I have to take a moment to exude my overwhelming appreciation for the artist that is Kristin Chenoweth. Classical intonation, unmatchable range, vocal characterization, and impeccable comedic timing – She is the quintessential Broadway powerhouse packaged in one very beautifully curvy yet tiny package!
The Broadway revival of “The Apple Tree” closes this Sunday. I am a huge fan of the leading lady, so I decided that I just couldn’t miss the chance to see her in this show, especially with all of the critical acclaim she had received for the role.
I wish, however, that I had done a bit more research on the show itself before going.
If it weren’t for Kristin, this show would have NEVER been moved from the Encore! Revival stage to Broadway. The triptych show is one of the most random pieces of theater that I have ever seen. Act one, “The Diary of Adam and Eve” is supremely delightful. Despite the bland staging which consisted of a bunch of ladders in various sizes and one small palette of grass (which looked like something made for an elementary school production) the piece was completely engaging!
It opens with Adam (played by Brian d’Arcy James…soon to be seen in "Young Frankenstein") waking up and being instructed to name all the animals. He proceeds to name all the flying things “flyers”, the crawling things “crawlers”, etc. He then comments on how wonderful it is to be the “single man among all the animals”. No sooner does he revel in this than he is struck by a pain in his ribs, and out comes Eve (played by Kristin Chenoweth) on that small patch of grass. He dismisses her with an “I’ll name that animal later…”
Eve awakes, and begins giving animals their real names, based on the reasoning that “it’s just what they look like” and “I just know!”. The first encounter between Eve and Adam is hysterical, each trying to decide what kind of animal the other is, and why it can talk when none of the others (except of course for the Parrot) seem to be able to. The show typifies the differences between men and women: Adams dislike of anything without purpose, like flowers; His response of “that’s just the color of wood” when Eve questions the color scheme in his home; Eve’s suggestion of rubbing some berries into the wood to give it some “pizzazz!” etc.
Of corse the fun is ruined when the Snake (played by Sean Palmer...yum!) convinces Eve that the forbidden fruit isn't actually the apples, but rather the bad jokes that Adam has invented. She then passes the misinformation on to Adam, and they both are forced to leave the garden.
The funniest part of the first act is the sequence when Eve is pregnant, and Adam questions her weight gain. I was in tears I was laughing so hard! The sequence continues with the baby arriving, and neither of them knowing what kind of animal it is. Adam can’t understand how he hunts all day and Eve never leaves the house, yet she seems to be able to catch a strange animal. Eventually they realize they are people, just like them: Cain and Abel.
The story comes to a close with a monologue from Eve, lamenting over the “emptiness that consumes [her] home” after Abel is killed by his brother, and Cain runs away. The delivery was such a sharp contrast to the humor-filled act. The emotional payout continues after her speech with Adam telling us about how Eve has passed away. He is on his way out to water the flowers. Eve’s flowers. Afterall, while he never liked them, they were her favorite.
And again, there was much crying.
Both Chenoweth and James gave such amazing performances. I was so impressed. And I was so excited to see the next half of the show! The second act was set to be two plays: “The Lady or The Tiger?” and “Passionella”.
“The Lady or The Tiger?” is about a princess who loves a soldier, which is apparently forbidden, though it’s never explained why. When discovered, the soldier is given a “fair trial” which consists of the defendant picking one of two doors. One door will have behind it a maiden, who the man will then marry on the spot. The other door will have a man-eating tiger. So when the princess learns which door holds the tiger, she is torn – the beautiful woman that her lover would have to marry is her nemesis. Does she tell her lover how to live and sacrifice him to a marriage to her enemy? Or does she let him die? After all, if she can’t have him….
The music was painful. The costuming/design was bad Vegas Cabaret. The ensemble was annoying. The only bright spot in the whole show was a number by Kristin after she discovers her dilemma. She does the whole thing with a Brooklyn accent. Very “Fanny Brice”. Her comedic timing saved me from wanting to cry through this part of the three-part show.
“Passionella” is a Cinderella story. The main character “Ella” is a chimney sweep who dreams of being a movie star. Her first number was hysterical. First, Kristin is one of the best female Broadway vocalists on the stage today. The character, Ella, was a TERRIBLE singer. The entire audience, myself included, was in stitches! She was off-pitch and shaky and absolutely brilliant!
Anyway, her God Mother (played by Sean Palmer, also knows as “Marcus Adent” from Sex and the City) allows her to become the beautiful star “Passionella”, but only during prime time tv hours. The number “Gorgeous” was a stand out. I had seen Kristin perform this number in her solo concert at the Met, but within the context of the show was even more impressed!
So she becomes famous. Falls in love with a rockstar who accuses her of not being “real”, and she starts to lament her transformation. Again, the ensemble is seriously lacking. And the two male leads (The Rockstar – d’Arcy James, and Narrator/GodMother – Sean Palmer) were not very note-worthy either. The plot gives you a predictable ending. The rockstar falls in love, and ends up being a transformative-geek as well. So the awkward chimney sweep and dwerby guy fall in love and live happily, if not unattractively, ever after.
Very disappointing. I left the theater feeling so resentful. How dare a show build me up so much in the first act, only to be bored out of my mind in the second act?!
Again, all applaud to Kristin Chenoweth, who made the most out of the script and music to create for herself another shining moment on Broadway. I just wish the Encores!, Round About Theater Co, and Studio 54 could have had a better production, rather than a tepid revival of a mediocre musical that relied much too heavily on it’s star power.
