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The Apple Tree: A New Musical
Drama, Plays, Theatre, Literature, Reading, Learning
90 pages, Hardcover
First published December 19, 2006
About the author
Jerry Bock
80 booksJerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928 – November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer.
He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with Sheldon Harnick.
He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with Sheldon Harnick.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 15, 2022
This book contains the scripts of three one-act plays, designed to be seen together, but any one of which may be staged separately. Each stands completely on its own, yet they meld together very nicely.
The first act, my personal favorite, is based on Mark Twain's short story of the Diaries of Adam and Eve. Mark Twain had a great sense of the comedic, but also new how to bring out serious subjects in ways that would not intimidate, but rather invite further discussion and inquiry. This play (and it is this act which gives the trilogy its title) is a marvelous stage adaptation of the short stories.
It helps to be able to follow the music in all three acts, as the music helps to convey the meanings and set the moods throughout. Youtube does have all three acts by various performers. I found myself singing each of the songs, and feeling deeply their multiple levels of meanings.
I have actually quoted from the script and the music when teaching religion classes. It captures very well the feelings that two people, suddenly springing into the world as adults, would feel and express. In one short act we are taken from the creation of Adam and Eve, and follow them through their lives, inside and outside the Garden of Eden.
It will, as does the best theatre, make you laugh and cry; you will feel joy and triumph and nostalgia and sorrow, and every one of those emotions is made real in this story.
The second act is a retelling of Frank Stockton's famous tale of the Lady or the Tiger. Again, the tale is given skin and bones to walk in and to help you feel the emotions. The music propels the tale and gives insight into the feelings and characters of the players. By the end, you have decided exactly what will be found behind the door chosen. And then you find yourself doubting and changing your mind. It is a masterful retelling of which Stockton himself would be proud.
The third act is the only one which suffers from the passage of time. It is a retelling of the story of Cinderella, based on the short story of Jules Feiffer. It attempts to make it relevant to today's audiences by bringing it into the present. The problem is that the "present" is the mid-1960's, when the musical was released. At that time, it played well. There are numerous references to the stars who were current at that time.
It is, again, wonderfully conceived and presented. Ella is no longer in a castle suffering under a wicked stepmother, but is struggling in the harsh modern world, laughably, as a chimney sweep. She still has to pursue her dreams, and obtains the assistance of a fairy godmother. As with many other iterations of this tale, it is amusing and endearing. Many of the references to personalities may be lost on today's audiences, and would need to be updated if performed, but it has as its ultimate reward (spoiler alert) true love.
The writing is ingenious and witty. This is a work which really belongs before the footlights of a theatre. Audiences could not help but be enthralled.
The first act, my personal favorite, is based on Mark Twain's short story of the Diaries of Adam and Eve. Mark Twain had a great sense of the comedic, but also new how to bring out serious subjects in ways that would not intimidate, but rather invite further discussion and inquiry. This play (and it is this act which gives the trilogy its title) is a marvelous stage adaptation of the short stories.
It helps to be able to follow the music in all three acts, as the music helps to convey the meanings and set the moods throughout. Youtube does have all three acts by various performers. I found myself singing each of the songs, and feeling deeply their multiple levels of meanings.
I have actually quoted from the script and the music when teaching religion classes. It captures very well the feelings that two people, suddenly springing into the world as adults, would feel and express. In one short act we are taken from the creation of Adam and Eve, and follow them through their lives, inside and outside the Garden of Eden.
It will, as does the best theatre, make you laugh and cry; you will feel joy and triumph and nostalgia and sorrow, and every one of those emotions is made real in this story.
The second act is a retelling of Frank Stockton's famous tale of the Lady or the Tiger. Again, the tale is given skin and bones to walk in and to help you feel the emotions. The music propels the tale and gives insight into the feelings and characters of the players. By the end, you have decided exactly what will be found behind the door chosen. And then you find yourself doubting and changing your mind. It is a masterful retelling of which Stockton himself would be proud.
The third act is the only one which suffers from the passage of time. It is a retelling of the story of Cinderella, based on the short story of Jules Feiffer. It attempts to make it relevant to today's audiences by bringing it into the present. The problem is that the "present" is the mid-1960's, when the musical was released. At that time, it played well. There are numerous references to the stars who were current at that time.
