Zorba!

I had the pleasure of catching the New York City Center Encores! production of Zorba!, the Kander and Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret) musical from the late 60s. It's a story about stories, which is, as Marin Mazzie (Next to Normal, Ragtime) so beautifully sings to us, how time goes by. And thus the plot details are less important than the whole they create, the lesson they teach us through song and dance. (The lesson, of course, is that time goes by. Life happens. Keep singing and dancing.)

John Turturro (The Cherry Orchard) performs the title role with gusto, while Tony nominee Santino Fontana (Cinderella, Act One) gives an understated, sensitive performance as Zorba's reluctant pupil. Adam Chanler-Berat (Peter and the Starcatcher, The Fortress of Solitude) is frisky but sweet as a lovable street urchin. And when Mazzie tells you to listen, do yourself a favor and listen. What a voice, put to great use as The Leader.