Encores Golden Apple- Page 2

[Peter2]

Posted: 5/10/17 at 11:32pm

henrikegerman said: "Who is Mikaela Bennett singing so gorgeously as Penelope? "

Her bio in the program says she is a fourth-year Juilliard student, and this is her professional stage debut. 

[Tom-497]

Posted: 5/10/17 at 11:54pm

I saw this evening's performance. I thought Bennett was excellent as Penelope -- the best aspect of a uneven production.

I agree with an earlier post suggesting that Act I played largely as an over-extended set-up to Act II, which often seemed like a series of cabaret numbers. However, I think that may have more to do with this particular production than with any inherent weakness in the show itself.

Also, I think that even if a person is familiar with the underlying mythology, the storytelling was at times unnecessarily confusing. For instance, they could have easily made it more clear visually that, during the Act I bake-off, one of the female contestants was offering Helen to Paris as a bribe. As it was, until the long sequence was nearly over, I thought the contestant was only offering herself, with numerous suggestive gestures involving her own body, coupled with references to her "pie," etc. As a result, what should have been giving momentum to the plot instead played mostly as a mildly entertaining digression.

Anyway, I'm glad I saw the show, but I can easily imagine a sharper, more coherent production, even within the context of Encores!

[goldenboy]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 12:02am

I have always wanted to see this musical. And Wednesday night i did.

I am familiar with the Odysey and the Illiad having studied them in college but jamming the story of Ulyses into Americana was an excercise in pretention and ennui. The show is too clever for its own good and probably amused the composer lyricist and book-writer more than it did the audience.  ( The people in front of me left at intemission...I stayed to witness a slightly more interesting act two).

The production is well done. As someone pointed out LIndsay Mendez  had the best numbers and is an amusing  standout in the role.It was written for Comedianne Kaye Ballard and the show lights up a bit when Lindsay is on stage.   Ryan Silverman so delicious in Side Show is in great voice and charming  but boy is he and the cast fighting an uphill battle wit this material. There is a reason no one does this show. It's dull and pretentious. One hopes the wonderful Ryan Silverman find himself a better role such as Billy Bigelow in the upcoming Carousel. 

The choreography by Josh Bergasse is quite good  but it doesn't save   this muddled mess of a  musical. Some shows are better left untouched. I think this is one of them. The effort. talent  and craft of the cast and director was there but no one can make a muddled mess of a musical work.

Mikaela Bennet was indeed  in great voice but her acting and stage prescensce were lacking. Hopefully that wiill come with time and better material.

I would recommend this only for the curious.

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 1:58am

EthelMae said: "I'm sorry but second rate Audra McDonald."

Woah, calm down Mary.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 6:32am

I think it would have been more coherent in a better director's hands. It would have been less confusing and more interesting visually. The orchestra sounded grand despite some sound issues. The male lead had a lovely voice and the male dancer was sublime. The ensemble had the chore of connecting the dots given the entire evening was musical. At times they looked like community theatre performers striking poses and inventing reactions.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 7:02am

The dramaturgy may be muddier in Act I because the writers of GA are mixing events from the ILIAD and ODYSSEY and, for reasons known only to them, place the episodes in different order. (Homer, on the other hand, chooses to narrate just a tiny section of the Trojan War in THE ILIAD.)

In Act II, they follow THE ODYSSEY more directly; perhaps that's why it seems to make more sense.

I've admitted I had problems following the plot when I first saw GA, but the Lyric Opera recording was done live and the Dallas(?) audience sounds very enthusiastic.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 7:29am

For me this was the type of show where I thought at intermission, "Thank god I already know this score well, because it is just flying by!" Songs like "Come Along Boys," which I adore on the recording, just kind of skipped by like a blip on the radar. The lyrics are very clever, but wordy, and clear diction is beyond imperative. 

Has Sondheim ever given his thoughts on The Golden Apple. So much of the structure reminds me of the structure of Follies. It seems like all of these characters are at a reunion, flitting in and out of the story at a moments notice, leaving the audience wondering what is of importance- if anything- to the plot. Then in act two Ulysses is taken on a private Loveland tour before snapping out of it all and returning to Penelope and married life. 

Scylla and Charybdis was always my favorite "Follies" number (it's very truncated on the OBCR) and I imagined it to be this huge showstopping production number. I don't know if the audience what knew what to make of it last night though, ha. 

