Directed by Steven Yuhasz, Zorba kicks off the fall Musicals in Mufti series at the Off-Broadway venue. The limited engagement, featuring musical direction by Patrick Vaccariello, plays through Sept. 16. The cast also features Beth Fowler as Hortense, Emily Skinner as The Leader, Crista Moore as The Widow, Aaron Ramey as Nikos and Robin De Jesus as Mikiko. The ensemble comprises Raymond Bokhour, Jane Brockman, Joseph Cullinane, Vince D'Elia, Denis Lambert, Ken McMullen, Tina Stafford and Deone Zanotto.
Zorba, according to press notes, "is set in Crete in 1924 and is about the friendship between Zorba and Nikos, a young American student who has inherited an abandoned mine on Crete, and their romantic relationships with a local widow and French woman, Hortense, respectively. "
Zorba, based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, features a score by John Kander and the late Fred Ebb and a book by Joseph Stein. All four fall Mufti offerings boast a book by Stein. The series will continue with Enter Laughing: The Musical (Sept. 28-30), The Body Beautiful (Oct. 12-14) and The Baker's Wife (Oct. 26-28).
Five performances of each show will be presented: Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2:30 and 8 PM and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30 PM. Audience discussions follow the matinee performances.
The Mufti series is presented at the Theatre at Saint Peter's, which is located at 54th Street, east of Lexington Avenue. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (212) 935-5820 or visit www.yorktheatre.org.
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"Mufti" means "in street clothes, without the usual trappings."
