#1
Posted: 12/10/06 at 12:52pm
THE APPLE TREE Review
https://nycriticscorner.broadwayworld.com/theappletree.htm
Songwriters and librettists Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick followed their once-in-a-lifetime success with "Fiddler On The Roof" by writing "The Apple Tree," an experimental musical that adapted three short stories, Mark Twain's The Diary Of Adam And Eve, Frank R. Stockton's The Lady Or The Tiger?, and Jules Feiffer's Passionella. The year was 1966 and the cast featured three theatre greats; Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, and Larry Blyden. Well, the year is now 2006 and the three equally talented, if not better, theatre professionals taking on the same roles in the Roundabout revival of "The Apple Tree" are the vibrant Brian d'Arcy James, the charismatic Marc Kudisch, and the absolutely brilliant Kristen Chenoweth.
Each of these performers has got to be a character actor first and for most, for they ultimately play three characters throughout the evening in each of the three tales. There is little to tie these tales together, except for the fact that each is a love story with unconventional complications; so the actors must bring their game face every single second and undoubtedly here they do! The tone of the works vary from romantic to satiric even within each story, and the characters tend to be so precious and cloying that it is hard for the audience goer to have much emotional involvement. Nevertheless, what is lacking in Harnick & Block's book is all made up for with their rousing score and this time around, delicious cast.
Kristin Chenoweth is an incredible musical diva who brings back memories of powerhouse performers from those talked about golden days of the Broadway musical -- with an hourglass figure, energetic stage presence, marvelous comic timing, and a voice that soars. Her charismatic presence could overshadow her co-stars, but never once does as she continually strives and reaches Brava status in a three star musical. Does the woman really do no wrong?
Her co-stars here do not miss a beat either; Brian d'Arcy James as all the romantic leads and Marc Kudisch as a charismatic Snake in the Adam and Eve piece and narrator of the other two pieces fully deserved their co-star billing. Both James and Kudisch give enthralling testosterone fuelled performances that match Chenoweth's fieriness tooth for tooth.
Director Gary Griffin certainly is a capable director, and has everything he could possibly want with his star power, but his vision of the tree isn't necessarily a fruitful one, nor is it tainted with worms either. He could have been helped by his normally spot on design team that must have let their understudies fulfill their requirements for this production. Scenic Design by John Lee Beatty; Costume Design by Jess Goldstein; and Lighting Design by Donald Holder all fall short of their usual splendor, leaving the actors to achieve even more.
Very typical of Roundabout to attract big names, do an obscure revival of show nobody has thought about for years, make audience-goers realize what a chestnut it is, and leave theatre-goers with an unfulfilled artistic vision that makes us long for those golden days gone by. With this cast though, onstage talent in this revival is obviously not what is missing, but instead captivating above and beyond.
https://nycriticscorner.broadwayworld.com/theappletree.htm
Songwriters and librettists Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick followed their once-in-a-lifetime success with "Fiddler On The Roof" by writing "The Apple Tree," an experimental musical that adapted three short stories, Mark Twain's The Diary Of Adam And Eve, Frank R. Stockton's The Lady Or The Tiger?, and Jules Feiffer's Passionella. The year was 1966 and the cast featured three theatre greats; Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, and Larry Blyden. Well, the year is now 2006 and the three equally talented, if not better, theatre professionals taking on the same roles in the Roundabout revival of "The Apple Tree" are the vibrant Brian d'Arcy James, the charismatic Marc Kudisch, and the absolutely brilliant Kristen Chenoweth.
Each of these performers has got to be a character actor first and for most, for they ultimately play three characters throughout the evening in each of the three tales. There is little to tie these tales together, except for the fact that each is a love story with unconventional complications; so the actors must bring their game face every single second and undoubtedly here they do! The tone of the works vary from romantic to satiric even within each story, and the characters tend to be so precious and cloying that it is hard for the audience goer to have much emotional involvement. Nevertheless, what is lacking in Harnick & Block's book is all made up for with their rousing score and this time around, delicious cast.
Kristin Chenoweth is an incredible musical diva who brings back memories of powerhouse performers from those talked about golden days of the Broadway musical -- with an hourglass figure, energetic stage presence, marvelous comic timing, and a voice that soars. Her charismatic presence could overshadow her co-stars, but never once does as she continually strives and reaches Brava status in a three star musical. Does the woman really do no wrong?
Her co-stars here do not miss a beat either; Brian d'Arcy James as all the romantic leads and Marc Kudisch as a charismatic Snake in the Adam and Eve piece and narrator of the other two pieces fully deserved their co-star billing. Both James and Kudisch give enthralling testosterone fuelled performances that match Chenoweth's fieriness tooth for tooth.
Director Gary Griffin certainly is a capable director, and has everything he could possibly want with his star power, but his vision of the tree isn't necessarily a fruitful one, nor is it tainted with worms either. He could have been helped by his normally spot on design team that must have let their understudies fulfill their requirements for this production. Scenic Design by John Lee Beatty; Costume Design by Jess Goldstein; and Lighting Design by Donald Holder all fall short of their usual splendor, leaving the actors to achieve even more.
Very typical of Roundabout to attract big names, do an obscure revival of show nobody has thought about for years, make audience-goers realize what a chestnut it is, and leave theatre-goers with an unfulfilled artistic vision that makes us long for those golden days gone by. With this cast though, onstage talent in this revival is obviously not what is missing, but instead captivating above and beyond.
Updated On: 12/10/06 at 12:52 PM
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