Antonio Banderas Eyes Broadway Return in Zorba the Greek

Tony Award nominee Antonio Banderas may be making his way back to Broadway. The Iberian actor, who made his Rialto debut as Italian filmmaker Guido Contini in the 2003 revival of Maury Yeston’s Nine, would star as the exuberant Greek muse in an unspecified production of Zorba the Greek.

“I’ve been offered to do Zorba the Greek,” Banderas revealed in an interview with UGO MovieBlog. “I saw the movie a couple weeks ago and it surprised me. I found it a dark movie with ups and downs, like life itself. And I love that, the possibility of jumping on the stage again to create a character that has nothing to do with what I did in Nine. If everything goes on track, I believe I’ll be onstage again in a year. I plan to go back to Broadway very soon.”

It was unclear from the interview whether Banderas was referring to a new stage adaptation of the 1964 film or to a revival of the 1968 Broadway musical version. No other details were revealed in the inteview.

Banderas is best known for his roles in films such as The Mambo Kings, Desperado, Assassins, Evita, The Mask of Zorro, Frida, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Take the Lead and as the voice of “Puss in Boots” in the second and third installments of Dreamworks’ animated Shrek films.

Zorba the Greek tells the bittersweet story of an uptight writer, Basil, and his unexpected traveling companion, Alexis Zorba, a Greek peasant who tries to inspire the scribe with adventures through the Greek countryside. The original film, adapted from the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, was directed by Michael Cacoyannis and starred Anthony Quinn, and won three Academy Awards. The flick was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, while Quinn was honored with a nod for Best Actor.

The film was adapted into the Broadway musical Zorba, featuring music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, in 1968. Starring Herschel Bernardi in the title role, the production played 305 performances at the Imperial Theatre and was nominated for Best Musical in 1969. Quinn later reprised his original role alongside Academy Award winning film costar Lila Kedrova in a 1983 revival of the musical at the Broadway Theatre.