When the Equity casting notice for this ''Kismet'' was posted last month, it encouraged MENASA performers to audition.
(MENASA is an acronym that covers the languages and cultures of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.)
The breakdown included a note about the ''cultural responsibility'' of reviving this nearly 70-year-old, Tony-winning musical set in Baghdad:
''KISMET takes place in a fictionalized 11th-Century Baghdad in a fantasy world of the Arabian Nights. ... This story, and all its characters, locations, and allusions, are the result of the authors' admiration of the literary heritage of the MENASA cultures. ... And further, we acknowledge our profound cultural responsibility in the re-imagination of those respected and beloved cultures that inform this fantasy.''
I'll look forward to this re-imagined ''Kismet,'' but also to the day a new musical, written by and featuring MENASA artists, makes it to Broadway. |
