The Boy Who Danced On Air is a modern-day love story set in rural Afghanistan. Paiman and Feda have spent their young lives as dancers in the world of bacha bazi, where wealthy men take in boys from poor families, train them to dance at parties, and often abuse them. The two boys' chance meeting changes the course of their lives and sets them on a journey to find their independence in this musical fable about love, tradition, morality and the strength of the human spirit. The Boy Who Danced On Air is written by Tim Rosser (music) and Charlie Sohne (book and lyrics). The Abingdon Theater Company production was directed by Tony Speciale, and music direction by David Gardos. The cast includes Osh Ghanimah, Troy Iwata, Deven Kolluri, Jonathan Raviv and Nikhil Saboo. Featuring a bonus track sung by four-time Grammy Award winner India. Arie.
P**S
Score is good
The CD really surprised me. I didn’t know what to expect. The music is actually very good even though I never heard of this show.
G**Z
This is glorification of child rape and sex abuse!
How the hell is amazon even selling this?!! Bacha bazi is neither an Afghan tradition nor a part of Afghan culture. Bacha Baazi, which literally translates as “playing with a boy/child”, is sexual exploitation of children, rape of young boys and abuse of minors. Wealthy warlords, often funded by foreign governments, abduct young boys in Afghanistan and turn them into sex slaves. For ANYONE to even attempt to romanticize or glorify this horrific practice is equivalent to openly supporting pedophilia and child sex abuse. TAKE THIS DOWN. No one should be making money off of child abuse!!! Disgusting!
G**M
One Long Funeral Dirge
What a disappointment. Every song sounds like the one before- a mournful, pity-party funeral dirge sound. Yes, the subject matter is not bouncy and bright, but 20 some odd songs that sound the same? Other more talented composers can pull off diversity in their scores without resorting to the dull sameness of one song sounding like another even with serious subject matter (i.e. "West Side Story," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Les Miserables," "Sunset Blvd," etc.). Don't waste your money on this self-important attempt at a Sondheim Wannabe score. Oh for a Jerry Herman sound once again.
D**K
A Remarkable Musical
I saw the surprisingly sophisticated production of The Boy Who Danced on Air at the tiny Abingdon Theatre in New York in 2017. The score was highly accomplished (akin to The Band's Visit, if you need a contemporary reference) and the cast superb, and I was pleased to see that the producers were able to make this recording. (I pre-purchased it as part of a fund-raising campaign.) The historically based subject matter is difficult to consider--and has led to knee-jerk condemnation by those who haven't seen the show--but the creators chose to explore the brutal power of cultural tradition and the complexity of the human survival instinct. Ultimately, The Boy Who Danced on Air is about the hope for love and a better life. It deserves to be heard and seen.
S**I
Romanticizing child trafficking
This is disgusting and shameful. Whoever the artist is should be ashamed of himself for calling this romantic musical, this is a disgusting and traumatic Past for a lot of afghans. Bacha bazi is not an Afghan culture it is called child trafficking and I don’t get why it’s a musical. I am an Afghan and as an Afghan this disgusts me beyond than words can express.
S**I
Boring and plain
They had no real Afghans consulting the production and romanticized pedophilia. Disgusting play.
C**E
Beautiful soundtrack
The music was great and the story that it told was interesting. If given the chance, one should take a listen to the songs. For me, I found then to be quite inspirational. A truly marvelous soundtrack and well done!
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