A new solo show has opened at the Greenwich House Theater, written and performed by Ari’el Stachel, who won the Tony award for best supporting actor in the musical, “The Band’s Visit.” It is not a “coming out” story, but it is about his personal struggle with anxiety and his journey to “figure out” his identity. It started when he was five years old and was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder and his fixation on the numbers 3, 5,and 9. At age six, he was put on medication that had become a burden rather than a solution. He also sweats excessively when plagued with an anxiety attack, which is evident as he mops the sweat pouring down his face several times during his performance. None of these debilitating disorders hinders his endearing performance, which is honest, focused, and heartfelt, as he portrays over thirty different characters over the course of ninety minutes. He tells the story about the night he received the Tony award and struggled when being bombarded with praise and questions from guests at the after-party. Constantly running to the washroom to wash the sweat from his face, then using 3, then 5, then 9 paper towels, revealing the OCD is still in control.

His father was an Israeli from Yemen working as a taxi driver, and his mother, an American-born Ashkenazi Jew, studying to be a doctor. They later divorced. Mr. Stachel was ten when he first encountered the brown faces of Arabs on television after the 9/11 attack. He then asked his father if they were Arab and was told they were Jews. That was the start of his identity crisis: constantly changing schools to avoid harassment and searching for a place where he would belong. He avoided being seen with his father because he looked like Osama Bin Laden and even skipped his graduation to avoid confrontation. He befriended the only black classmate in one school and thought he had resolved his crisis until romancing a black woman in Africa who makes it clear by comparison that he is white.

Back in the States, he meets another Middle Eastern actor at an audition, and they help found an organization called MENASA, for Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian actors. His connection to this group became toxic when he was cast as an Egyptian in “The Band’s Visit” when he was a Jew. Mr. Stachel provides many stories that were poised to question his identity and feed into his chronic mental condition, causing him to turn to alcohol and pills to reduce his anxiety.

When he finally accepts his heritage and identifies as a Yemenite Jew (both Arab and Jewish), the Hamas attack on Israel happens on October 7th, 2023. Once again, his conflict arises as he explains, “How can I pick a side when all sides are inside of me?” Perhaps the best way Mr. Stachel has learned to deal with his afflictions is through art and performance. He tells his story as he exercises his craft, and luckily for the audience, he does both very well. He never asks for pity, places blame, or makes excuses, but bravely and honestly reveals his scars, shows us his wounds, and involves us in his process of healing.