The novel Kite Runner was first published in 2003 by Khaled Hosseini. It was adapted into a play by Matthew Spangler and the first stage production was in 2007 at San Jose State University. The film version was also released that year. And now it opens at the CIBC Theatre in June of 2024.

Warning: This trailer contains some spoilers for the play.

Amir grew up in Afghanistan with his best friend, Hassan, who is the son of the family servant. After a tragic incident, Hassan’s family decides to move away for safety. Later on, Amir’s father also chooses to move away when the Russians invade. While living in Pakistan, they are granted asylum in the US, and they move to San Francisco. One day, Amir is called upon to return to Afghanistan for a very important mission.

Khaled Hosseini has written a very powerful story. It’s a gut wrenching tale about the difficult life in Afghanistan and the brutality of the hatred between the different groups of people there.

Ramzi Khalaf is outstanding as Amir, who goes through a major transformation in the story. Shahzeb Zahid Hussain is excellent as the joyful and innocent Hassan. Haythem Noor is a powerful force as the father. The rest of the cast puts on an amazing performance as well.

Overall, it’s a very heavy play (don’t bring the kids), but it is well worth the time. As they say in the play, “Sad stories make good books.”

Cost of a ticket: $109 (Orchestra Sides)

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Get tickets now for The Kite Runner through June 23^rd!

Quinn Delaney

David Kwong is the Enigmatist. He is a magician and a crossword constructor. He does many card tricks on stage including one trick where he is holding the full deck in one hand and manages to send a card spinning quickly in the air to his other hand. It’s quite an impressive feat. There are also many tricks that have the audience in awe without any idea how he did them. Also, there are five puzzles in the show that the audience is invited to solve. Lastly, he creates a full crossword puzzle live on stage from scratch. It’s very spectacular, especially after he reveals all the callbacks to earlier in the show that he placed into the crossword.

David Kwong is very charismatic and funny as he introduces each puzzle and magic trick. He describes magic as a puzzle that you can’t solve, which is a great insight.

Overall, it’s an expertly crafted show that all fans of magic and puzzles should definitely see.

Cost of a ticket: $69

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Get tickets now for The Enigmatist through June 30th.

Quinn Delaney

Four students in Iran are taking a class to prepare for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). One of the students needs to pass in order to attend medical school in Australia. Another is learning English to speak to her grandchild. The third student is learning for the abundance of options that it provides. The last fourth’s motives are unknown. Lastly, the teacher lived in Manchester, England, for 9 years, but returned for an unknown reason.

Sanaz Toossi has written a Pulitzer Prize winning drama exploring the lives of these students and their teacher. The stakes of this test can be very high and the difficulty to learn can be very stressful.

Roxanna Hope Radja is great as the teacher, who is very strict about only speaking English in class. Nikki Massoud is solid as the future Australian student who really dislikes the English language. Sahar Bibiyan is fantastic as the grandmother who tries so hard to connect with her son and grandchild. Pej Vahdat is excellent as the student who is very secretive about his plans. Shadee Vossoughi is great as the student exploring her options.

Overall, it’s an excellent exploration of language as a form of identity.

Get tickets now for English through June 16^th!

Cost of a ticket: $55 (Main Floor)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It –

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney