''Nazl el-Sourour'' (also spelled ''Nazl es-Surur'', ''Nazel el-Surour'', etc.; , literally "Happiness Hotel") is a musical play created by Lebanese playwright and composer

Ziad Rahbani Ziad Rahbani (, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the founders of modern Arabic music ...

Cast

* Ziad Rahbani * Joseph Sakr * Samy Hawat * Carmen Lebbos * Pierre Jamjian * Jacqueline Becker

Plot summary

''Zakaria'' (Ziad) is an unemployed and penniless horse-racing betting addict. He is kicked out of his house by his wife Suraya and forced to choose a poor-man's motel called ''Nazl es-Surur''. Much to his dismay, the motel is raided by two laid-off factory workers during his first night's stay. The insurgents, Abbas and Fahed, armed with machine guns and dynamite take the residents hostage. Abbas and Fahed were fired from their work because they were stirring co-workers to go on strike and they chose to take a "revolutionary" approach. Things go downhill from there.Nazel el sourour summary
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Legacy

''Nazl es-Surur'' was Ziad's second play after ''Sahriyya'' (An evening's celebration - 1973) but unlike the Rahbani movement conforming ''Sahriyya'', ''Nazl es-Surur'' came to stand in contrast to the prevalent folklore orientation and theatricality of the works of his parents; it marked Ziad's ideological and artistic definitive break from the Rahbani school of thought. The play was considered as an augury to the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

which erupted in 1975, but Ziad himself rejected this view, affirming that it was based on a real-life incident - the taking of hostages at the Beirut branch of the Bank of America. Although made in 1974, the play is still popular among Lebanese people and in the Arabic world - notably for its songs and script; in fact Ziad had introduced a new kind of language-based humor that was unprecedented in Lebanese theater. Fragments of dialogue from ''Nazl es-Surur'' and later Ziad plays continue to be used today and have become a part of the Lebanese pop-culture. The "Zakaria" character reappears with his wife "Souraya" in the 1978 play ''Bennesbe la bokra shou?'' (What do we need to do tomorrow?). This play was Ziad's first real appearance, which was performed in Cinema Orly theater. Ziad's mother,

Fairouz Nouhad Wadie Haddad (, ; born November 20, 1934 or November 21, 1935), known as Fairuz (, ), is a Lebanese singer. She is widely considered an iconic vocalist and one of the most celebrated singers in the history of the Arab world. She is pop ...

was so impressed by the song "Ba'atelak" (which reminds us of the period of the late Egyptian singer

Mounira El Mahdeya Monira Elmahdiyya (born Zakiyya Hesin Mansur, ) also known by the nicknames "Soltanet Eltarab" (= Queen of Singing), was an Egyptian singer and actress. She was considered to be the leading Egyptian singer in the 1920s. Early life Mounira El ...

), that she recorded the song herself after it was sung by a second class singer at the beginning of the seventies.

References

{{Reflist Lebanese political satire Satirical plays Lebanese plays 1974 musicals Musicals set in hotels Musicals set in Lebanon