Encores Golden Apple — Page 2

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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/

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).

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!