Act I
The musical opens at a moment of despair, with a gun held to Amal’s forehead. From here, the story unfolds as she reflects on her past and the events that brought her to this point, confronting loss, displacement, and exile.

Flashbacks take the audience to her family’s ancestral village of Ein Hod under the British Mandate. Amal’s parents, Dalia and Hasan, fall in love amidst village traditions and rising tensions. As violence escalates in 1947–48, Ein Hod is bombed, and the villagers expelled. During the chaos, Amal’s infant brother Ismael is kidnapped and raised as a Jew by a Holocaust survivor, while Amal’s family is forced to Jenin Refugee Camp.

Amal is born in 1955. Her father instills in her the importance of education, while her mother teaches her to internalize her pain by telling her to “keep it inside”. Amal grows up amid stories of loss, a best friendship with Huda, and the harsh realities of refugee life. She witnesses her family’s struggles, survives a sniper attack, and eventually earns a scholarship to study in Philadelphia, carrying the weight of exile and memory.

Act II
Now going by Amy, Amal struggles to fit into American life: “I spun in cultural vicissitude… I metamorphosed into an unclassified Arab-Western hybrid, unrooted and unknown.” She focuses on studies and survival, trying to reconcile her Palestinian identity with her U.S. life.

Returning to Lebanon, Amal reunites with her brother Yousef and meets Majid, a doctor. They fall in love, marry, and Amal becomes pregnant. But the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon forces her return to the U.S., while Majid, Yousef, and his wife Fatima remain. Majid is killed when Israel bombs his hospital, and Fatima and her daughter are murdered in the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Yousef descends into anger and vengeance, while Amal gives birth to Sara in the U.S., raising her with emotional distance under the weight of grief and trauma.

Over time, Amal reconnects with her long-lost brother David (formerly Ismael) and begins to reconcile with her past. She eventually returns to Jenin with Sara. Soon after, the camp comes under siege.

The story concludes with Sara, David, and Mansour (Huda’s son) carrying the story forward, bridging past and present, and honoring the enduring spirit of family and homeland.

09/10/2014 - Ideation.

10/29/2021 - Received theatrical adaptation rights from author, susan abulhawa. 

07/25/2022 - Shared and discussed initial creative ideas (13 songs) with susan abulhawa. 

02/15/2023 - Completed 1st preliminary draft of the script, with Editor, TC DeWitt, alongside 31 song demos.

8/10/2023 - 1st Music workshop/recording session with sound engineer and local actors/singers. 

11/08/2023 - Began working with composer/sound designer Bahar Royaee.

11/21/2023 - Began working with dramaturg Marina Johnson. 

12/02/2023 - Invited by Dina Zarif, Artistic Director at Red Poppy Art House to present a 30 minute selection of songs at CEASEFIRE NOW, part of the Mission Arts & Performance Project. Featuring 5 actor/singers and 3-piece band.

03/08/2024 - Invited by Sahar Assaf, Executive Artistic Director of Golden Thread Productions to present a 20-min teaser at “What do the women say? 2024” at Brava Theater. The event was sold out and we received a standing ovation. 

05/03/2024 - Recorded 4 demo songs at Hyde Street Studios, San Francisco. 

09/15/2024 - Invited by Deborah Eliezer, Artistic Director at Aviva Arts and Dina Zarif, Artist Director at Red Poppy Art House and to present selected songs for “Women’s Work in Troubled Times” at Red Poppy Art House, San Francisco, CA.

12/6/2025 - Table Reading of 2nd draft with support from San Francisco Arts Commission, Center for Cultural Innovation and Golden Thread Productions. 

Upcoming: 2026 Date TBD - Invited by Linda Lucero, Executive Artistic Director of Yerba Buena Garden Festival to present a 90-minute concert of songs from “Mornings in Jenin Musical” in downtown San Francisco. Performance will feature 7 actors/singers and a 6-member fusion orchestra featuring oud, bass, guitar, strings, synthesizer, electronics, ney (reed flute) kanun and drums.

The full production features a a variable cast size of 12-20 performers and a 6-member fusion ensemble with oud, bass, guitar, violin, viola, cello, synthesizer, ney (reed flute), qanun, and drums. The score is immersive, eclectic alt-pop with both Western Classical and Arabic influences.

CAST OF CHARACTERS 

AMAL - Palestinian Refugee

YOUNG AMAL - Younger Self 

YOUSEF / YOUNG YOUSEF - Amal’s Brother

HUDA / YOUNG HUDA - Amal’s best friend 

DALIA / YOUNG DALIA  - Amal’s mother

HASAN / YOUNG HASAN - Amal’s Father

DAVID - Amal’s long lost brother, Kidnapped as a baby 

MAJID - Amal’s husband

FATIMA - Yousef’s wife

SARA - Amal’s daughter

HAJ SALEM - Elder of Jenin Refugee Camp

BASIMA - Amal’s Grandmother

YEHYA - Amal’s Grandfather 

MOSHE - David’s father

JOLANTA - David’s mother 

ARI - Hasan’s Jewish best friend

DARWEESH - Amal’s Uncle

OSAMA - Huda’s husband 

JAMIL - Huda’s son

MANSOUR - Huda’s son

JACOB - David’s son

AMMO JACK - UN Director of Operations in Jenin Refugee Camp

SISTER MARIANNE - Volunteer Nun in Jenin Refugee Camp

ORPHANS FROM COLUMBIA- DRINA, LAYLA, YASMINA 

VILLAGERS, SOLDIERS, PALESTINIANS, REFUGEES, KELLY, INS LADY, MILTON DOBBS, REPORTER, MRS PERLSTEIN, WHITE MAN, FBI AGENTS, BARTENDER, NURSE  

CASTING NOTES

• Ethnicity: Most principal characters are Palestinian or of Palestinian descent; David, Moshe, Ari, and Jolanta are Jewish/Israeli; other supporting characters include international and Western roles.
  
  

• Gender/Sexuality: As written. Flexibility possible in casting nonbinary or gender-expansive performers where appropriate, while maintaining core cultural context.
  
  

• Instrumentation: Some performers may play live instruments (oud, guitar, percussion, ney (flute)) if musically inclined; not required.
  
  

• Age / Multiple Roles: Because the story spans from the 1940s to 2003, most actors will play their characters across multiple ages or portray more than one role. This allows for fluid storytelling and emphasizes the continuity of memory, legacy, and perspective across generations.
  
  

• Principal Characters: The central character, Amal, is the only role split between two actors — Young Amal and Adult Amal — to anchor the emotional core of the story and trace her transformation over time. Other principal roles such as Huda (Amal’s best friend), Hasan (her father), and Dalia (her mother), should be cast with actors capable of portraying both younger and older versions of themselves. These transitions should feel seamless and truthful, emphasizing emotional throughlines over literal physical aging.
  
  

• Ensemble / Doubling:
  Secondary and minor roles will be doubled within the 12-person cast. Ensemble members may play friends, neighbors, or historical figures at different points in the story. Doubling should be done thoughtfully to support clarity of storytelling, with clear distinctions in costume, voice, and physicality to help the audience track multiple identities.