I know bootleg talk is slightly verboten around here, but I confess to having an audio of the complete show from 1954 that is in fairly good quality. I've listened to it often and it's the most the show has ever worked for me. The show is a mix of experimental and old-fashioned qualities, which makes it all the more difficult for a director to get right. 

I did enjoy this Encores cast and think the score is top notch. I highly recommend it seeing this if for the sole reason that you'll probably have to wait another 25 years before you see another production of this caliber again. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 7:43am

The Broadway album suggests that the show needs a mix of trained opera singers and musical comedy performers. In that sense it reminds me of The Most Happy Fella. The snippets I've heard from the Lyric Opera recording are dull because it lacked for brassy comedians. Which way does the Encores cast lean?

[newintown]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 7:56am

Whizzer wrote "Scylla and Charybdis was always my favorite "Follies" number (it's very truncated on the OBCR) and I imagined it to be this huge showstopping production number. I don't know if the audience what knew what to make of it last night though, ha."

I thought this number was embarrassingly bad, but I can't imagine it even making sense when the show was new and people still remembered Gallagher and Shean, because it's nothing but a copy of "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean." It doesn't help that Jeff Blumenkranz has never been more than a dime store Paul Lynde, and the other actor (of whom I had never before heard) was tragically out of his depth as Hector Charybdis, a role that could easily steal the show if the actor playing it had an iota of comic talent.

EDIT: It turns out that I have seen Jason Kravits (Hector) before, as one of the gangsters in the Drowsy Chaperone. I just didn't recognize him.

Updated On: 5/11/17 at 07:56 AM

[James2]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 10:27pm

I'm assuming there won't be a new album since we just got the two-disc recording in 2015.  I hope Lindsay Mendez keeps singing "Lazy Afternoon" in any solo acts or albums she does from now.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 5/11/17 at 10:51pm

I found tonight rather thrilling - and the cast and score are both phenomenal. With only the abhorrent Lyric recording as an initial guide, I really didn't think this score was anything special, outside "My Love Is On the Way", "The Judgement of Paris", and "Lazy Afternoon". I was dreading the second act - which the Lyric version had me thinking was seemingly endless. But tonight proved me wrong in both respects. The score is absolutely amazing, and I really enjoyed the second act, especially the 5 deadly sin numbers (although I was wondering where the other two were - and is "Power" ever really counted as one of the 7?). I found Mendez a revelation as Helen (whoever played her for the Lyric production really can't hold a candle to Ballard or Mendez) and "Lazy Afternoon" was pure heaven. It is a shame that this production most likely won't be recorded, because this production really lets the score shine. Not a one cast member is vocally weak, with the Penelope blowing me away with a gorgeously rendered "Windflowers". I will forever be bitter that this production wasn't recorded and the Lyric one was.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 12:28am

I saw this tonight too and agree with sally on most counts.

I was certainly already a fan of the score, but whereas the Lyric Opera recording was a huge MEH this encores presentation had everything it didn't.

I do agree Hector was lacking but otherwise I thought everyone was perfect. While I understand the inclination to slow tempos for better understanding as was done at the Lyric Opera, that recording shows how much it makes the show drag. Tonight the tempos were brisk and I didn't think anything overstayed its welcome. The orchestra sounded AMAZING. I too am bitter this will not be recorded.

Of course, I am hardly an impartial judge.

[Fan123]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 5:31am

A couple more highlights videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpEjaDW3feI

http://www.playbill.com/video/watch-lindsay-mendez-stars-in-the-golden-apple

And Barton Cowperthwaite (Paris) dancing in rehearsal:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT60QZIAmW5/

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 8:03am

EthelMae said: "Saw this last night. My partner, who knows the score backwards and forwards, adored it. I am not familiar with this show. Except for 2 songs, especially the finale, I was lost at sea and found the evening terribly long. Some wonderful singers but the show was a tough sit thru for me.

Fun to see Karen Ziemba directly across from me and Harvey Evans behind me!

 

"

Ethel, you know some people say the same about the nearly plotless FOLLIES.

I'm not scoffing at anyone's confusion. As I wrote above, I was pretty worn and tired the first time I saw it myself.