The Broadway revival of “The Apple Tree” closes this Sunday. I am a huge fan of the leading lady, so I decided that I just couldn’t miss the chance to see her in this show, especially with all of the critical acclaim she had received for the role.
I wish, however, that I had done a bit more research on the show itself before going.
If it weren’t for Kristin, this show would have NEVER been moved from the Encore! Revival stage to Broadway. The triptych show is one of the most random pieces of theater that I have ever seen. Act one, “The Diary of Adam and Eve” is supremely delightful. Despite the bland staging which consisted of a bunch of ladders in various sizes and one small palette of grass (which looked like something made for an elementary school production) the piece was completely engaging!
It opens with Adam (played by Brian d’Arcy James…soon to be seen in "Young Frankenstein") waking up and being instructed to name all the animals. He proceeds to name all the flying things “flyers”, the crawling things “crawlers”, etc. He then comments on how wonderful it is to be the “single man among all the animals”. No sooner does he revel in this than he is struck by a pain in his ribs, and out comes Eve (played by Kristin Chenoweth) on that small patch of grass. He dismisses her with an “I’ll name that animal later…”
Eve awakes, and begins giving animals their real names, based on the reasoning that “it’s just what they look like” and “I just know!”. The first encounter between Eve and Adam is hysterical, each trying to decide what kind of animal the other is, and why it can talk when none of the others (except of course for the Parrot) seem to be able to. The show typifies the differences between men and women: Adams dislike of anything without purpose, like flowers; His response of “that’s just the color of wood” when Eve questions the color scheme in his home; Eve’s suggestion of rubbing some berries into the wood to give it some “pizzazz!” etc.
Of corse the fun is ruined when the Snake (played by Sean Palmer...yum!) convinces Eve that the forbidden fruit isn't actually the apples, but rather the bad jokes that Adam has invented. She then passes the misinformation on to Adam, and they both are forced to leave the garden.
The funniest part of the first act is the sequence when Eve is pregnant, and Adam questions her weight gain. I was in tears I was laughing so hard! The sequence continues with the baby arriving, and neither of them knowing what kind of animal it is. Adam can’t understand how he hunts all day and Eve never leaves the house, yet she seems to be able to catch a strange animal. Eventually they realize they are people, just like them: Cain and Abel.
The story comes to a close with a monologue from Eve, lamenting over the “emptiness that consumes [her] home” after Abel is killed by his brother, and Cain runs away. The delivery was such a sharp contrast to the humor-filled act. The emotional payout continues after her speech with Adam telling us about how Eve has passed away. He is on his way out to water the flowers. Eve’s flowers. Afterall, while he never liked them, they were her favorite.
And again, there was much crying.
Both Chenoweth and James gave such amazing performances. I was so impressed. And I was so excited to see the next half of the show! The second act was set to be two plays: “The Lady or The Tiger?” and “Passionella”.
“The Lady or The Tiger?” is about a princess who loves a soldier, which is apparently forbidden, though it’s never explained why. When discovered, the soldier is given a “fair trial” which consists of the defendant picking one of two doors. One door will have behind it a maiden, who the man will then marry on the spot. The other door will have a man-eating tiger. So when the princess learns which door holds the tiger, she is torn – the beautiful woman that her lover would have to marry is her nemesis. Does she tell her lover how to live and sacrifice him to a marriage to her enemy? Or does she let him die? After all, if she can’t have him….
The music was painful. The costuming/design was bad Vegas Cabaret. The ensemble was annoying. The only bright spot in the whole show was a number by Kristin after she discovers her dilemma. She does the whole thing with a Brooklyn accent. Very “Fanny Brice”. Her comedic timing saved me from wanting to cry through this part of the three-part show.
“Passionella” is a Cinderella story. The main character “Ella” is a chimney sweep who dreams of being a movie star. Her first number was hysterical. First, Kristin is one of the best female Broadway vocalists on the stage today. The character, Ella, was a TERRIBLE singer. The entire audience, myself included, was in stitches! She was off-pitch and shaky and absolutely brilliant!
Anyway, her God Mother (played by Sean Palmer, also knows as “Marcus Adent” from Sex and the City) allows her to become the beautiful star “Passionella”, but only during prime time tv hours. The number “Gorgeous” was a stand out. I had seen Kristin perform this number in her solo concert at the Met, but within the context of the show was even more impressed!
So she becomes famous. Falls in love with a rockstar who accuses her of not being “real”, and she starts to lament her transformation. Again, the ensemble is seriously lacking. And the two male leads (The Rockstar – d’Arcy James, and Narrator/GodMother – Sean Palmer) were not very note-worthy either. The plot gives you a predictable ending. The rockstar falls in love, and ends up being a transformative-geek as well. So the awkward chimney sweep and dwerby guy fall in love and live happily, if not unattractively, ever after.
Very disappointing. I left the theater feeling so resentful. How dare a show build me up so much in the first act, only to be bored out of my mind in the second act?!
Again, all applaud to Kristin Chenoweth, who made the most out of the script and music to create for herself another shining moment on Broadway. I just wish the Encores!, Round About Theater Co, and Studio 54 could have had a better production, rather than a tepid revival of a mediocre musical that relied much too heavily on it’s star power.
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