Initially scheduled for four nights, tickets for the musical were in such high demand that it was extended another day. It was on the extended day-a cloudy night with a cool breeze-that I attended the musical.

The musical tells the story of Kahlil Gibran's struggle writing his masterpiece, The Prophet, in New York, and brings to life the characters of his book. In the book, which was published in English by Alfred Knopf in 1923, and would bring Gibran immediate success and fame, a stranger named Almustafa ("The chosen") is about to leave the ancient city of Orphalese on a ship back to his homeland after having lived there for 12 years. Before he leaves, he accepts Almitra's, a seeress, request to speak to the people of Orphalese and answer their questions. He offers brief sermons on 26 subjects, ranging from marriage and love to neighbors and justice.

The cast consisted of some of Lebanon's finest actors. Rafik Ali Ahmad played the role of Gibran, and Julia Kassar played Mary Haskell, Gibran's confidante and financial supporter. Ghassan Saliba had the part of Almustafa (in the musical he was called, The Prophet), and Amani Al Souessi was no other than, Almitra.

A beautiful set design presented two separate worlds: On stage right was Gibran's New York studio-a desk, bookcase and sofa, and three of his paintings lofted up high in a scaffold; and on stage left, the mythical manifestation of the agrarian and ancient town, Orphalese: the entrance to a Roman-looking temple, a statue of a bare-breasted woman at the top corner, and in center stage, an archway with a statue of a Greek-God-looking man holding a child at its side. Above the stage on a cliff, the Crusader castle, which stands amid a wide array of Roman ruins and looms over the sea, was cast in yellow light. To the far right of the stage the mountains descend into the Mediterranean, and to the left, the small but once pivotal port of ancient times could be seen. Surrounded by history with the sound of waves inundating the air, I already felt a sense of magic before the musical began.

Ali Ahmad (Gibran), clothed in a brown three-piece suit, opened the musical with a solo that began, "I am Gibran from Bcharre." He sung on stage right (New York), and wouldn't cross over onto stage left (Orphalese) until the end of Act I. Following his solo, several actors came onto stage left clad in colorful robes, veils and turbans, some of them wielding scythes and one pulling a wooden cart along. They were the people of Orphalese. Soon they were joined by Saliba (Almustafa) and Al Souessie (Almitra), both dressed in all white. Saliba and Souessie sung together with Ali Ahmed and Kassar (Mary Haskell), the latter two standing on stage right. Kassar was dressed in a blouse and long skirt.

To my bitter disappointment, it was apparent the actors were lipsynching, making it difficult to appreciate the obvious power of their voices. Despite such artificiality, it was a pleasure later on to hear Saliba's (Almustafa) solos when they involved passages extracted from The Prophet. Like in the book, Saliba "spoke" to the people of Orphalese of marriage, children, giving and love.

In spite of the lipsynching, the simultaneous existence of the two worlds was believable, and as the musical progressed, its boundaries were blurred. Saliba (Almustafa) would routinely cross over into "New York" to discuss his ideas of Orphalese with Ali Ahmad (Gibran), and Kassar (Mary Haskell) would cross over into the ancient city to talk to Saliba and inform him of Gibran's trouble writing The Prophet; she also sung a duet with Al Souessie (Almitra) about their lives. These crossovers were essential to convey the dependence each world had on the other. In a sense, Gibran and Almustafa were the same person, and the same held true for Mary Haskell and Almitra. In the middle of Act II, Saliba (Almustafa) tells Ali Ahmad (Gibran) that he understands why the poet is writing Orphalese: He wants to escape the materialism of New York. The close relationship Kassar (Mary Haskell) had with Ali Ahmad was mirrored by Al Souessie's (Almitra) relationship with Saliba (Almustafa). Director Marwan Rahbani captured this symbolism successfully, and for me, this symbolism was the greatest success of the play.

Another success was the choreography. There were several intricate dance numbers, mostly involving the "people of Orphalese," that were executed with graceful synchronization. In one remarkable dance number in Act I, the dancers, clothed in tight, skin-colored material, posed in the postures of the nudes in some of Gibran's actual paintings.

Act II combined the worlds of New York and Orphalese to such an extent that the people of Orphalese were able to listen to a radio dragged from New York. The worlds had become almost one, and this was the point. Gibran had overcome his difficulties writing the book. Even the actor playing Mr. Knopf spoke to both Ali Ahmad (Gibran) and Saliba (Almustafa) in the same conversation. Act II also involved perhaps the best scene in the musical and the one that brought the most excitement and uproar from the audience. Ali Ahmad (Gibran) and three of his friends (one of them playing the part of Mikhail Naeimi-a prominent Lebanese writer at the time and one of Gibran's closest friends) are around a camp fire drinking arak and discussing Lebanese politics. Mr. Knopf unexpectedly joins them and soon he gets drunk off the arak. The men then break into an upbeat song and dance the dabké while Mr. Knopf unsuccessfully tries to follow their steps.

As the musical approached an end, I realized that I didn't have an attachment to any of the main characters, especially to the female protagonists. Al Souessie (Almitra) was one dimensional in her purity and innocence and Kassar (Mary Haskell) came off flat in her anguish over not being loved by Gibran. Ali Ahmad (Gibran) and Saliba (Almustafa) came to life only when they had scenes and duets together; when they were in their separate worlds, they became as one-dimensional as the female protagonists.

But if any other member in the audience was feeling the same way as I did, he or she must have been moved by the finale: A boat with a blue sail rippling in the wind approached stage left (Orphalese) from the sea to take Almustafa back to his home. The whole audience rose to their feet and craned their necks to see the boat and Saliba running toward it. I had never seen such a spectacle in the theatre before. But this wasn't your normal theatre. It was Byblos offering its services.