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*** Recommended Some viewers will find The Kite Runner heavy going. It’s a tense drama about sensitive and difficult subjects happening in a place most of us will never visit with customs we don’t understand. I was a bit disappointed because it didn’t quite measure up to my expectations. Most of the ensemble cast play multiple parts making it really difficult to figure out who they were and how they were relevant. It could have been a magnificent piece of work, but it wasn’t. The haunting music provided by Tabla Artist, Salar Nader was one of the best things in the show. 3 Spotlights
As the story’s narrator, Amir, Ramzi Khalaf was on stage for the entire performance. His black slacks and collared white shirt was a stark contrast against the colorful costumes prevalent in the scenes set in Afghanistan. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been to jump back 30 years to his boyhood. He conveyed the spirit of the time, but he wasn’t very good at playing a 12-year-old boy.
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Amir grew up in his father’s mansion, always aware that he was a disappointment to his Baba (Haythem Noor). He never quite measured up since he’d rather read books and write stories than play soccer – which he wasn’t very good at anyway. As a child, his playmate and best friend was Hassan (Shahzeb Zahid Hussain), the son of his father’s servant. At the end of every day, Amir went to his father’s house, Hassan went to the shack at the end of the garden where he and his father lived.
One day when he and Hassan were out, the neighborhood bully, Assef (Wiley Naman Strassser), informs him that he’s the king of the kites, then goes on to ask why Amir spends time with Hazara scum. By the way, later in the show, the full extent of Assef’s villainy is revealed.
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I wish there’d been more explanation about the winter kite contest. Apparently, in the winter the winds are perfect for kite flying, so there’s an annual contest. The object of the contest is to use your string and/or kite to knock other kites out of the sky. The last kite in the sky wins.
Since he has Hassan, the best kite runner in Kabul, helping him Amir wins the contest, finally making his father proud of him. Meanwhile, as Hassan was carrying Amir’s blue kite home, Assef and his minions demand he give them the kite but Hassan was loyal to Amir so he refused and was brutalized for it. Amir witnessed the attack but did nothing about it. Afterwards, he felt so guilty he blamed Hassan and pushed him away.
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When the Taliban ousted the President and took over the country, Baba took Amir and fled to Pakistan. Eventually they ended up in San Francisco where Amir met and married Soraya (Awesta Zarif), the daughter of General Taheri (James Rana).
The outstanding ensemble cast includes: Rahim Khan/Dr. Schenider/Omar Faisal (Jonathan Shaboo); Ali/Farid (Hassan Nazari-Robati); Wali/Doctor (Danish Farooqui); Kamal/Zaman (Jade Ziane); Ensemble/Pomegranate Lady/Andrews (Sophie Zmorrod); Ensemble/Merchant/Russian Soldier (Kevin Stevens).
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The Kite Runner, a 2003 novel written by Khaled Hosseini, was adapted by Matthew Spangler and directed by Giles Croft. The play premiered at the San Jose Repertory Theatre in 2009. After opening to mixed reviews, it ran for three months on Broadway.
The Kite Runner runs through June 23rd at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe, Chicago. Running time is 2 hours, 30 minutes, with an intermission. Performances are Tuesday at 7:00 pm; Wednesday at 1:00 & 7:00 pm; Thursday at 7:00 pm; Friday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 2:00 & 7:30 pm; Sunday at 1:00 pm. Tickets start at $35. FYI www.BroadwayInChicago.com.