180:'s performance "spotty": Under Giles Croft's direction, Arison's Broadway debut proves spotty. He recites his opening lines with the stiffness of a child delivering a book report, and never totally eases into the role... The part would be tough work for any actor; Amir is onstage for the entire show, and the transitions between his middle-aged and younger selves, some three decades apart, require the kind of gymnastics that not every performer can stick."
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as Baba opened to very mixed reviews at the Hayes
Theater on July 21, 2022. A national tour of the Broadway production by the same producers and director launched in 2024; starring Ramzi Khalaf as Amir, and featuring Awesta Zarif as Soraya, Shahzeb Zahid Hussain as Hassan/Sohrab, and Haythem Noor as
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criticized the hateful portrayal of a gay character referring to the production as "homophobic trash", stating the production "contains many, perhaps unintended, narratives about masculinity, sexuality, and intimacy it does not have the will, or maybe courage or depth, to confront." Also noting the
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Diep Tran noted the adaptation is faithful to a fault, "...Toward the end of the play, Amir kneels down in prayer, his arms out and hands outstretched... So much is unspoken in Arison's inflections and body language: his desperation, sadness, and guilt. If only The Kite Runner on
Broadway depended
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partner Hassan when Amir's cowardice, and his desperate need to please his father, cause him to abandon Hassan in the face of a vicious and shocking attack by a neighborhood bully. In 2001, Amir has settled in
America when he receives a call telling him: "There is a way to be good again." He then
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gave a 2013 production 3 out of 5 stars, stating that "the novel roams through decades and across continents, is brilliantly evocative and is written in the first person ... while this structure works so well on the page, on stage it always makes for a slightly awkward experience, in which the
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commented on
Spangler's adaptation: "With the help of a superlative cast, led by Amir Arison, playing the central role of a character also named Amir, and lucid direction by Giles Croft, the Broadway production brings the largely gripping narrative to life, even if it cannot fully capture the
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referred to Croft's production as being "underwhelming... overtly presentational direction... mostly a disappointment." Also pointing out "a strange flatness" to
Spangler's adaptation. "Everything is too slow, too ponderous and, in the case of all of the actors playing multiple roles, their
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The play will run a tour visiting 21 US cities including
Chicago, Charlotte, West Palm Beach and Washington, DC. The tour opened on April 9, 2024 at
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pointed out in 2009 that
Spangler spends the whole first act on the first quarter of the novel, giving the remainder "a kind of CliffsNotes rush".
223:, Elizabeth Vincentelli noted the "production does well, for the most part, by the source material, even if it can be frustratingly earthbound."
265:), "is mostly sidelined, which is a shame because Ghanizada brings some much-needed life and sharpness to a frustratingly underwritten part."
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Greg Evans states the production "seeming more like an elaborately staged reading... an audio book come to life... tells the story (and
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gave a 2009 production 3 out of 4 stars, calling it "a ripping good yarn", but "dangerously simplistic about modern-day
Afghanistan".
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reviewed the production as being "straightforward, to-the-point play, but one that's easy to embrace and gripping as it unfurls."
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less on the novel and trusted more on its stagecraft. There might have been more moments like this, of flight and transcendence."
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review praised the production and
Spangler's adaptation as being "a heartbreaker – but so uplifting, it's worth the pain."
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in
December 2016, where it played a limited run until 11 March 2017. The production returned to the West End at the
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is narrated by Amir, who is obsessed with an "unatoned sin" he committed as a well-off child in 1970s
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585:"'The Kite Runner' Broadway Review: Earnest Adaptation Of Beloved Novel Struggles To Soar"
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The play will run a tour of 16 venues in the UK and Ireland, opening in March at the
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characters appear in short illustrative episodes, rather than driving the story."
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The fast-paced play depicts most of what happens in the book. As in the book,
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539:"' On Broadway Review 'The Kite Runner' fails to soar on the winds of truth"
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confusing trajectories were insufficiently thought out by the director."
