Admittedly, when it comes to Encores! productions at City Center, the window of opportunity is short -- annoyingly short, according to the large inner circle of fans who would gladly have these top-flight mini runs go on for weeks, even months, vs. the customary seven-performance schedule. A lovely thought, but impossible by a) the Encores! calendar; and b) all big name stars whose desire to wedge Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert into their schedules is irresistible but limited, nonetheless. Which brings us to Zorba! – the latest mini-revival to shine its way onto the New york stage with John Turturro in the title role.
Photo: Matthew Sussman
His co-stars are a seductive bunch as well: Tony nominees Marin Mazzie (Ragtime; Passion), Zoë Wanamaker (Piaf; Loot; Electra; Awake and Sing!), and Santino Fontana (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella), along with Adam Chanler-Berat (Peter and the Starcatcher); and Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde; Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark).
And Zorba!’s creative force field is a jaw dropping collection of Broadway superstars from the book (Jules Stein); to score (John Kander & Fred Ebb); to its director, Walter Bobbie, music director Rob Berman; choreographer Josh Rhodes; and costume design by William Ivey Long. (The fact that these productions are billed as Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a misnomer: these babies are way less concerts than they are complete and fabulous productions tapping into “the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City.”
The story – which was presented bon non Broadway and on screen with Anthony Quinn in the lead, is a musical take on Nikos Kazantzakis’s best-seller zeroing in on a passionate Greek who “lives every day as if it will be his last”, and the people who are part of his personal universe, including a friendship with the young American student, Nikos, (Fontana), and his romance with Madame Hortense (Wanamaker).
Zorba! Runs through this Sunday (May 10th only): tonight at 8 pm, Saturday at 2 & 8 pm, and Sunday and 2 & 7 pm. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at NYCityCenter.org.