The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The Fabrica Musical Theater Company, Egypt’s first and only musical theater company, is preparing for its upcoming show, where its cast will perform famous songs from a variety of Broadway musicals, all in Arabic. Founded by Neveen Allouba and Operatic Director, Mohammad Abu al-Khair, Fabrica aims to showcase all types of musical theatre performances that are not given much attention in the Egyptian performing arts landscape. Their shows often include operas, both English and Arabic, Broadway musicals, and an assortment of other musical performances. 

A prime example of their work can be seen at their performance this week, under the name “Broadway Bel Araby”. Taking place at the Cairo Opera House, the show is due to present excerpts from famous Broadway shows, all in Egyptian Arabic. The translated works will include selections from renowned musicals such as: Hercules, The Lion King, Tarzan, Anastasia, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Into the Woods, Shrek, and Les Misérables. Each excerpt will include its own choreography, costumes, and, of course, a magnificent musical performance, making this performance the first of its kind! Their upcoming performance, which would be pristine for seeing what Fabrica is all about, will take place at the Opera House’s Small Hall on Tuesday, February 23^rd 2021 at 8:00 PM.

Fabrica started its movement in 2011 by performing a translated version of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” at the Library of Alexandria. By 2013, the Fabrica team had risen to fame with their performance of Les Misérables in Arabic, which they performed for the first time at El Sawy Culturewheel. In 2014, Fabrica was invited to the United States to perform in Washington, Boston, New York, and Vermont. Since then, the team has performed in numerous locations across Egypt, including Minia University, the Alexandria Library, the University of Science and Technology, The Cairo Opera House, and El Khaima Theater.

Allouba, the company’s current CEO, who has had vast musical experience, including working as a Professor at the Cairo Conservatoire, an Adjunct Professor at the American University in Cairo, and performing a multitude of times as a soloist at the Cairo Opera House, currently devotes her time to training young singers and performers. Through Fabrica, she hopes to promote awareness of musical theatre among Egypt’s youth, provide young singers with opportunities to improve their performance skills, and remove cultural and linguistic barriers between the people of Egypt and Western musical theatre. This is done through translating popular musical works into Egyptian Arabic and providing performances that the mass of Egyptian people can relate to and comprehend.

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