My email exchange with... Patti LuPone
Apr 11, 2018 14:34:58 GMT
daniel, theatremadness, and 11 more like this
Post by ali973 on Apr 11, 2018 14:34:58 GMT
Guys..Just thought I'd share this. I'm copying and pasting because I'm helpless and don't know how to attach screen grabs.
I recently sent an email to Patti LuPone's fan account on a recent concert she did. It wasn't a gushing fan letter, but more of a feedback on something she said. TBH I can't tell if it's her or an assistant, but the response was from a gmail address with a random noun followed by her initials. I don't think she'll mind me sharing this with a private theatre community, especially since contact information is removed. Take a gander.
MY EMAIL:
Dear Ms. LuPone,
You’ve recently performed “Omar Sheriff” from David Yazbek’s The Band’s Visit at your Far Away Places concert in Tallahassee. In your introduction, you beautifully spoke about our shared experiences as human beings, despite cultural barriers and differences. When you described the plot of the play, you refer to the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra musicians as Muslim.
As Egyptians, their default religious background is not Islam by default.
Egypt (part of the "Arab world”) and “Muslim countries” are two separate populations. The countries with the largest Muslim populations happen to be ethnically non-Arab (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iran and Turkey). While Islam is the dominant religion in Arab world, there are close to one million Christians in Syria, one million Christians in Lebanon, 70,000 Christians in Palestinian, and 350,000 Christians in Egypt.
The material in the play does not refer to the faith of the musicians. My personal interpretation is that they are not devout people to begin with, but we can immediately infer from their names that this group has more than one religious denomination:
-Tewfik (Maestro/Tony Shalhoub’s character) and Camal (Oud/George Abud’s character) have religiously ambiguous names that are commonly used by any of the denominations in Egypt.
-The name Halid (Trumpet/Ari’el Stachel’s) is typically given to Muslim boys, while Simon (Clarinet/Alok Tewari’s character) is typically given to Christian boys.
While the band is not specifically Muslim, they may be better described as “Arab”, a term that is loosely used to describe 400 million people from 22 states with their unique and diverse cultural prescriptions and heritage. In my opinion, the best way to describe them is Egyptian, especially since the play is very clear about their nationality.
Ms. LuPone, as an Arab man, I am so thrilled that someone of your pedigree and influence also appreciates the beauty of this play. I too, grew up watching Omar Sherrif and listening to Om Kalthoum. I just wanted to share my perspective with you, hoping you’d consider it should you wish to perform the song and describe the characters’ background in the future.
PS-I have a ticket to the first preview of Company in London. Can’t wait.
PATTI'S RESPONSE:
Dear Ali,
Thank you so much for correcting me and I will definitely use Arab instead of Muslim. I'm almost trying to drive a point home to American audiences but I also don't want to misrepresent.
I'm exhausted by the hatred and the divisiveness that only a few with powerful voices indoctrinate the rest of us. I'm especially exhausted by the despicable thing in the White House. How far we have fallen. I fear we'll never come back from this.
Again thank you for reaching out and instructing me. I'm too ignorant to speak in the first place but I love what that film/ musical represents. Next time I do the show, I will have Om's voice play throughout the intermission.
I hope you enjoy Company.
Warmly,
Patti
I recently sent an email to Patti LuPone's fan account on a recent concert she did. It wasn't a gushing fan letter, but more of a feedback on something she said. TBH I can't tell if it's her or an assistant, but the response was from a gmail address with a random noun followed by her initials. I don't think she'll mind me sharing this with a private theatre community, especially since contact information is removed. Take a gander.
MY EMAIL:
Dear Ms. LuPone,
You’ve recently performed “Omar Sheriff” from David Yazbek’s The Band’s Visit at your Far Away Places concert in Tallahassee. In your introduction, you beautifully spoke about our shared experiences as human beings, despite cultural barriers and differences. When you described the plot of the play, you refer to the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra musicians as Muslim.
As Egyptians, their default religious background is not Islam by default.
Egypt (part of the "Arab world”) and “Muslim countries” are two separate populations. The countries with the largest Muslim populations happen to be ethnically non-Arab (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Iran and Turkey). While Islam is the dominant religion in Arab world, there are close to one million Christians in Syria, one million Christians in Lebanon, 70,000 Christians in Palestinian, and 350,000 Christians in Egypt.
The material in the play does not refer to the faith of the musicians. My personal interpretation is that they are not devout people to begin with, but we can immediately infer from their names that this group has more than one religious denomination:
-Tewfik (Maestro/Tony Shalhoub’s character) and Camal (Oud/George Abud’s character) have religiously ambiguous names that are commonly used by any of the denominations in Egypt.
-The name Halid (Trumpet/Ari’el Stachel’s) is typically given to Muslim boys, while Simon (Clarinet/Alok Tewari’s character) is typically given to Christian boys.
While the band is not specifically Muslim, they may be better described as “Arab”, a term that is loosely used to describe 400 million people from 22 states with their unique and diverse cultural prescriptions and heritage. In my opinion, the best way to describe them is Egyptian, especially since the play is very clear about their nationality.
Ms. LuPone, as an Arab man, I am so thrilled that someone of your pedigree and influence also appreciates the beauty of this play. I too, grew up watching Omar Sherrif and listening to Om Kalthoum. I just wanted to share my perspective with you, hoping you’d consider it should you wish to perform the song and describe the characters’ background in the future.
PS-I have a ticket to the first preview of Company in London. Can’t wait.
PATTI'S RESPONSE:
Dear Ali,
Thank you so much for correcting me and I will definitely use Arab instead of Muslim. I'm almost trying to drive a point home to American audiences but I also don't want to misrepresent.
I'm exhausted by the hatred and the divisiveness that only a few with powerful voices indoctrinate the rest of us. I'm especially exhausted by the despicable thing in the White House. How far we have fallen. I fear we'll never come back from this.
Again thank you for reaching out and instructing me. I'm too ignorant to speak in the first place but I love what that film/ musical represents. Next time I do the show, I will have Om's voice play throughout the intermission.
I hope you enjoy Company.
Warmly,
Patti
