Directing Alumnus Kareem Fahmy ’07 Presents Two Plays This Fall

Directing alumnus Kareem Fahmy ’07 is making a splash in theatre, directing two plays this fall. Fahmy has directed a number of world premieres including 3/Fifths (3LD, New York Times Top 5 Must-See Shows), Sevan K. Greene’s This Time (Sheen Center, New York Times Critics’ Pick), Bess Welden’s Refuge*Malja (Portland Stage), Adam Kraar’s Alternating Currents (Working Theater), Nikkole Salter’s Indian Head (Luna Stage), and Victor Lesniewski’s Couriers and Contrabands (TBG Theatre). This fall, Fahmy directs Yasmina’s Necklace at Premiere Stages in Union, New Jersey and alumnus Clarence Coo’s ’10 play On That Day In Amsterdam with Primary Stages at The Cherry Lane Theatre.  

Yasmina’s Necklace opened at Premiere Stages on September 5th, and closed on September 22nd. The play’s synopsis: Meet Abdul Samee: his father is Iraqi, his mother is Puerto Rican - but if you ask him, he'll say he's Italian. Longing to shed his cultural identity, he changes his name to Sam, marries an American and does everything in his power to turn away from his heritage. But when Sam meets Yasmina, a beautiful woman from his father's homeland, he begins to learn that a tree without roots cannot stand for long. 

Broadway World Critic Marina Kennedy called the play a “moving story” and praised both the cast and creative team for their extraordinary craft. 

Coo’s play On That Day In Amsterdam will begin performances October 29th prior to a November 19th opening. The show is scheduled to continue performances through December 18th. This will mark Fahmy’s Off Broadway directorial debut. Coo and Fahmy developed this play through five developmental workshops at five different institutions over a year and a half (New Dramatists, New York Stage and Film, Geva Theatre Center, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, and the Sundance Theatre Lab). 

On That Day in Amsterdam, follows two young men as they wake up in Amsterdam after a one-night stand: one is a refugee from the Middle East, the other an American backpacker who is himself the son of immigrants. With only a day before they must part ways, they set off on a romantic journey through the city, discovering the meaning of art, love, and loss.

Fahmy and Coo are also collaborating on the play Chapters of a Floating Life, which received a developmental workshop at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Fahmy was named the 2019 Phil Killian Directing Fellow at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and served as an Assistant Director for the Company’s productions of Mother Road and Macbeth.