Zorba, The Musical

May 2nd, 2006
Reprise, Westwood
Musical by Kander & Ebb, we went with Troy

We weren't sure what to expect from this Greekfest starring Marc Kudisch (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Judy Kaye (Mamma Mia) and Camille Saviola (Nine). It was a thoroughly entertaining, energetic, soulful surprise. We thought, nah, Marc's too young and handsome to play Zorba. Silly us. That voice, that charisma. He was wonderful. It all worked. Excellent casting. Normally I have a love/hate attitude casting to type, but in this musical, it helps to do this with the supporting cast especially.

As is often the case with Reprise, we see these sparkling casts, with many singers direct from Broadway, and then we're left with the knowledge that the original cast recording of the musical will not be anywhere near as magical.

We also discovered that Marc Kudisch (Zorba) is not only a wonderful singer and comic actor, but he's a versatile and competant dramatic actor as well. He was wonderful. Judy Kaye (Hortense) was charming as always, lovely voice, but this musical did not provide her any songs to really shine with her bigger-than-life voice. Camille Saviola ripped the stage a new one. She was powerful and really embodied the Greek Spirit (spiritos) in the "Leader" role. What a powerhouse voice.
We enjoyed this cast-centric production a lot.