Synopsis
The Apple Tree is a witty and imaginative musical composed of three playful one-act stories, each exploring love, temptation and the choices that shape human nature. Set to a charming score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick the show moves seamlessly from biblical beginnings to fairy-tale fantasy and modern satire.
The first act, The Diary of Adam and Eve, reimagines Mark Twain’s humorous take on the first man and woman discovering life, love and each other. In The Lady or the Tiger?, based on Frank R. Stockton’s classic story, a passionate princess faces an agonising moral dilemma when her lover’s fate lies behind one of two doors—one hiding a tiger, the other a bride. The final act, Passionella, inspired by Jules Feiffer’s fable, follows a disenchanted chimney sweep who magically transforms into a glamorous movie star, only to learn that true happiness requires authenticity.
Reviews
“The dark and brooding [d’Arcy] James is hilarious as Adam, with steam coming out of his ear at Eve’s intellectual superiority; he’s flamboyant as Captain Sanjar, who has to make the daunting lady-or-tiger decision; and he’s a swaggering Flip to Chenoweth’s va-voom Passionella. ”
TheaterMania
“Probably the three best things about ‘Apple Tree’ are Kristin Chenoweth, Brian d’Arcy James, and Mark Kudisch, a talented trio who make this musical work.”
New York Theatre Guide