Stream Fouad of Nazareth

In My Own Words...

Lights up on a Palestinian immigrant kid raised in New York City.

My "origin story" really starts at eight years old when my neighbor (a prototypical American teenager) lent me his iPod Nano. So, while my parents crooned along to the poetic ballads of Fairuz, I found myself screaming out the angsty anthems of Linkin Park, Green Day, and Fall Out Boy.

Ever since then, I’ve been on a mission to revive emo, pop-punk, and alt-rock aesthetics, not just with catchy hooks, but through storytelling that’s both heartfelt and seductively counter-cultural.

My comedy (which I've been repeatedly told is "irreverent," I'll have to look up the definition at some point) harkens back to the golden age of online web series and Disney Channel Original Movies. My satirical blue humor, on the other hand, is probably a direct result of staying up past my bedtime to watch Adult Swim (please don't tell my parents).

Now mix all of that with a lifelong (borderline masochistic) obsession with politics and social change, and you've got my particular brand of subversive musical dark comedy.

“Using a blend of dark comedy and pop-punk music, Dakwar deconstructs his lived experiences as a Palestinian in the 21st century.”

In Case You Prefer Third Person...

Fouad Dakwar is a multimedia artist and 2025 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient whose subversive comedy channels his Palestinian immigrant upbringing (with a punk-rock twist).

His semi-autobiographical musical, FOUAD OF NAZARETH, has been featured on the Playbill Songwriter Series, which aptly described him as “a darkly comic pop-punk composer on the rise.”

The piece was first developed in Berklee NYC's one-year Master's program, received a residency at the Writers Grove at Goodspeed, and was a semi-finalist for the 2025 Relentless Award. Its concept album was produced by Noor Theatre and recorded at the Power Station with additional grant support from the Pop Culture Collaborative, premiering to a one-night only concert at Ars Nova.

Fouad wrote and performed an original song in Michael Weithorn’s The Best You Can (Netflix) starring Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick. He is a 2024–25 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, 2025 Yes And Laughter Lab Fellow, 2026 Kleban Prize finalist, and member of the Joe’s Pub Council.

Born in Nazareth, the laughter he evokes is Biblical.

Photograph courtesy of Dash Kolos

"Fouad grew up attending protests with his parents... and began writing musicals in high school and found in the medium a popular form in which he could connect people to social justice issues."

"The performance of Dakwar, who participated in the show and composed the lyrics and music, helped inspire and encourage the performances of the other actors and musicians in the hall, whose audience was diverse in age and background, reflecting the diversity of New York City."

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