Ali Louis Bourzgui’s Broadway journey reached a new milestone yesterday. The 26-year-old Moroccan-American actor took home his first Tony Award, winning Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance as David in The Lost Boys. His emotional acceptance speech paid tribute to immigrant families, Palestinians, and Arab storytellers, making the moment feel bigger than a personal achievement.
But Bourzgui isn’t the only artist from the region to make it to Broadway. From actors and producers to performers who paved the way decades ago, here are some of the MENA names who have left their mark on the Great White Way.
Ali Louis Bourzgui – Moroccan
Fresh off his Tony Award win for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, Ali Louis Bourzgui has quickly become one of Broadway’s brightest young stars. He won for playing David in The Lost Boys, adding the honor to a growing list of acclaimed performances.
Before that, he starred as Tommy in The Who’s Tommy and played Orpheus in Hadestown. Beyond mainstream productions, Bourzgui has consistently embraced projects centered on Arab stories, portraying Marco in Layalina and Amir in We Live in Cairo, a musical inspired by the Egyptian revolution.
Throughout his career, Bourzgui has spoken openly about reconnecting with his Arab and Muslim identity and using the stage to tell stories that make Arab humanity impossible to ignore.
Shereen Ahmed – Egyptian
Egyptian-American actress Shereen Ahmed has become one of the most recognizable Arab faces on Broadway.
She is the first Egyptian—and the first Arab—to headline a Broadway production when she took on the iconic role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. She is also well known for delivering a breathtaking operatic performance at the grand opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Arian Moayed – Iranian
Born in Iran and raised in Chicago after immigrating to the US at age five, Arian Moayed has built an impressive career across stage and screen.
He earned a Tony Award nomination for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and won an Obie Award for Guards at the Taj. His Broadway credits also include The Humans, which earned him a Drama Desk Award. Outside theatre, many know him as Stewy in Succession, a role that brought him an Emmy nomination.
Ali Daylami – Bahraini
Ali Daylami made history as the first Bahraini and the first person from the Gulf to receive a Tony Award. He was part of the producing team behind Maybe Happy Ending, which won Best Musical.
The New York-based producer first fell in love with theatre after watching Les Misérables at Dubai Opera in 2016. Since then, he has worked on productions including Wicked and The Heart of Rock ‘n’ Roll, while consistently advocating for stronger performing arts education and talent development across the MENA region.
Houshang Touzie – Iranian
Iranian actor Houshang Touzie arrived in the United States after the Iranian Revolution put an end to his early theatre career back home. Decades later, he returned to West 44th Street—not as a parking lot attendant, but as a Broadway actor.
Touzie appeared in The Kite Runner, portraying General Taheri, an Afghan refugee rebuilding his life in America. His story mirrors the themes of displacement and longing explored in the production, making his Broadway journey particularly poignant.
Curtain Call
Broadway may still have a long way to go when it comes to representation, but artists from across the Middle East and North Africa have been carving out space on its stages for decades. From trailblazers like Shereen Ahmed to Ali Louis Bourzgui, these performers and producers are proving that stories from the region belong under the spotlight too.
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