London theater critics have given generally positive reviews to the new Off West End musical Broken Wings, based on Kahlil Gibran’s 1912 novel, which had a concert production in 2018 at the West End’s Haymarket. The current staged production is booking at the Charing Cross until March 26. The creative team includes Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan (book, music, lyrics), Bronagh Lagan (direction), Erika Gundesen (music direction), Philip Michael Thomas (choreo), Joe Davidson (ochestrations), Gregor Donnelly (sets, costumes), Nic Farman (lights), and Andrew Johnson (sound).
The cast includes Yasmeen Audi (Layla Bawab), Haroun Al Jeddal (Mansour Bey Galib), Lucca Chadwick-Patel (Young Kahlil Gibran), Soophia Foroughi (Mother), Alex Kais (Ensemble), Johan Munir (Bishop Bulos), Nadim Naaman (Kahlil Gibran), Ayesha Patel (Dima Bawab), Stephen Rahman-Hughes (Faris)and Noah Sinigaglia (Selma Karamy). Below are writers Nadim Naaman and Dana Al Fardan in “Selma,” shot in The Forest of the Cedars, Bcharreh, Lebanon, in 2018.
The Guardian (Miriam Gillinson): Perhaps intended to inject dynamism into a fairly static production, the rotating [stage] feature actually has a strangely stultifying effect. … Naaman’s score, co-composed with Dana Al Fardan, is best when it’s unabashedly romantic. … But there’s not a huge amount of variety to the music and surprisingly little of the unique sounds or rhythms of the Middle East. … Scenes are often played out and then needlessly summarised by the older Gibran who hovers on the edges of his life story, repeating what does not need to be repeated. It’s a shame because there are some delicate reflections on love and striking singing. 2 out of 5 stars.
London Theatre 1 (Chris Omaweng): The musical, filled as it is with ballads that give the audience the hairdryer treatment, each number ending with a Very Long Note, makes a distinction between organised religion (bad) and God Himself (good). … There are too many musical numbers in a similar style, brooding and intense, which at least makes the relatively rare joyous showtunes stand out. … Declarations of love, while lovely, go on for so long they start to lose their emotional impact. … A thoughtful piece of theatre, it’s the polar opposite of an overly exuberant jukebox musical, and thus, despite some dispiriting moments, is simply best described as something different. 4 out of 5 stars.
Theatre Weekly (Greg Stewart): It may be almost a century since Gibran died, but the themes of his novel … remain depressingly relevant; most notably immigration and gender equality. Naaman’s book eloquently gets these points across, and with an entire cast comprised of actors of MENASA heritage, this is an authentic piece of work. The story itself sometimes finds itself lacking. … However, the music more than makes up for that. Just as Gibran thought himself as Lebanese-American, the score of Broken Wings blends traditional music of the Middle East with Western sounds. … It has the odd flaw, but this a brave new musical that will surprise and delight audiences. 4 out of 5 stars.
WhatsOnStage (Alun Hood): If a musical were to be judged solely on its actual music, then Broken Wings would be something of a triumph. … Elsewhere though, this adaptation … feels like a watchable, if not always coherent, hybrid of operetta and those humourless sub-Les Mis epics. … It’s ironic that a show based on such ground-breaking source material comes over as so determinedly old-fashioned. … Despite being dramatically undernourished as a piece of theatre, the unique combination of bombast and delicacy in the music lingers long in the heart and mind afterwards. I suspect it’ll divide people, but that its most staunch supporters will be vociferous. 3 out of 5 stars.