THERE’S NO BUSINESS LIKE
SHOW BUSINESS IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Stephen Cole’s backstage Qatar saga is
stranger than fiction—and just as entertaining

In the story category of “truth is stranger than fiction,” and well worthy of inclusion in an edition of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, comes the mind-boggling saga of how two Americans from the musical theatre world got pulled into a world of wackiness when commissioned to create a show of epic proportions produced in the Middle East to celebrate the opening of a soccer stadium. It was to be titled Aspire. The director had never supervised a musical. A huge orchestra was engaged. There were hundreds of performers involved who didn’t share a common language. The writing was rushed. What could go wrong?

Irrepressible Stephen Cole lived the odd tale as one of the writers. In a one-man show filled with anecdotes and songs, he relived it recently, recounting in a likable manner the unlikely circumstances. It was directed by Rick Pulos, who also designed the accompanying projections. The recollections also fill the pages of the book recently published by West Side Press. Both are titled Camelton, which, of course, is a wink to rhyme the name with that of a certain long-running hit about that guy named Alexander and others who are considered our country’s Founding Fathers.

Picture this: Those traipsing across the mammoth stage in the country of Qatar notably included not just hundreds of human performers (actors, singers, an action hero from movies, acrobats, ballet dancers), but stallions, falcons, and, yes—camels! Those dramatic dromedaries suggested the title of the Cole collection of memories for stage and page. And what else did Aspire inspire? Prior to these 2026 retellings, Mr. Cole had used the odd experiences he and David Krane—his composer collaborator for the made-to-order project in the far-off land—into another musical about the making of that musical. With themselves as characters (but with different names) and some artistic license, art imitated life, and it debuted under the title—and onto stages in Texas, New York City, and Europe—as The Road to Qatar! And it spawned a cast recording on the JAY Records label. Well, it’s a well-told tale, well worth (re)telling. (Indeed, Mr. Krane put together a documentary film about the experience.)

And it still seems mind-boggling that those obeying the whim of the Emir of that country on the other side of the world would surf the internet, discover the website of a New York-based lyricist/bookwriter, and send an email stating simply, in broken English, “We want you write musical. How much?” Composer Krane got the same message. The two men had never worked together, but decided—after some debating—to jump in and be a team. Then came the phone-call contacts, contracts, crazy conversations, questions, Cole & Krane’s content creation, casting, criticisms, crossing the continents… and the camels.

Eliciting his audience’s chuckles and appreciative applause from the start, high-energy raconteur and singer Stephen Cole was on a roll and kept rolling along. The one-man/many-anecdotes show also spent some time remembering his other theatre projects (he’s also collaborated with composers Claibe Richardson and David Evans). Representative songs emphasized his bouncy, bright personality and zingy humor as the musical material alternated with the stories.

At first, he and David Krane wondered if the out-of-the-blue offer was just a scam, a practical joke, or a request from those truly clueless about the practical aspects of mounting a mega-musical (or even a non-mega-musical). Would it ever really happen? Was the money really guaranteed? How about the language barrier? Summoned to come to Qatar quickly, asked to write and rewrite songs and scenes quickly, would the trip by plane by Cole and Krane be in vain—and was this mainly just insane? Would the culture welcome these two gay Jewish men? (Maybe they shouldn’t mention some things.) And what would they tell their worrying mothers?

One especially memorable incident involves the command to delete the term “à la mode” from the script—not because the powers that be didn’t want a mention of a scoop of ice cream on pie, but because “à la” sounded like an irreverent reference to Allah. Even the plan for the writers to take a bow was not without its obstacles.

Camelton is a cornucopia of clever quips, memories, musings, and “what were they thinking?” moments. Photos projected on a screen prove that the reported facts aren’t fake when—as the old saying goes—one picture might be worth a thousand words. The evening’s several songs included the peppy title song of Aspire (“Ya gotta be big!/ Ya gotta be brave!/ Ya gotta aspire! / Ya gotta reach up!/ Ya gotta reach out!/ Ya gotta reach higher!”).

It’s all quite the hoot, although some of the incidents (like not getting the last installment of the $$$$$$) probably didn’t seem so LOL funny at the time. But the saga, the songs, and sass make for a fast, fun presentation which will probably pop up again.

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Camelton
Polaris North Studio, 229 West 29th St
reviewed on January 9
ends on January 10, 2026
heading to Edinburgh Fringe August 2026
for the book Camelton, visit here
for more info, visit Stephen Cole Writer

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