(spoilers)
At the talkback, someone also mentioned that this production of Zorba felt like a play with music rather than a musical, and I felt that was accurate. Jack Viertel mentioned that the book scenes were some of the longest that Encores has ever had. And Santino Fontana was the only principal whom I felt sang wonderfully. John Turturro and Zoe Wanamaker are not great singers, and Marin Mazzie and Elizabeth A Davis both seemed to be singing roles that did not fit their voices well.
By being a "play with music," the plot and themes come to the forefront, and I had major issues with the material. This is my first exposure to Zorba. I have never seen the movie or read the novel, either. Some of the premise hasn't aged well. Zorba is a relentless womanizer (and I think he said he has a wife at home), and he will lie and mislead (and embezzle his employer's money) to try to get a woman into bed with him. That may have been part of the "embrace life!" philosophy of the past, but now it makes him seem like a creep. And Turturro is giving a very small performance. His Zorba is not larger than life at all. He seems like an ordinary man, who may be a fast talker, but is very flawed. And that brings the creepiness factor even more to the front.
And I'm not sure what the authors are trying to say about Zorba's philosophy overall. He encourages Niko to embrace his philosophy and romance the widow, which results in a suicide, and a murder of a completely innocent person. And the ransacking of Hortense's house (which the villagers try to start while she is still alive -- the villagers act throughout like they're part of some lawless evil cult) and the failure of the mine seem cynical. Bad things happen to the characters through no fault of their own, and it seemed the fates were against them. I didn't think the show was depressing or dark so much as cynical.
I'm curious what others think.
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