Muslim American play prepares for premiere

By Shahla Khan, IFN Staff Reporter

Thursday, 30 April 2009

NEW YORK – History is in the making for Muslim Americans nationwide as New York society gears up for a unique, new theatrical experience. “Domestic Crusaders,” a two-act play which follows the lives of a modern Muslim Pakistani-American family, will premiere to diverse crowds in Manhattan’s esteemed Nuyorican Poets Café on Sept. 11.  It will be the first major Muslim-American play to be featured to a large-scale mainstream American audience over a five-week period. “‘Domestic Crusaders’ should be ranked with family dramas written by Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neil,” said Ishmael Reed, former Professor at U-C Berkeley. Reed, a Pulitzer Prize nominated author who is well known for his playwriting and poetry, contacted Rome Neal, Nuyorican’s Artistic Theatre Director, about hosting Domestic Crusaders, which was written by one of his own students, Wajahat Ali. Though Neal needed a few years of persuasion, he eventually welcomed it with open arms. “After reading it a couple of times, I realized that this was the play we had to bring to New York, and I’m so glad we did,” said Neal. “It’s going to be a ‘marv-tastic’ piece to present to the people of New York because it’s not only going to open up the void between Muslim and Christian society here, but it will open people’s minds to the lifestyle of an everyday American Muslim as well.” Ali, a Muslim-American of Pakistani descent, initially had no aspirations to become a playwright.  However, all that changed in the fall of 2001, when Ali took a course Reed was teaching.  Ali hesitantly began writing “Domestic Crusaders” in order to pass a 20-page short story assignment due for Reed’s class, not knowing how successful his piece would later become. “Though I passed the class with what I submitted, I realized later on that I truly wanted to create something more out of this, at least for myself,” said Ali. “I had always intended this for a global audience — I always knew it was quality.” With Reed’s encouragement, Ali transformed his short piece into a full length play. It made its professional debut at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in July 2005, and was performed again later that year at San Jose University Theatre.  Since its theatrical release, the play has received rave reviews and wide-spread endorsements from an array of well-known names, including authors and actors like Jack Shaheen and Emma Thompson. Neal, who has worked with the Nuyorican for 25 years, has previously directed many of Reed’s plays.  Now the two will collaborate as co-producers for the upcoming performance. “As a co-producer, I am really proud of this piece. It really opened up my own eyes to the lives of Pakistani Americans,” said Neal.  “This play, in a sense, is like the ‘Raisin in the Sun’ of Muslim theatre arts; it will allow people to see into the lives of modern Muslim-Americans through a fourth wall and hopefully craft new understandings.” The play consists of six diverse family members who span over three generations — a grandfather, his son and daughter-in-law and their three children. Amidst hatred and stereotyping of Muslims in post-9/11 America, tensions prevail among the three generations which, according to Ali, “culminate in an intense family battle as each ‘crusader’ struggles to assert their respective voices and opinions, while still attempting to maintain unity within the family circle.” “I had to exercise discipline in letting the characters speak for themselves. At the same time, I wanted these characters and the story itself to resonate with a universal theme,” said Ali.  “The success of ‘Domestic Crusaders’ lies in its foundation of family relationships, which is something everyone relates to.  This will create that much needed understanding of the post-9/11 American Muslims community.” Currently, the Nuyorican is continuing auditions to cast the main characters and plans to preview stage readings to a public audience in this month. Ali has raised nearly $10,000 dollars for the New York spectacle, but hopes to raise at least $25,000 before the September premiere through support and donations.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 08 November 2009 )