But wouldn't you agree there should be a place for art that is just that demanding? I'd happily kill to see the current HELLO, DOLLY!, but I don't demand that everything be that accessible.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 8:09am

Tom-497 said: "...For instance, they could have easily made it more clear visually that, during the Act I bake-off, one of the female contestants was offering Helen to Paris as a bribe.

"

I agree, Tom. That should have been clear. But the story of Aphrodite's interference in the contest used to be taught in schools, even where the full ILIAD was not. It may be that a director today has to expect to deal with audiences who haven't read Edith Hamilton (a writer who made her career writing "student versions" in English of Greek literature and folklore).

[newintown]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 8:44am

I would certainly hesitate to compare the storytelling of Follies vs. The Golden Apple; the former is difficult for people because it's so dark and explores psychological depths and human warts usually not touched in musical theatre. Apple is merely rather foggy and clumsy because, like opera, the story takes a back seat to the music.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 9:51am

My TDF seat last night was in the mezzanine, FWIW.

I enjoyed the show and was glad to see it staged. Much better than the New Yorkers which I thought was awful, though the second act here is way too long. But that's how it goes with Encores.

[newintown]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:11pm

"Much better than the New Yorkers which I thought was awful..."

I think it's important to acknowledge that what Encores presented was not The New Yorkers, but rather a somewhat new show based upon (and using material from) The New Yorkers.

Updated On: 5/12/17 at 01:11 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/12/17 at 1:17pm

I thought the New Yorkers went on too long and certainly had flaws but it was mostly a joyful evening of theater. Aside from the normal Cole Porter songs and comedy antics, there were highlights like Cyrille Aimee and that patter song. 

Thanks for weighing in on the TDF seat. Do you mind saying if you were towards the front or rear of the mezzanine? That overhang is tough and I like watching the musicians. 

[sylvesterbird]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 12:30am

I went in knowing next to nothing about the show, and absolutely loved it (although I echo all the suggestions to brush up on Illiad/Odyssey beforehand - even just a read-through of the wikipedia pages will help a lot in keeping a handle on what's happening plot-wise). Admittedly I am a huge fan of Copland and his style of American classical music, and I think much of the experience here is enjoying such a wonderful score sung by an incredibly-sounding cast. Oh what I would do for a recording of this production...

[EthelMae]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 1:29am

I do agree that there is room for art that is demanding. I've loved Annie Baker's work which, I think, demands a lot from its audience. I think almost all of the Sondheim canon demands a lot from its audiences as well. No problem with that. Everything doesn't have to be Dolly, which I love. I just felt that Golden Apple didn't give me characters I cared about or music that I would care to hear again, except for two songs which I mentioned in my other post.

Glad to read here that others liked it. Like I said, my partner adored it.

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 6:13am

Saw it last night and  absolutely loved it. I only knew the show from the truncated original cast album, but the performance last night  revealed what a glorious show it is. The costumes and scenery were  some of the most elaborate I've seen it at Encores, the large orchestra sounded sublime, and I thought some of the vocal performances were even better than on the cast album. I give a lot of credit to director Michael Berresse for his lucid and imaginative staging that always kept the story clear. How they managed to put together a production this elaborate in just two weeks boggles the mind. I too would kill for a cast recording of this production. 

[JAS]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 11:12am

I was there last night and found it breathtaking.

I knew Golden Apple first from the cast album, then the Lyric Stage complete recording. I'm trying to erase an egregiously produced production I saw up at Bard.

I can't say that I'm surprised by the negative responses to the piece: it's definitely NOT for everybody. It's a challenging, dense score and demands you have a working knowledge of Homer.

That said, I marvel at how dazzling the score and libretto are: number after number of rich and complex melodies with clever lyrics that startle with their humor and charm. The piece lacks some heart, and the final moments--as great as any mid-century opera--don't quite have the emotional pull they should.

Michael Berresse's staging was sublime, and I marvel that the cast was able to memorize and perform this challenging work in only a few short weeks. 

I hope--though I know it's foolish--that someone sees fit to put this production on CD.

Bravo, Encores!

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 12:59pm

JAS, do you recommend the Lyric Stage recording? I've read so many bad reviews of it. 

[JAS]

Posted: 5/13/17 at 2:02pm

I would! It's the only full cast recording, it's nicely recorded, and the packaging is sensational. The performance falls short, here and there, but it's the only complete Golden Apple.

You SHOULD also buy the original cast, unless you've got it already!