Theatre: “The Visitor” - new musical at the Public

Composer Tom Kitt is responsible for some of the loveliest scores on Broadway. His musicals run the gamut from dealing with bipolar disorder (“Next to Normal”), to 1930s celebrities (the upcoming “Flying Over Sunset”), to the rebirth of Broadway after COVID  (the recent “New York State of Mind” music video.)

So it’s no surprise to find that he is the genius behind “The Visitor,” a bittersweet little musical in previews at the Public about a sad and extremely relevant topic: deportation of the undocumented.

Walter (David Hyde-Pierce) is a middle-aged economics professor who’s in a funk. His wife has passed, he’s bored by his job, and is ready for something new. When he returns to his pied-a-terre in New York City after a long absence, he finds that something new: a young couple occupying his apartment.

Turns out Tarik (Ahmad Maksoud) and Zainab (Alysha Deslorieux) are undocumented refugees from Syria and Senegal. Out of pity, he allows them to stay, and a friendship develops. Tarik, an amateur musician who performs in the subway, teaches the uptight Walter how to play the bongo drums. All seems rosy until an incident in the subway which changes their lives forever.

“The Visitor” is based on the 2007 film of the same name, which was created in the shadow of 9/11 and anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant prejudice. But its subject is timeless: what can the Everyman (or Everywoman) do when confronted with a situation that’s bigger than they are? Stand by helplessly or take action? The book by Kwame Keri-Armah and Brian Yorkey definitely offers a point of view and wears its heart on its sleeve.

In addition to the score, “The Visitor” offers you a chance to see David Hyde-Pierce in action. One of the busiest guys in the entertainment world, he proves once again he can do it all. And if he ever decides to give up acting, he’s got a second career as a bongo player waiting in the wings.