'Zorba! The Musical' stumbles

ZORBA! THE MUSICAL, Wasatch Theatre Company, Rose Wagner Center, through Saturday (355-2787). Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (one intermission).

The creative team behind this stage version of the classic film "Zorba the Greek," which starred Anthony Quinn, was involved with such Broadway hits as "Chicago" and "Fiddler on the Roof." With that kind of talent behind the scenes, you'd expect "Zorba! The Musical" to be filled with show-stopping numbers and emotionally rich characters.

Unfortunately, this rarely staged musical falls short of the mark.

Despite some fine talent on stage, this production — a pretty bold attempt by Wasatch Theatre Company — is thwarted by a seriously flawed script, forgettable songs and painfully tedious pacing.

The setting is a cafe on the island of Crete, where an intellectual young man from Berlin (by way of Budapest and Athens) has come to reopen his family's long-closed mine. He's befriended by the carefree title character, Alexis Zorba.

Big pluses in the show are Kit Anderton as the boisterous, devil-may-care Zorba; Natalie Maymi as The Leader (she dispenses costumes and directs traffic for a large, almost unwieldy Greek chorus), Cory Huff as the bookish Niko and Keri Wright as the village's despised Widow.

Maymi delivers a knockout performance with her terrific voice and charismatic stage presence.

Sallie Cooper fares less well as Hortense, an aging courtesan, mostly because the role itself is rather grating.

Instead of displaying an ebullient zest for living life to the fullest, "Zorba" is dragged down by a mediocre, unfocused script. It's difficult to get into the swing of things when there are three deaths in the show — a suicide, a murder and one from natural causes.

Particularly awkward is an upbeat "Happy Birthday" song by Hortense, who jumps up from her death bed, sings the song, then succumbs.

The local Greek community's noted Dionysios Dancers are highly entertaining at such events as the annual Greek Festival, but they're hampered by the tiny confines of the Studio Theatre. The dance sequences feel like they're just randomly dropped into the action.

Zorba espouses the philosophy that "Life is what you do while you're waiting to die." Meanwhile, there's quite a bit of waiting, too, for show to move along.

Sensitivity rating: Staged violence and some earthy sensuality between Zorba and Hortense. One instance of onstage smoking was especially irritating in the small studio venue.

---

E-mail: ivan@desnews.com