Essay Questions

Why is Dina so attracted to Tewfiq?

Dina is attracted to Tewfiq because of his enigmatic personality. He does not converse easily because of a speech impediment which disappears when he sings. Because he is communicating mostly in song, Dina is able to connect with the time in her life when she is the most happy - when she was a young girl, listening to Egyptian music on the radio. She therefore begins to subconsciously associate this gentle man with her happiness, and is therefore attracted to the way that he makes her feel.

She also begins to feel that this is not just a chance meeting, but that the stars aligned to put Tewfiq in her path; she believes the band did not just happen to go to the wrong place by mistake, but that the universe organized it. Because she feels that their encounter is driven by something more powerful than they are, she builds it up into a feeling of love and destiny. Lastly, music tends to make her feel romantic. This is why she feels stirring in her soul when Tewfiq sings, and therefore it is as much his music as the man himself that she is attracted to.

How is the extreme isolation of the town presented and expressed?

The isolation is actually stated in Dina's song "Welcome to Nowhere", where she lets the band members know that although they have arrived in the town, they have effectively arrived nowhere at all because it is remote and not like a town connected to the present day at all. The song "Waiting" also expresses the way in which the townspeople are waiting for life to find them, or for them to find something extra in their lives. This emphasizes not only their geographical isolation but also the way in which they are isolated from progress and the passage of time that moves larger towns forward but has forgotten about them.

It is also stated in other ways outside of the musical score; for example, when Haled asks to use a telephone so that they can call the Embassy and get the mix-up sorted out, he is told there is only one telephone in the town and there is someone perpetually using it. This lack of communication within the town shows how isolated they are on a practical level; it also shows that the town is small enough for people to be able to communicate in person, therefore they must be able to travel from one side of town to the other pretty easily.

There are two kinds of characters in the musical. What are these?

There are characters in the musical who are characters in their own right. The musical is essentially about them and shows the circumstances of their lives. Examples of this kind of character are Tewfiq and Dina. Tewfiq is a quiet man whose soul is filled with music. His life story is rolled out in song, and we learn about his family and also that he has suffered so much trauma that he has a nervous speech impediment. Dina is a sensitive woman whose capability and boldness hides this sensitivity. We learn that she is divorced and disappointed with life, and that she participates in the wider world vicariously mostly via the radio.

There are characters whose personality is not developed, and who are not instrumental to the plot in their own right, but whose presence or isolated action actually drives the plot itself. Haled and the man hogging the telephone are examples of this. Haled is the catalyst for the entire musical because his Egyptian accent is so thick, and his pronunciation so dire, that he purchases tickets to the wrong place. Were it not for him the band could well have gone straight to their intended destination and never have stopped in this small town.

Telephone Hogging Man is never actually developed as a character, and we never meet him in his own right. We learn of him only via Dina. However, his character is important because it goes to emphasize the complete isolation of the town and the fact that there is really no option other than staying there overnight. They cannot call out to anyone for help in getting to the correct destination. He is also significant in that prior to the arrival of the band, and therefore music, he waited and waited for a call that never comes. He is essentially ignored by the girlfriend he still waits to hear from. As the band go to leave, we learn that he has now received the phone call he has been waiting so long for. This goes to show that the town has been waiting for music to change their lives.