Adam Bakri, star of the Oscar-nominated Palistinean film Omar, is set to lead the cast of Dead Are My People Off-Broadway this fall. The new play with music will be presented in a workshop production by Noor Theatre at the Fourth Street Theatre as part of New York Theatre Workshop's Next Door series.
Read: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEXT DOOR AT NYTW
Noor's first full-length play commission, Dead Are My People is a play written by Ismail Khalidi (Tennis In Nablus) with original compositions by Hadi Eldebek (Silk Road Ensemble) and lyrics by Khalidi and Patrick Lazour (We Live in Cairo). Performances will run November 4–11.
Obie-winning director Leah C. Gardiner will direct a cast completed by Brandon Gill (Bella, An American Tall Tale), Ken Marks (Airline Highway), Sevan K. Greene (Betrayed), Nadine Malouf (Oh My Sweet Land), and Brian O’Neill (Burn After Reading).
In Dead Are My People, a young Syrian man flees to the U.S. from famine-stricken Mount Lebanon during World War I to track down a family member who emigrated years before. Once there, he must navigate the treacherous terrain of the Jim Crow South and grapple with America's legacy of white supremacy.
The creative team will be made up of music consultant Zane Mark (Motown), musical director Daniel Lazour (We Live in Cairo), and choreographer Samar Haddad King (Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre).
Tickets are now available at NYTW.org.