It is, again, wonderfully conceived and presented. Ella is no longer in a castle suffering under a wicked stepmother, but is struggling in the harsh modern world, laughably, as a chimney sweep. She still has to pursue her dreams, and obtains the assistance of a fairy godmother. As with many other iterations of this tale, it is amusing and endearing. Many of the references to personalities may be lost on today's audiences, and would need to be updated if performed, but it has as its ultimate reward (spoiler alert) true love.
The writing is ingenious and witty. This is a work which really belongs before the footlights of a theatre. Audiences could not help but be enthralled.
December 1, 2022
Originally produced in 1966, The Apple Tree boasts book, music, and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, the team responsible for Fiorello! and Fiddler on the Roof, two shows with which this one has almost nothing else in common. It's a whimsical concoction comprising three short pieces, which are linked by the single word "brown"; they're fairy tales, of a sort--"The Diary of Adam and Eve" (from Mark Twain), "The Lady or the Tiger" (based on the story by Frank R. Stockton), and "Passionella" (inspired by a Jules Feiffer creation).
The strongest, by far, is the first piece, which uses humor and simplicity to make the story of the very first married couple into an eternal and archetypal one. The religious aspects are largely skirted in favor of more transcendental ideas. At the outset, Eve sings
"The Lady or the Tiger?" and "Passionella," both shorter and somewhat less consequential, come after intermission. The first of these is about a spoiled princess named Barbára whose forbidden lover, a handsome soldier named Sanjar, is arrested by the king. This king has an unusual way of trying his prisoners: they are made to choose between two doors. Behind one is a vicious tiger. Behind the other is a beautiful lady. Stockton's story offers an eternal paradox, for Barbára has found out what's behind each door: will she sacrifice her lover to certain death or the arms of another woman? "Passionella" is pure satire. A bedraggled young woman named Ella, who works as a chimney sweep, dreams of being a movie star. Just as her life reaches its absolute lowest point, a fairy godmother grants Ella her wish and turns her into Passionella, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who quickly becomes rich, famous, and adored. But achieving our heart's desire doesn't always equal happiness: that comes only when Passionella meets up with a rock idol named Flip, the Prince, Charming. The O. Henry ending is entirely foreseeable and entirely delightful.
The strongest, by far, is the first piece, which uses humor and simplicity to make the story of the very first married couple into an eternal and archetypal one. The religious aspects are largely skirted in favor of more transcendental ideas. At the outset, Eve sings
It's all so lovelyBock & Harnick beautifully capture a sense of wonder along with a deep and evolving love to make Adam and Eve's relationship timeless.
I may just weep.
I love this garden and ev'rything that's in it,
And something tells me to treasure ev'ry minute,
Blossom and bud,
Mountain and mud
"The Lady or the Tiger?" and "Passionella," both shorter and somewhat less consequential, come after intermission. The first of these is about a spoiled princess named Barbára whose forbidden lover, a handsome soldier named Sanjar, is arrested by the king. This king has an unusual way of trying his prisoners: they are made to choose between two doors. Behind one is a vicious tiger. Behind the other is a beautiful lady. Stockton's story offers an eternal paradox, for Barbára has found out what's behind each door: will she sacrifice her lover to certain death or the arms of another woman? "Passionella" is pure satire. A bedraggled young woman named Ella, who works as a chimney sweep, dreams of being a movie star. Just as her life reaches its absolute lowest point, a fairy godmother grants Ella her wish and turns her into Passionella, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who quickly becomes rich, famous, and adored. But achieving our heart's desire doesn't always equal happiness: that comes only when Passionella meets up with a rock idol named Flip, the Prince, Charming. The O. Henry ending is entirely foreseeable and entirely delightful.
December 21, 2021
I like some of the music, but the book is slight.
July 3, 2010
I was in "The Lady & the Tiger" as one of Princess Barbara's maids. Very fun. College 1987.
February 7, 2016
Played for this musical back in college and again at Wheaton Drama in 2002. Love it!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews