From Dartmouth Residency to Off-Broadway Stage: A Soaring New Musical Opens the NYTW Season

This fall, the Dartmouth workshopped We Live in Cairo opens New York Theatre Workshop's (NYTW) 24/25 season, running from October 9 to November 24. Inspired by the young Egyptian students who took to the streets to overthrow a regime older than they are, this new musical was workshopped during the company's summer residency at the Hopkins Center for the Arts (the Hop) in 2018 with faculty and student engagement. 

We Live in Cairo is part of a longstanding collaboration between the Hop, the Department of Theater and NYTW. Throughout their 33-year-long partnership, the two institutions have brought together faculty, students and theater professionals to workshop and develop groundbreaking new theatrical works that challenge, inspire and engage diverse audiences, including Rent; Hadestown; Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord; The Laramie Project; Quills and An Iliad. Participants have included Denis O'Hare, Sharon Washington, Doug Wright, Dael Orlandersmith, Anaïs Mitchell, Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, Rachel Chavkin, Jeremy O. Harris, Martyna Majok and Ayad Akhtar.

The collaboration is now expanding to include scholarship and academic research, further informing the development of new plays.

"The power of the arts is strengthened when we can extend it to important issues beyond the stage," said Mary Lou Aleskie, Howard Gilman '44 Executive Director of the Hop. "For centuries, the arts have done this, and we are proud to embed this impact in the creative process today." 

"At NYTW we both produce plays and commit to being a robust laboratory for creative development," says Rachel Silverman, Associate Artistic Director, Workshops & Development.  "Our 30+ year partnership with Dartmouth College is an integral element of our laboratory that fosters this space for project development. Attending a Dartmouth residency is a peak experience for our artists. We are delighted to extend our partnership beyond summer residencies and into productions on our stage, allowing for a deepened collaboration with the many eminent thinkers in the Dartmouth community."

The 2018 summer residency provided an invaluable opportunity for students and artists to engage directly during the creative process. Faculty experts, including Middle Eastern Studies Distinguished Fellow Ezzedine Fishere, a former Egyptian diplomat, novelist and scholar who was an active force in the 2011 revolution and has since authored articles and books on the topic—collaborated with the writers, offering a depth of understanding that reflects both historical accuracy and contemporary relevance. Fishere continues to consult with the theater company and will also participate in a post-show discussion on November 20, exploring the Egyptian revolution and its universal themes. Reflecting on the work, Fishere said, "In a sense, we all "live in Cairo", caught in the ceaseless pursuit of emancipation and justice, and in our often faltering battle against tyranny."

The work explores the personal and political narratives of the Egyptian revolution and builds on the Hop's tradition of extending the work's impact beyond the stage. We Live in Cairo will engage a broad array of stakeholders, including community members, scholars and activists, by sparking conversations around social justice, political change and human rights. Discussions and engagements will be held in partnership with the Tahrir Institute for Middle Eastern Policy, a long-time collaborator with both NYTW and Fishere. By building on these deep organic connections, the creative and academic communities are able to explore complex issues in a meaningful way, ensuring that the conversations sparked by We Live in Cairo resonate far beyond the stage.

Another post-show discussion on November 21 reflects on the fruitful multi-decade collaboration between Dartmouth and NYTW that has supported thousands of artists. 

We Live in Cairo won the Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. It was written by Jonathan Larson Grant winners Daniel & Patrick Lazour, directed by Obie Award-winner Taibi Magar with choreography and movement direction by Ann Yee.