The official A DREAM OF ARABIA blog - A Dream of Arabia is the first Broadway-style theatrical production of Middle Eastern dance and music
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Now that A Dream Of Arabia is a critically acclaimed success, I can honestly say that nothing we have done before has garnered more attention, both positive and negative, than this show. We'll start with the positive. Much to my delight, the Middle...
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Today we were blessed to have two of the Dominican sisters attend the show. The theater staff had informed me that both Sister Jean and Sister Janet would be in attendance and I got the feeling that impressing them would be no easy feat. I was actually...
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First I must thank my team for being so wonderful and for their unwavering belief in our mission, our work, and the show. Truly, I couldn't do any of it without them. Tonight was an example of how important their work is as well as how attentive they...
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It is almost midnight and it feels like I haven't slept in a week... I think everybody is feeling that way after the amazing dress rehearsals we had today! It was a day of extreme focus and intensity as our entire cast and crew were preparing for...
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Today was the first day of tech rehearsals at the theater. Everybody was excited to begin and the day began with the cast and Chicago crew getting to know each other. The day started very early and Nanae and I had a private breakfast to discuss some of...
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Today the entire cast and crew descended on Chicago for our week in residence at the Lund and the premier of A DREAM OF ARABIA in my hometown. Due to weather, there were a lot of flight delays but by the end of the day our little army had taken over the...
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Today we kick into high gear as the cast arrives in Chicago and we are in final tech/rehearsals before the show's premier on June 12 at 7 PM. Our entire team has been working 24/7 to have everything ready and this morning (a hot and muggy Sunday)...
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I just got back from taping an interview with Broadway World. Everything went quite well unlike most of the day! I was running so late, traffic was terrible (it was raining for a good part of the day), we had an issue at the theater that I had to go resolve...
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A DREAM OF ARABIA is privileged to be featured on ABC's Chicagoing with Bill Campbell. The entire 30 minute program will highlight our show, how it all started, the importance of it, and will preview many clips from the live performance. We also had...
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Last month I taped the first of a series of interviews with NPR's Market Place ( www.marketplace.org ). I am thrilled that Market Place has an interest in Middle East related stories, and today marks the beginning of a month long broadcast from the...
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I just got back from three hours of live broadcast on KALW 91.7 San Francisco, where I guest host a world music radio show called Tangents with the show's producer and host Dore Stein. When I'm there, the show becomes "Tangential Arabic Radio"...
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After several months of rehearsals, we are ready now to do final casting and role assignments for A DREAM OF ARABIA. During that time, we have been thinking about the pieces, who fits where, and which dancers will do what numbers. Based on performance...
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Read all about it! Nanae and I were so excited last November to come up with an idea for a new costume and rework one of the numbers of the show in Act 2. The costume is very traditional Middle Eastern with an incredible intricate design - in fact, the...
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2008 is only a few hours away and here I am trying to finish everything that must be done before the end of the day. I do run a global company and it has been quite a year with many technological investments, infrastructure upgrades, and significant growth...
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After a fun party last night, at the best Brazilian restaurant in Chicago, where we celebrated both Nanae's birthday and our A DREAM OF ARABIA team (MAQAM team, the creative team, etc.) with lots of food, drink, and a big chocolate cake, today we...