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Brantley's review of Zorba!

Posted by: LynnB 10:54 pm EDT 05/07/15

I saw it tonight. Sorry to say I share Brantley's lack of enthusiasm for the show, which I'd never seen before. I found Zoe Wanamaker the only bright spot. Cast works hard, and as always the orchestra is great, but it's a glum evening.

Link http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/theater/review-zorba-starring-john-turturro.html

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re: NY Daily News

Posted by: lowwriter 01:09 am EDT 05/08/15
In reply to: Brantley's review of Zorba! - LynnB 10:54 pm EDT 05/07/15

Praise for the score

Link Daily News on Zorba

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NY Post Likes Zorba More

Posted by: lowwriter 01:07 am EDT 05/08/15
In reply to: Brantley's review of Zorba! - LynnB 10:54 pm EDT 05/07/15

A more positive take

Link NY Post Review of Zorba

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re: Brantley's review of Zorba!

Posted by: Kimmelhisway 12:27 am EDT 05/08/15
In reply to: Brantley's review of Zorba! - LynnB 10:54 pm EDT 05/07/15

He clearly didn't see the original. He's basing all judgments on this particular production - and one viewing of the clip on the Times site will tell you everything you need to know.


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re: Brantley's review of Zorba!

Posted by: Delvino 08:34 am EDT 05/08/15
In reply to: re: Brantley's review of Zorba! - Kimmelhisway 12:27 am EDT 05/08/15

Others will disagree, but to me there's something a bit reductive and facile about his comparing this complicated character (and his milieu) in Kazantzakis’s novel with Auntie Mame, a denizen of Beekman Place. The hardscrabble, ultimately tragic lives depicted on Crete in 1916 bear little resemblance to the madcap antics of Mame Dennis, but hey, they both became musicals, so why not?

But this line in the review makes zero sense to me:

"...a nice match for the peculiarly moralistic hedonism of the 1960s..."

I saw the brilliantly focused Prince original in 1969, and must've missed the contextual "moralistic hedonism" a glib oxymoron aiming for sociological hindsight but (to me) offering none.


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re: Brantley's review of Zorba!

Posted by: Thom915 11:57 pm EDT 05/07/15
In reply to: Brantley's review of Zorba! - LynnB 10:54 pm EDT 05/07/15

I also saw it tonight and was thrilled by the opening number led by the talented Marin Mazzie. After that the show went downhill relieved almost solely by the presence of Zoe Wanamaker, not a singer but an actress of great conviction and charm. I did think the rest of the cast might have risen to the occasion if not for the egregious miscasting of John Turturro. Not since John C. Reilly played Stanley Kowalski have I seen such a miscalculation. After every number he did I wanted to call out "Thank you. Next!" The only saving grace turned out to be remembering a stock production of the musical in which I appeared and an affair with a fellow cast member which I had long forgotten. Life is what you do...


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re: Brantley's review of Zorba!

Posted by: BruceinIthaca 11:47 pm EDT 05/07/15
In reply to: Brantley's review of Zorba! - LynnB 10:54 pm EDT 05/07/15

I've never seen a production, but listen to OCR every so often. I think it one of those lesser Kander and Ebb shows where there are some wonderful songs (I like "Life Is," "Only Love," and the one about the butterfly), but some that just seem to fill up time--I think the same can be said about "70, Girls, 70," which has some of their most fun songs, but also ones i skip when I play the CD, and also "Flora" and "Steel Pier." (And some I love uncritically because of a particular performer or set of performers--"The Rink," "Kiss, "Curtains") But I could say the same about any composer(s)--and when they hit it out of the ballpark ("Cabaret" and "Chicago," in my book).

But heresy as it is, I am more likely to put on one of their scores than any particular one by Sondheim or Herman--they seem to me somewhere between them. A bit like Lerner and Loewe in that regard.

Your mileage will certainly vary.


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