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re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress?

Posted by: Kimmelhisway 02:16 am EDT 05/07/15
In reply to: re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress? - Budinsky 08:32 pm EDT 05/06/15

So, it's your first encounter with Zorba, but rather than consider the possibility that the production itself and its casting might be the problem, it's easier to just blame the show. This sadly happens ALL the time here. Zorba, in its original production, was a terrific show, but then again it had a terrific cast, a terrific director and a terrific choreographer. There was nothing terribly original about it, but it was very entertaining.

Every time there's a new production of something older and its not a good production or well cast, people just automatically blame the show itself. But if it were a production that served the material well no one would be blaming the show, just raving about it.


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re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress?

Posted by: Budinsky 08:31 am EDT 05/07/15
In reply to: re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress? - Kimmelhisway 02:16 am EDT 05/07/15

It's "easier to blame the show" when the story is not engaging and the music not distinguished. The cast, by and large, was more than capable and the director and choreographer both did good, solid work. Since I didn't see the original production, I can't compare it to the Encores! presentation. As far as I'm concerned, that doesn't make my opinion any less valid than yours.


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re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress?

Posted by: Delvino 08:02 am EDT 05/07/15
In reply to: re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress? - Kimmelhisway 02:16 am EDT 05/07/15

I fully agree, with one exception: I thought the framing motif, the realistically rendered bousouki circle, gave the show a brilliantly delineated contemporary point of reference (see my post above, under the one about the LA production 10 years ago). I think the show is weakened without it, because it tethered the Zorba tale to contemporary setting, and in making modern players our point and means of access, gave the story proper more dimension, invited us to participate in its lessons from a modern perspective. And, frankly, Prince's handling of that opening was simply stunning. Even from the last row of the Imperial mezz, where I saw it, it made an indelible impression on me. The story that unfolds is certainly more traditional. But the evening as a whole was remarkable for that unforgettable launch and conclusion.


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I saw the "Zorba!" tour ...

Posted by: flaguy 08:28 am EDT 05/07/15
In reply to: re: No word on the "Zorba!" final dress? - Delvino 08:02 am EDT 05/07/15

It must've been ... early 1970, winter, at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, MI.

Starring John Raitt, Chita Rivera and Barbara Baxley.

It was ... wonderful.


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