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559:"Opinion | 'The Kite Runner' Review: A Story of Betrayal and Redemption"
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takes a dangerous trip, on the eve of the American invasion, into
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opened on 21 July 2022 and ran through 30 October 2022 at the
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play's only significant female character, Soraya, played by (
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486:"From book to stage, The Kite Runner is a ripping good yarn"
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Maya Phillips called the production "stiff" and lead actor
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on 8 June 2017, and played a limited run to 26 August.
505:"Review: 'The Kite Runner' Trips From Page to Stage"
689:"'The Kite Runner' on Broadway Is Homophobic Trash"
137:: Amir betrayed his childhood friend, servant, and
765:"The Kite Runner Headed to the Playhouse Theatre"
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709:"The Kite Runner, Nottingham Playhouse – review"
200:textured complexity of Mr. Hosseini's writing."
75:is a stage adaption of Afghan-American novelist
464:"Play review: 'The Kite Runner' true to source"
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167:was received with very mixed critical reviews.
110:as Soraya, Eric Sirakian as Hassan/Sohrab, and
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741:"The Kite Runner to get West End premiere"
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348:in Aylesbury, then going on to play the
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448:https://thekiterunnerbroadway.com/cast/
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484:J. Kelly, Nestruck (March 20, 2013).
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159:The Broadway production, directed by
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670:"'The Kite Runner' Broadway review"
125:The Kite Runner § Plot summary
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729:. 17th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards.
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462:Robert, Hurwitt (March 30, 2009).
319:The production transferred to the
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767:,"boxoffice.co.uk", April 4, 2017
649:Marilyn, Stasio (July 22, 2022).
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707:Sarah Hemming (April 30, 2013).
503:Phillips, Maya (July 22, 2022).
404:, and finishing in Cheltenham's
16:Play written by Matthew Spangler
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793:"The Kite Runner: Tour Dates"
777:Phil Willmott (May 4, 2017).
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623:Tran, Diep (July 21, 2022).
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340:UK & Ireland Tour (2024)
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625:"| NewYorkTheatreGuide.com"
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651:"'The Kite Runner' Review"
605:"'The Kite Runner' Review"
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97:San Jose Repertory Theatre
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214:is the operative word)."
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603:Elisabeth, Vincentelli.
388:in Guildford, Malvern's
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840:Works about kite flying
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196:The Wall Street Journal
835:Afghanistan in fiction
629:New York Theatre Guide
398:Brighton Theatre Royal
227:New York Theatre Guide
106:as Amir and featuring
830:Plays based on novels
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364:in Dublin, Glasgow's
193:Charles Isherwood of
557:Isherwood, Charles.
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300:Nottingham Playhouse
55:San Jose, California
543:New York Daily News
374:Liverpool Playhouse
308:WhatsOnStage Awards
269:Earlier productions
186:New York Daily News
183:Chris Jones of The
165:Helen Hayes Theater
146:-controlled Kabul.
509:The New York Times
490:The Globe and Mail
358:Chester Storyhouse
335:Future Productions
282:The Globe and Mail
203:In his review for
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329:Playhouse Theatre
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798:January 19,
693:Daily Beast
418:ASU Gammage
304:Giles Croft
257:Daily Beast
178:Amir Arison
161:Giles Croft
119:Description
112:Faran Tahir
104:Amir Arison
825:2009 plays
814:Categories
424:References
123:See also:
29:Written by
750:April 23,
517:0362-4331
382:The Lowry
356:in Bath,
150:Reception
99:in 2009.
589:Deadline
325:West End
206:Deadline
155:Broadway
655:Variety
323:in the
313:Oliver!
239:Variety
144:Taliban
64:English
515:
230:'s
115:Baba.
212:tells
135:Kabul
800:2024
752:2017
636:2022
570:2022
524:2022
513:ISSN
288:The
273:The
254:The
245:The
170:The
42:2009
563:WSJ
352:,
217:In
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