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The movie’s only musical nod was the fact that it was a story about a police band. But turn it into a Broadway musical?

“The first time I heard, it sounds to me like a crazy idea,� said Gabai, who originated the role of the band’s leader, Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, in the film. “The film is so gentle and very low key. There’s not much of car chasing or what have you.�

It took Wolf eight years to bring his idea to fruition and once it had been Off-Broadway and then on Broadway, Wolf circled back to Gabai in 2018 and asked him to take over the role of Zakaria on Broadway for Tony Shalhoub.

Gabai agreed.

“They managed to make out of this gentle film a very gentle musical,� he said during a phone call days before the show opened in Tempe last week. “It is very special and very unique, and I think it’s the first time on Broadway that you see Mediterranean issues not put out of politics but through human nature. Also it’s the first time you can hear and listen to all these languages altogether.�

The play as with the film, which swept international film festivals and won numerous awards, has characters speaking Arabic, Hebrew and English, and the music is a combination of Arabic and jazz.

“The Band’s Visitâ€� — hitting the stage in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ starting Thursday, Feb. 24 — is about the Alexandria (Egypt) Ceremonial Police Orchestra that gets stranded in the middle of nowhere after taking the wrong bus to a concert in Israel. Instead of a big city, they land in a desert town whose residents are more than a little curious about their accidental tourists. The townspeople agree to take the visitors in for the night while they wait for their bus.

“The thing about this night, the locals and the orchestra (share) very small human stories,� Gabai said. “Each one in this night reveals themselves to strangers. Each one learns about himself and they learn especially how much we are alike and how much we need each other in spite of the differences of culture and nations and politics and language.�

“I think this story is timely ... especially now because people need the connection after such a long time of disconnection,� he added. “They missed it and they forgot how it is to be together in communities. This is especially relevant now, but I think this feels relevant any time because it talks about how much alike we are. In spite of our differences, we are humans who need each other. And sometimes you are more open to talk to a stranger that you won’t see (again) than you are to people you see every day.�

Gabai said that the musical is not your typical polished Broadway musical. It’s more of a play with music.

“It’s a play with lots of songs. You have to sit, you have to listen, you have to breath and accept the story,� said Gabai, who sings a short ballad and duet in the performance. “And you find yourself, as an audience, in the story.�

He called playing Zakaria career changing.

“Even though there was a gap between the film and my first show on Broadway, this part was always with me,� said the 74-year-old veteran Israeli actor, whose resume includes theater, TV and film productions going back to his debut in 1973. “I was lucky to have quite a vast career in different genres, but still this is kind of my signature role.