Acting
Fiddler on the Roof
Gershwin Theatre
1990’s Broadway revival of Jerome Robbin’s Fiddler on the Roof toured internationally before residing at The Gershwin Theatre for a highly acclaimed run that culminated in a Tony nomination for Best Revival. The part of Lazar Wolf shines with the memorable number “To Life, L’Chaim!” however it was the role as understudy for Chaim Topol’s Tevye that required taking the helm of the performance for several weeks during the Gulf War.
Chu Chem
Ritz Theatre
After a successful run at the Jewish Repertory Theatre, Ted Allan & Mitch Leigh’s musical comedy about a Jewish family who moves to the far east opened at the Ritz Theatre on Broadway. The starring role called for a special touch, crossing the pond from American Jewish wit to exotic schtick.
From the New York Times:
“Mark Zeller, as the father, has a Tevye-like worldly wisdom that, with true comic ingenuity, he embellishes with waggling eyebrows, sensitive timing and a raspy voice
Freud, A One-Man Play
Actors Outlet
Mark Zeller has the title role in a play adapted from the letters and writings of Sigmund Freud.
Sy Suna, New York Tribune:
”Zeller gives to Freud his humor, his passion, and above all his wide ranging and curious mind. This is a charged and brilliant work.”
The portage to San Cristobal of A.H.
Hartford Stage
ALIVE at 90, Adolf Hitler is transported out of hiding in the Brazilian jungle. Such is the premise of George Steiner's novel, ''The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H.,'' as faithfully adapted for the stage by Christopher Hampton. The controversial work showcased at the Hartford Stage Company in a production starring John Cullum. Adapted for the stage by Christopher Hampton; directed by Mark Lamos.
“Mark Zeller’s acting is large, passionate and consumately human.” Hartford Courant
Kuni-Leml
Jewish Repertory Theater
''Kuni Leml,'' a musical written before 1880 by Abraham Goldfadn, was so popular that the title character became a descriptive noun of the Yiddish language. The fast-paced book is by Nahma Sandrow and the music is by Raphael Crystal. The music matches the delightful and witty lyrics by Richard Engquist.
From The New York Times, Richard Shepard:
''Kuni Leml is an expertly crafted tuneful presentation that, blending two old traditions, the Yiddish and the operetta, is a thoroughly modern effort… Mark Zeller’s one big number, ‘A Little Learning,’ is a smasher, lamenting modern times and his modern daughter, who does Yiddish plays in French and reads Pushkin and who serves peculiar dishes, she wouldn't serve me knishes…”
lies My Father Told Me
Jewish Repertory Theater
“Lies My Father Told Me” was a musical by Ted Allan telling the story of a 6-year-old Jewish boy, David, who lives in Montreal in the 1920's. His family consists of his mother, his father, and his maternal grandfather, Zaida, whom he loves most of all.
From the NYTimes Richard Shepard:
“Mr. Zeller gives a distinguished performance as Zaida, a man who, with something of the manner of a Tevye, quotes Talmud and Torah to his purpose, blends a worldliness with a rare godliness and sings Yiddish songs with tender, loving care.”
Ari
Mark Hellinger Theatre
A musical adaptation of the Leon Uris novel Exodus, Ari was directed by Lucia Victor with musical director Stanley Lebowsky. The time is 1947, and the place is Cyprus. Jewish refugees are being kept in British detention camps, and refused permission to go to Palestine. By a trick, Jewish secret service agents acquire a ship, and put 300 Jewish children on board, with both provisions and dynamite. If the British fire on the ship, it will explode. The Jews then go on a hunger strike, challenging the British army commander to let them go or face the consequences of world opinion.
Happy Hunting
Majestic Theatre
Happy Hunting was a musical starring Ethel Merman and Fernando Lamas, directed by Abe Burrows, with music by Harold Karr. Nominated for four Tony awards, Happy Hunting ran for 412 performances in Broadway’s Majestic Theatre. The plot focuses on wealthy Philadelphia Main Linewidow Liz Livingstone and her efforts to find a royal husband for her daughter Beth.
Saratoga
Winter Garden Theatre
Saratoga was a musical with a book by Morton DaCosta, lyrics by Johnny Mercer, and music by Harold Arlen. Based on Edna Ferber's sprawling novel Saratoga Trunk, it focuses on Clio Dulaine, an "illegitimate" Creole woman who seeks revenge on the New Orleans family who exiled her mother when she became impregnated by their son. Posing as a countess raised in France, she joins forces with Montana cowboy Clint Maroon, whose family's property was appropriated by railroad tycoon Bart Van Steed. Clint persuades Clio to seduce Bart into proposing marriage, but the conspirators soon find themselves falling in love while scheming to settle old scores.
The Broadway production, directed by DaCosta and choreographed by Ralph Beaumont, won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for Best Scenic Design.
The Most Happy Fella
Hamptons Playhouse
There is nothing ordinary about the unrequited love shared by Rosabella (Karri Nussle), a waitress looking to change her life and Tony (Mark Zeller) a middle-aged vineyard owner who owes his lifestyle more to his native Italy than his new home in America.
“Charm is personified in Mark Zeller who performs the role of Tony with sincerity, warmth, and - something unusual to see on stage - a touch of human kindness.” -George Hosker Jr., The Portsmouth Herald
Reuben Reuben
Schubert Theatre
Reuben, Reuben was an "urban folk opera" by Marc Blitzstein, directed by Robert Lewis, starring Eddie Albert. Set in New York's Little Italy and inspired by the Faust legend, it focuses on a suicidal veteran who has received a medical discharge because he cannot speak. His disorder serves as an allegory of the difficulties of interpersonal communication in society, and of the eventual triumph of love over these difficulties and over the death wish.
Shangri-La
Winter Garden Theatre
Based on Hilton's classic 1933 novel Lost Horizon, Broadway’s Shangri-La focused on Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, who stumbles across a utopian lamasery high in the Himalayas in Tibet after surviving a plane crash in the mountainous terrain.
The Broadway production was directed by Albert Marre and choreographed by Donald Saddler. Irene Sharaff was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design.
Arabian Nights
Jones Beach Marine Amphitheatre
Guy Lombardo's summertime musical extravaganza "Arabian Nights," was a water ballet production featuring over 200 performers and starring world famous operatic tenor Lauritz Melchior.
World’s Fair Brussels
Heysel Plateau
The World’s Fair Bruxelles featured the top musical theater acts from the United States including Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel.
The Gondoliers
Provincetown Playhouse
The Gondoliers is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The story of the opera concerns the young bride of the heir to the throne of the fictional kingdom of Barataria who arrives in Venice to join her husband. It turns out, however, that he cannot be identified, since he was entrusted to the care of a drunken gondolier who mixed up the prince with his own son.