STAGE REVIEW : Kinks Aside, Raitt’s Zorba Worth Gushing Over

The program for Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s “Zorba” notes that star John Raitt first performed at Plummer Auditorium as a green high-schooler tinkering with the idea of a theatrical career.

From this early dabbling, the Santa Ana-born Raitt went on to find the Broadway spotlight--he’s credited with creating the role of Billy Bigelow in the original 1945 production of “Carousel”--and later became a movie actor with MGM.

After more than 50 years, his return to Plummer was welcomed with graciousness at “Zorba’s” opening Friday. There was a lot of gushing during the intermission about how nice his singing was, how nice his dancing was, how nice his hair was, how nice his you-name-it was.

The effusiveness was, in some ways, justified. His performance lacked the spirited, life-loving drunkenness of other portrayals, but it showed veteran craftsmanship that comes from experience. Raitt’s Zorba was leisurely, almost courtly--an appropriate approach that took into consideration the actor’s own age and demeanor.

Raitt did suffer through opening night kinks, mainly in technical areas. His potent baritone weakened a few times, and he executed Alfred Desio’s simple choreography rather gingerly. His acting, though, did make Zorba the wise and endearing symbol novelist Nikos Kazantzakis intended when he created the character, and when John Kander, Joseph Stein and Fred Ebb placed him on stage.

It was obvious that director James Luisi took into consideration Raitt’s restrained style when building the production. Except for a few dashes of requisite passion, the tempo was relaxed and controlled. It wasn’t the juiciest “Zorba,” but it was cozily balanced around Kander’s emotional score.

The cast kept in time, deferring to Raitt and his pace. While there weren’t any scene stealers, the show had comfortable performances, including Dennis McNeil’s Niko, the bookish American Greek who inherits an abandoned mine on Crete and Zorba’s unflappable friendship.

The little spice tossed in here and there came from Shirley Romano as Madame Hortense, the aging French chanteuse and Zorba’s plucky love interest, and from Alicia Irving as The Woman, the musical’s equivalent of a Greek Chorus.

Gil Morales’ set of a sloping sun-bleached courtyard, Mela Hoyt-Heydon’s costumes and Donna Ruzika’s warm lighting evoked a Mediterranean ambience. However, Luisi could have paid more attention to details, including the wine bottles that looked suspiciously like California varieties. With their distinctive long shape, a bottle or two of the traditional Greek retsina would have been a welcome touch.

‘ZORBA’

A Fullerton Civic Light Opera production of the musical with book by Joseph Stein, lyrics by Fred Ebb and music by John Kander. Directed by James Luisi. With John Raitt, Dennis McNeil, Alicia Irving, Shirley Romano, Katherine Peters, Mel Hampton, Paul Sharaba, Randy Gianetti, Karen Schmitt, Mary Tuck, Scott Watanabe, Mark Anthony, Emmanuel di Villarosa, Richard Cobb, Sherry Domerego, Richard Comeau, Patricia Sawyer, Elizabeth Coffee, Terry Kuyper, Carl Nelson, George Sullivan, Dan Stroud, Holly Lynne Shirley, Martin Kennedy, Matthew di Cambio, Gary Canavello, Susanna Adamovic, Demetreious Dalietos and Lauren Orkin. Set by Gil Morales. Lighting by Donna Ruzika. Costumes by Mela Hoyt-Heydon. Choreography by Alfred Desio. Musical direction and conducting by Benton Minor. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Tickets: $11 to $21. (714) 879-1732.