Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Sasson Gabay and Miri Mesika will star in a limited run of musical 'The Band's Visit' at Tel Aviv's Shlomo Group Arena in January 2026 (Credit: Nir Selikman)
Award-winning actor Sasson Gabay and performer Miri Mesika will revise their individual roles from the Broadway and West End productions of the musical “The Band’s Visit” in January 2026, at Tel Aviv’s Shlomo Group Arena.
The musical, which won 10 Tony Awards from its Broadway production, including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Direction, will be performed in English, with Hebrew subtitles projected on screens in the hall.
The production tells of a chance encounter as an Egyptian police orchestra mistakenly arrives in a remote Israeli desert town.
Sasson Gabay will reprise his iconic role from the original film and Broadway show, in which he plays Tewfiq, the gruff conductor.
Sasson Gabay will star in a limited run of musical ‘The Band’s Visit’ at Tel Aviv’s Shlomo Group Arena in January 2026 (Credit: Nir Selikman)
Mesika, better known in Israel as a pop musician, played Dina, the local cafe owner, at London’s Donmar Warehouse in the West End, alongside the late Alon Abutbul.
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A review in The Guardian called the musical “a charmer about lives changed in the quietest of ways,” and described Mesika’s performance as “stunning,” with each song revealing new textures in her voice.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
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