Broadway review “The Kite Runner”: sincere adaptation of the beloved novel Lotte per volo

Khaled Hossain’s best-selling novel of 2003 kite runner it’s the kind of gripping and epic moral tale that spans time and culture, depicting friendship and betrayal, loyalty and cowardice, acts of kindness and manifestations of unspeakable cruelty. In search of a complete but assured ransom, kite runner It has an undeniable charm, in equal parts between beach reading and serious literature, which has proved irresistible in Hollywood and, now, on Broadway.

Although the 2012 film adaptation caused a stir among some critics (after the backlash on some controversial scenes depicting child sexual abuse), kite runnerDespite his serious and prestigious ostentation, he received little more than a shrug at the awards ceremony. Today he is best remembered for his controversy.

The latest incarnation, adapted by Matthew Spangler, will debut tonight at Broadway’s Hayes Theater under the direction of Giles Croft. Despite his sincere intentions and some impressive performances, kite runner it does not improve significantly kite runner on the screen. And she says a lot.

Sometimes it feels more like an elaborate reading of a novel, an audiobook brought to life, than a fully realized play. kite runner tells the story of Amir (played by Amir Arison) over several decades (and “telling” is the watchword). When we first meet him, he is a 1970s Kabul boy, the sensitive and poetic-loving son of a gruff and wealthy Pashtun patriarch (Faran Tahir). Baba, his father, faithfully employs a longtime servant, mostly of the hated Hazara ethnic group. The servant’s youngest son, Hassan (Eric Sirakian), almost becomes Amir’s brother, and although the gap between their welfare states is never great, the two boys spend long hours, months, and years of childhood . . Close like brothers.

At least it’s in the privacy of your home and gardens. In the neighborhood in general, class distinctions are more closely guarded. When a group of neighborhood thugs start targeting Hassan because of his ethnicity, Amir can only offer the most superficial protection. And he too disappears the day he changes their lives forever.

The day in question begins with a victory: the young Amir wins the great competition of the neighborhood bees. No, it’s not the kind of challenge remembered by American kids of the 1950s. The Kabul competition is a brawl with no prisoners, hands on bloody threads as wings tear apart in the air, like a brawl on a First Division biplane. Amir’s difficult victory elevates the boy’s dignity in the eyes of his father. At least for a while.

But something else happens that day that makes fun of Amir’s newfound self-respect. After Hassan runs to retrieve a defeated bee dropped by Amir’s abilities, Hassan is the main runner who fairly and dignifiedly recovers this little spoils of war for his young master, the sadistic Assef (Amir) at the head of a group of local thugs. Malaklu) drags her into an alley and sexually assaults her. Unbeknownst to the traumatized Hassan, Amir witnessed the rape in silence, fearing to speak for his friend.

With a sense of guilt he cannot express, Amir breaks off his only friendship – today we would say he is a ghost of Hassan – and, determined to erase all traces of his betrayal, he pawns Hassan with the stolen watch and money in hope. that the servants will be Abba will fix it. Even though Abba can’t bear to see this lovely boy exiled, even those who haven’t read the book should find a heavy precedent here, the servants decide to leave.

from there kite runner Jumping a little faster over the years: The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 sends Amir and Baba to San Francisco, where Amir eventually meets Soraya (Azita Ganizadeh), another Afghan refugee, and the two fall in love and eventually they fall in love. . First, however, Soraya offers an account of her troubled past of hers in the comedy’s numerous discursive side stories. When the characters meet, they get sick, die and talk about everything, kite runner He begins to suggest that the playwright Spangler simply couldn’t leave a single page of the novel unused.

Eventually, Amir is offered redemption when word gets out that he has a chance to make amends for this long ago betrayal: an old friend of his has a young son who was kidnapped as a “dancing boy” by a fighter. particularly brutal Taliban. . In a twist to the story, the new villain isn’t all that new.

Despite the play’s purpose, Arison is excellent as Amir, making a convincing transition from childhood to adulthood, while Tahir’s Baba is equally hateful and oppressive, ultimately making him a sympathetic figure. Assef, the violent man turned Taliban, may be a one-dimensional monster, but Malaklu plays him on the edge. Ganizada has a more difficult task, especially giving Soraya depth from the side. She is successful here and there.

Director Croft brings to life some scenes with ensemble movements: a traditional Muslim wedding (successful) and a Frisco nightclub from the 80s (not so much), but above all he lets these good actors talk and talk. Barney George’s believable period and culturally distinctive costumes serve the story well (Humaira Gilzai is the production’s cultural consultant and script consultant), but his modest set design, a mostly empty stage, stands out against a backdrop of curtain near the posts, only adds to the atmosphere. reading on stage.

The story inevitably rests on actress Arison’s shoulders, and while she handles the twists, sweetness, and betrayal quite skillfully, her eventual foray into a sudden and previously unexpressed interest in religion is neither credible nor dramatically satisfying. This is not poetic justice. The guy she blamed all those years ago isn’t the guy she saves. His new heroism may not be too small, but he is a little behind the times.

kite runner Produced by Victoria Lang, Ryan Bogner and Tracy McFarland of Broadway & Beyond Theatricals, Jane Baron Sherman, Hunter Arnold in association with UK Productions Ltd. and Flying Entertainment Ltd / Kilimanjaro Group Ltd. Daryl Roth is the executive producer. Originally produced by Nottingham Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse, The Kite Runner will debut tonight at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater and run through October 30th.