Seeing “The Apple Tree” is akin to biting into the season’s finest candy apple: at times sticky, often too sweet, but entirely enjoyable. The musical, which opened Wednesday in the Betts Marvin Theatre, portrays three different stories with the common themes of love, temptation and sex. Produced by the GW Department of Theatre and Dance, the play was created by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, of “Fiddler on the Roof” fame.
The play’s first vignette is “Passionella,” a Cinderella story for modern times. Rather than caring for her wicked stepsisters, Ella (Blake Ross) is a chimney sweep who fantasizes about stardom. After appearing in a TV screen, a fairy godmother grants Ella’s wish and transforms her into Passionella, a glamorous movie star. Suddenly the most famous woman in the world, Passionella realizes she has everything she could possibly want, except for – sigh – love. In a tried and true story line, Ella is rejected by the man of her dreams, Flip (Evan Shyer), who claims he is not her type, singing “Newspapers call you the goddess of sex / If you are a goddess, I’m Oedipus Rex.” Of course, the story is resolved with a “happily ever after” ending in which Flip realizes that Ella is not just about glamour and glitz.
The second story is based on author Frank Stockton’s short story ,”The Lady or the Tiger?” The set now features the thrones of King Arik (Zack Colonna) and his daughter, Princess Barbara (Meredith Pryce). When the princess is discovered having an affair with the king’s bravest warrior, Captain Sanjar (Zach Borichevsky), King Arik arranges his trial in the customary way: the prisoner is forced to choose Door No. 1 or Door No. 2, behind which is either a beautiful lady or a bloodthirsty tiger. If the prisoner chooses the tiger, he is obviously guilty, and if he chooses the lady, he is innocent and automatically able to marry the proof. Princess Barbara, who knows which door contains the tiger, must struggle between which would hurt more, the death of her lover or his marriage to another?.
The musical’s final and longest tale is that of Adam (Jeff Stern) and Eve (Kate Bolduan) in the Garden of Eden. Beginning with creation, the play details the couple’s rocky beginnings until they are forced to leave the garden and learn to coexist and provide for their family. Of the three stories, this is by far the heaviest. In its original form, “The Apple Tree,” which was nominated for a Tony award in 1967, placed “Passionella” as the third part, and “The Diary of Adam and Eve” as the first, but director Leslie Jacobson’s decision to reverse the order of the vignettes is a sound one. Had the musical’s tone progressed from dark to light, instead of the reverse, the entire production would have felt superficial.
The musical’s leading female actresses all give strong performances, exhibiting impressive vocal talent, but the characters they portray are not always as likeable. Eve and Passionella are both so doting and eager to please men that they come off as much too cute and shallow. Princess Barbara, however, has more of a personality, and her story’s open-ended conclusion is a welcome change.
“The Apple Tree” provides a wholesome and enjoyable fill, just like real apples, but stops short of true sustenance.
“The Apple Tree” is playing in the Dorothy Betts Theatre November 6, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m. and November 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the preview show. All other tickets are $8 for students and $12 for non-students.
