Ziryab, The Songbird of Andalusia

– SOLO PLAY WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY RONNIE MALLEY

TAKE AN ENCHANTING MUSICAL JOURNEY FROM 9TH CENTURY ISLAMIC SPAIN TO PRESENT DAY AMERICA. ARABIC MUSIC, POETRY, AND SONGS BREATHE LIFE INTO THE STORY OF ZIRYAB, A FORMER SLAVE FROM BAGHDAD, WHOSE MUSICAL ABILITIES BROUGHT HIM FAME THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AND AL-ANDALUS: A LAND WHERE CHRISTIANS, JEWS, AND MUSLIMS CO-EXISTED FOR CENTURIES CREATING A UNIQUE AND DIVERSE SOCIETY. THE PLAY DESCRIBES THE HISTORY OF ZIRYAB, ISLAM IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST, AND EL OUD – A MIDDLE EASTERN LUTE THAT EVENTUALLY BECAME THE GUITAR. THE STORY ALSO WEAVES PAST AND PRESENT INCLUDING ANECDOTES FROM RONNIE’S OWN LIFE GROWING UP AS A MUSICIAN AND MUSLIM PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN IN THE UNITED STATES. RUNNING TIME: 75 MIN

AVAILABLE FOR: FULL PRODUCTION - STAGED READING - CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS - MUSIC & THEATER WORKSHOPS - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - K-12 & COLLEGE LEVEL

In 75 minutes this Chicago performer takes us back to the ninth century and deep into our own. Ziryab: The Songbird of Andalusia is a welcome, multi-cultural world premiere from Silk Road Rising. Malley’s labor of love testifies to the power of art to make us at home wherever. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
— Larry Bommer - Stage and Cinema
Malley’s musicianship is superb and his interweaving of his own life with the story of Ziryab’s, as well as his highly-informative discourse on the medieval master’s legacy, make for an enlightening performance.
— Jacob Davis, chicagocritic.com