After seeing Zorba at New Line Theatre last week, I decided to quit my job. Instead of work, I would go wherever my feet would take me, making my living with odd jobs, beholden to no one.
By the time I got home, I had sobered up (or chickened out). But that’s the kind of impact Zorba can have. From the early assertion that “life is what you do while you’re waiting to die,” through the penultimate song “I Am Free,” Zorba sells a vision of life that’s not necessarily new (live every moment to the fullest and like it’s your last), but is extremely seductive.
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The eponymous character is a boisterous Greek man who is full of stories about adventures he has had and people he has met. He strikes up a conversation in a café with Nikos, an American. Nikos inherited a mine, and is going to Crete to see it for the first time. Zorba asks to come with him. This is how Zorba lives, wandering around, striking up conversations with strangers, getting enmeshed in love affairs with no worry for the future or the past. The two head to Crete to run the mine.
New Line Theatre’s adaptation is excellent musically. Sarah Nelson, conductor and musical director, is able to capture the charm of the score, which requires traditional Greek instrumentation such as a bouzouki. And the singing is top-notch, especially Lindsey Jones who plays the Leader (the story’s narrator).
The show does have some struggles. The dancing, for instance, is simplistic and perhaps under-rehearsed, and the Greek accents are uneven. Plus, at times the 15-member cast seemed confused and crowded on the small-ish stage.
Fortunately, Kent Coffel, who plays Zorba, has charm in spades. Though not a strong dancer, he makes the rascally Zorba immensely likable—even inspirational, and his Greek accent is one of the strongest in the cast. By the end of the show, when he says “I fear nothing and I hope for nothing because I am free,” you may find yourself dreaming about starting a new life as a vagabond on the Greek Isles.
Just give yourself a night to think it over before you quit your job.
Zorba is running now through March 25 at the Marclle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard. Showtimes are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10–$25. For more information please visit newlinetheatre.com, or call Metrotix at 314-534-1111.
