by Arab writers, an Arab director and an entirely Arab cast

One good thing:  David Bengali’s dynamic video projections are immersive, informative and occasionally gorgeous

One not-so-great thing: The brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour who collaborated on the book, music and lyrics pack in so much of what happened during that tumultuous period that they don’t leave room for much character development 

 

 


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