#1
Posted: 12/14/06 at 6:22pm
The AP is Mixed-to-Positive (a rave for Chenoweth, but mixed for the production itself):
"Talk about polishing the "Apple" until it shines.
In the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of "The Apple Tree," Kristin Chenoweth makes her own special brand of musical-comedy magic. The woman belongs in the theater (not in movies like "Deck the Halls" or her short-lived TV series "Kristin"), preferably in a musical that can show off her voice and delirious comic timing at the same time.
She gets just such an opportunity in this odd, uneven entertainment, actually three one-act Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musicals based on short stories by Mark Twain, Frank R. Stockton and Jules Feiffer."
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Bock and Harnick, who wrote such musicals as "Fiddler on the Roof,""Fiorello!" and "She Loves Me," are craftsmen of the old school. Even with a show that is not of first rank (and "The Apple Tree" belongs in their second tier), Harnick's lyrics are never less than intelligent. They often are warmhearted and witty, while Bock's music, particularly in the first piece, is affecting without being overly sentimental.
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The production designs are still minimal. "Adam and Eve," for example, is performed on a nearly bare playing area. And the chorus lineup is exceptionally skimpy, only four guys and four girls. But don't worry. Kristin Chenoweth can fill the stage all by herself."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/12/14/entertainment/e142629S14.DTL
"Talk about polishing the "Apple" until it shines.
In the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of "The Apple Tree," Kristin Chenoweth makes her own special brand of musical-comedy magic. The woman belongs in the theater (not in movies like "Deck the Halls" or her short-lived TV series "Kristin"), preferably in a musical that can show off her voice and delirious comic timing at the same time.
She gets just such an opportunity in this odd, uneven entertainment, actually three one-act Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick musicals based on short stories by Mark Twain, Frank R. Stockton and Jules Feiffer."
________________________________________________________________
Bock and Harnick, who wrote such musicals as "Fiddler on the Roof,""Fiorello!" and "She Loves Me," are craftsmen of the old school. Even with a show that is not of first rank (and "The Apple Tree" belongs in their second tier), Harnick's lyrics are never less than intelligent. They often are warmhearted and witty, while Bock's music, particularly in the first piece, is affecting without being overly sentimental.
________________________________________________________________
The production designs are still minimal. "Adam and Eve," for example, is performed on a nearly bare playing area. And the chorus lineup is exceptionally skimpy, only four guys and four girls. But don't worry. Kristin Chenoweth can fill the stage all by herself."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/12/14/entertainment/e142629S14.DTL
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
