DEBBIE ALLEN'S 'OMAN ... OH MAN': New production examines Christian/Muslim cultural similarities.

      She came to the series as a Tony Award winner for her role as Anita on Broadway’s 1980 “West Side Story” and has since become a choreography star, a motion picture director and a dance academy founder. This weekend Allen presents her latest theater project “Oman Oh Man!” at UCLA’s Royce Hall.

      “It’s a new dance driven spectacle. You could say it’s a musical because it has song and dance and dialog,” she described. The musical has its West Coast premier tomorrow, December 10 and runs through Saturday, December 12. 

      “It previously played to a standing-room-only crowd at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater last March,” Allen said of the new project. “It was part of a festival called Arabesque that celebrated Arabic culture. I was the only artist chosen to create a newly commissioned piece that would somehow narrow the gap between Muslim and Christian cultures.”

     Allen told EUR’s Lee Bailey that while the project could perhaps see the light of the Milky White Way, it is currently and modestly being supported by her theater, the Debbie Allen Dance Theater, the Annenberg Foundation, the Kennedy Center, Target Stores, and various philanthropic organizations.

      “The importance of the message of this piece is so vital to the community and an inspiration for young people,” she said. “The message is that we are all very different, but at the same time there is so much about us that is so alike. We pray to the same God whether we call him the Almighty, or we call him Allah, or we call him God.”

      The project was created by Allen who said that the initial plan for the project was for it to be a ballet, but after visiting the country of Oman, she was led to make the piece more complex.

      “After I went to Oman, after I read 15 books, and interviewed different artists, I decided that we needed to have dialog [in the piece] because if you don’t hear the characters speak then there’s something that will be missing,” she said.

      “I created it with Arturo Sandoval who is one of the most incredible composers on the planet,” she added. “The score is just spellbinding. In its essence it covers so many things. In doing this, it’s been a journey for me and for all the young people involved. It speaks volumes about the power of the arts.”

      Allen calls the production family friendly, but explained that there are elements of satire that will attract teen and adult audiences, too. She also said that the piece certainly has conflict that brings a little weighty energy to the production, which is about two young military school roommates; one an American and one from Oman.

     “There’s always conflict and as people are getting to know one another, there can be something that is a catalyst that sparks conflict between them. I think it’s important to have conflict so you can have discussion and resolution. There is conflict and there is a battle that takes place and it’s done in dance,” Allen described. “It’s great.”

      Allen said that she chose for the characters to be quite young because it kept an innocent and honest air to the conversation about their conflicts and differences.

     “It doesn’t become overly political,” she said, “and it’s something that everyone can embrace. I chose two boys because I was inspired by the Sultan Qaboos’ biography. At the age of about 13 he was sent away to military academy in Great Britain and he went there for many, many years. He mastered the English language, studied politics and even served in the military over there. He came back and really has been such an innovator in his country.”

      “He just moved his country really fast into the 21st century,” she continued. “It’s very progressive. That’s why I wrote the story.”

      Inspired by the charisma and character of Sultan Qaboos, Allen hopes that the production inspires audiences.

      “Cultural diplomacy is one of our strongest tools of understanding and communication,” she said of using the artful production to motivate young and older audiences to think and dispel myths about Middle Easterners and their culture. “This is the mission that I set out on. For most people of the Muslim faith, it is about their dedication to God. That is what their religion is about.”

      “Oman ... Oh Man” runs December 10-12 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. For more information on Debbie Allen, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, and ticket information, visit www.debbieallendanceacademy.com.

      “We’re hoping everyone will come and enjoy this piece and join us on especially on our way into this holiday celebration, which is a time for everyone to forgive and embrace and reach out to one another,” Allen said. “This is a good time to be doing this production.”