WARNING: THIS IS NOT A REVIEW. NONE OF MY COMMENTS REGARDING 'ZORBA' OR 'MAN AND SUPERMAN' ARE A REVIEW. I ADD THIS NOTE BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN ASKED BY THE PRESS AGENTS OF EACH SHOW NOT TO REVIEW.
With that out of the way, let me explain. Productions in the Musicals in Mufti series rehearse for about a week, if that; and Project Shaw productions rehearse for maybe a day, I think. Consequently, critics are not officially invited to review. However, we often attend in a non-reviewing capacity.
May I say, just as an audience member, that each of these enterprises - Musicals in Mufti, Project Shaw - are putting on excellent readings with exciting results.
I attended all four Musicals in Mufti productions over the summer (SUPERMAN, I AND ALBERT, THE DAY BEFORE SPRING, BAJOUR), and hope to attend all four this fall (THE BODY BEAUTIFUL, ENTER LAUGHING, THE BAKER'S WIFE), which are dedicated to the work of bookwriter Joseph Stein. This weekend's show, ZORBA, is one that will probably be done by Encores sooner or later. But the York production was outstanding, with Jeff McCarthy providing a vibrant leading performance.
For those unfamiliar with the show, it was first on Broadway in the 60s. Though initially a disappointment, it got revived in the '80s. And as a dark piece of musical theater, it ought to find a more receptive audience in future regional revivals.
I attended ZORBA on Sunday night. On Monday night I went to the Players Club on South Gramarcy for George Bernard Shaw's MAN AND SUPERMAN, which sported a stellar cast: Michael Cerveris, Marc Kudisch, Jackie Hoffman, Kerry Butler, Euan Morton, George S. Irving and more.
The reading, which I was told would start at 7pm, was moved to 7:30 to accommodate Cerveris, who was also appearing tonight in another reading uptown. It finally started a bit before 8pm. Having never attending one of these Shaw readings before, I was really impressed at how packed the place was. Though confined to a small procenium stage with only enough room to stand, let alone move, the cast was quite good.