By SHARON EBERSON
The circumstances that have landed Sakinah in jail would seem to be an open and shut case, but nothing is ever so simple as we are led to believe. Her motivations are up for interpretation, and therein lies the crux of Yussef El Guindi‘s Refugee Rhapsody, a tantalizing exploration into America’s class divide.
In what could be the start of a top-notch police procedural, we know a crime has been committed, and a heinous one at that. The act itself is initially a mystery, revealed through the ongoing questioning of inmate Sakinah — a stunning performance by Milia Ayache, leading Pittsburgh International Classic Theatre’s production of the rolling premiere.
For 90 minutes, Ayache rarely leaves the spotlight, as her memories intersect with her present predicament, awaiting trial behind bars. The seriocomic Refugee Rhapsody unfolds as a series of therapist-inmate sessions, flashbacks and character revelations, along with a mind-bending surprise or two.
Trying to reach beyond Sakinah’s snark and sass is Jenny (Dominique Briggs Jackson), a pregnant therapist who has been hired by the defense to evaluate their client’s competency. As determined as Sakinah is to build walls of misdirection, Briggs Jackson’s Jenny is resolute to tear them down.
El Guindi’s play then dives into a love triangle gone wrong, and ups the ante considerably by sending a Syrian immigrant and his Lebanese American girlfriend on a collision course with Emily (Erika Krenn), a wealthy celebrity philanthropist, who specializes in refugee causes. That she is blond, hugely popular, and has a big social media following would seem to place her in another universe from friends and lovers Sakinah and Fouad (Hari Bhaskar), who work in a Goodwill store.
Krenn conveys Emily’s Paris Hilton vibe with — what Sakinah calls her “princess superpower” — with easygoing sincerity. As seen through Fouad’s eyes, Bhaskar’s quickly transforms from an almost childlike, fun-loving partner to Sakinah, to a man smitten beyond his wildest dreams. When the trio initially come together in Emily’s apartment, where champagne and caviar flow, wide-eyed Fouad falls hard for Emily and her opulent lifestyle. He gazes adoringly while Sakinah seethes as the heiress announces that she plans to donate her museum-ready art collection to be hung in immigrant detention centers.
As her boyfriend and Emily flaunt their attraction, the trouble for Sakinah, at first, is that Emily seems to genuinely care about their shared refugee causes. While Fouad and Sakinah have only dreamed about helping, Emily is getting the job done.
It’s tricky, here, to say more. But what must be noted is Sakinah, wandering through Emily’s palatial digs, has an encounter with a painting in Emily’s bathroom that is something out of a fever dream. Charismatic Dionysius Akeem, doubling as Jenny’s devoted husband and the character of Waleed, has a darkly devious part to play in Sakinah’s story.
Johnmichael Bohach’s shape-shifting scenic design, beautifully lit by Bob Steineck and featuring multimedia design by Scott Andrew, reveals entries and exits and a trippy dip into the unknown. The eventful day when Sakinah and Fouad meet Emily starts with sliding panels opening to racks of glamorous dresses, allowing the Goodwill duo their choice of costumes for a night on the town. That Bhaskar is a vision in a red gown, which he wears through a good portion of the show, is an endearingly off-kilter choice for a character embarking on a life-altering journey.
Directed by PICT’s Elizabeth Elias Huffman, Refugee Rhapsody doesn’t shy from El Guindi’s dive into the mysteries of the mind, but also keeps it real. The play is as much about class — the 1% and those struggling to get by — as it is about the mass deportations underway in the United States. We get a dose of that, too, but it is the disparity in wealth, even with riches in the hands of a likable, caring person, that fuels Sakinah’s mental state, her act of violence, and its aftermath.
Refugee Rhapsody’s strength is that it doesn’t pick sides or demand that we empathize with one character over another. Led by Ayache’s vulnerable, potent performance, the play opens PICT’s 30th season with an arresting production that asks many questions about looking up from the bottom wrung of society, at those who have so much when others have so little, but provides no easy answers.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
PICT’s production of the rolling world premiere of Refugee Rhapsody is October 9-25, 2026, at Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. Tickets: https://www.picttheatre.org
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Our Posts, Reviews
This was an overly generous review, to say the least. To paraphrase the director Akira Kurosawa: With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable play. But with a bad script even a good director can’t possibly make a good play.
The script of Refugee Rhapsody, unfortunately, isn’t good. It’s billed as a comedy, but it’s not funny or entertaining; the characters are difficult to relate to, and the production is simply tedious and static, despite the efforts of the director, the actors, and good staging. The audience at the performance on October 16 was so underwhelmed that it didn’t even offer the obligatory standing ovation that even mediocre plays receive nowadays.