In the heart of Gordon Square, a theatrical community has been quietly building bridges for nearly a decade. Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi ( مسرح كليفلاند العربي ), the Arabic-speaking theatre group at Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT), is preparing to showcase their latest work, "The Wolf" ( الذيب ), as part of CPT's 2026 Test Flight play development program.
Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi will stage 'The Wolf' at Cleveland Public Theatre as the final 2026 Test Flight production.

Originally scheduled to be staged in February with the other Test Flight productions, unforeseen circumstances delayed “The Wolf” and the play has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 4 through Saturday, April 6.

Written and directed by Shakeeb Julien and produced by Rita El Jamous, "The Wolf" is a story that follows "a young villager [who] is kind of just flailing around within the village" until an old warrior arrives and saves someone dramatically.

The villager, inspired, convinces the warrior to let the villager follow along as "they travel from village to village and they meet new characters, learning new lessons at every stop they make."

The production illustrates Masrah Cleveland's collaborative theatre approach. "I come in and I have an idea for a scene, but then I need the actors," Julien explains, adding that he sets up the scene and lets the actors improvise.

“And then sometimes I'll go home, I'll write the scene, bring it in the next day, and we'll tweak it from there," he says of the process.

Additionally, he says the production is developing new talent along with developing the story itself. The cast includes founding member Isam Budiab, who Julien describes as "the heart and soul of every production," along with several newcomers to the Masrah stage.

Group therapy
Julien says the plays staged through Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi are often therapeutic for both the cast and production crew.

"There's never a shortage of things going wrong in the world, especially in our region of it," he explains. "So pretty much every production I've been a part of with Masrah over the last three years in one way or another, is always a therapeutic event."

The group, which has been active for about eight or nine years, brings together Arabic speakers from across the Middle East and North Africa. "If you're from any country that speaks Arabic, like the Levant or Egypt, or even Saudi Arabia, we all get together and we try to make a new show at least once a year," Julien says.

What makes Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi special isn't just the group’s artistic output—it's the family-like bonds they've forged. "We've always seen each other as family, and we treat each other like that, too," Julien notes. "There are people who aren't in this current production, or who haven't been in a production for Masrah in over a year now, and we all talk almost every day, if not every week."

The group operates in Cleveland's robust Arabic-speaking community, which includes the established Little Arabia neighborhood at the edge of Cleveland and Lakewood, as well as growing populations in areas like North Olmsted. "There are very large Arab populations out there," Julien observes, noting that "you can really find just about anybody from across the Middle East in Cleveland."

A scene from Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi's 2020 production of 'And Then We Met.'Bonus feature
One of the most distinctive aspects of any Masrah production is the post-show experience.

"We're actually one of—I believe we're the only test flight weekend where we actually set aside money in the budget to bring food for [the] post show" for the audience, Julien says, noting that the tradition reflects the ensemble's connection to their cultural roots. "Food is such an important aspect of all of our cultures—we love sharing it."

The food creates something special with their audiences. "I'd say at least 50% of our audience always hangs out afterwards... and you really feel like when that happens, people want to tell you how the show made them feel and how appreciative they are that there is a group like Masrah where Arabs are being portrayed in a positive light."

This positive representation feels especially crucial given current events. Julien notes that recent global events have affected the cast deeply.

“We’ve also seen such an almost equally endless stream of people strong and resilient in their faith,” he says. “And I think that's affected a lot of our cast and a lot of our members over the last few years."

For Julien and his fellow artists, the goal remains constant: "Our driving force is we feel this story needs to be heard not only by people from our community, but others as well, so people can see us as humans."

Masrah Cleveland Al-Arabi presents "The Wolf" from Thursday, April 2 through Saturday, April 4 at 7 p.m., as part of Cleveland Public Theatre's Test Flight series. Tickets start at $40, but every ticket is sold through CPT’s "Choose What You Pay" policy and will be offered online, over the phone, and at the CPT box office. Advanced online e-ticket purchases are recommended.