Sunday Showtunes

ONE ACTS, TWO DAYS

That evening, to continue the one-act tradition, I saw the Roundabout’s revival of  “The Apple Tree,” a minor Bock and Harnick musical from 1966.   It starred Kristen Chenowith and Brian D’Arcy James, my favorite from “Titanic”.   (Plus supporting cast of course).  It is really three one-act musicals, tied together by …. With the common theme of… actually there is none so what the hell?   Anyway they put them together as one night of entertainment.  The show has sort of a special place in my heart because it’s first act was the very first show I directed.  They did take an intermission after the first act but then only had a “pause” between Acts 2 and 3.  So technically the show DID have an intermission!   They also had something interesting – the orchestra was in the boxes on either side of the stage.   It created a really cool “stereo” effect like you were watching the show with headphones on, but I wonder how the conductor could keep everyone together?  I mean, I have enough trouble with that in the pit at the Koffman Theatre – I can’t imagine having players on the other side of the room.  (Yes, I know “Lion King” did too, but that was just percussion – the rest of the orchestra was together under the stage).

The three acts are:  “The Diary of Adam and Eve,” a clever tale of the biblical story; “The Lady or the Tiger?”, a fable about choices; and “Passionella,” a rags-to-riches story about a chimney sweep-cum-movie star.  I enjoyed it (though I still like Diary of Adam and Eve best).   Chenowith was wonderful but to my surprise I didn’t care as much for my boy Brian – his acting wasn’t what I thought it should be.

ALDA NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT

One cool thing about “The Apple Tree” was, the recorded voice of  Alan Alda was the “voice of God” that begins the show (speaking to Adam).  The reason this is cool is because Alda was the original Adam on Broadway (Barbara Harris was Eve).  But cooler still was – the real Alan Alda himself sat RIGHT BEHIND ME along with 6 members of his family!   (I asked him for an autograph, even though I’m not much of an autograph hound, but he refused.)  It was apparently his first time seeing the show, which surprised me since he was part of it and all.  “Do you think the audience will applaud when they hear my voice?  I hope not,” he said.  Anyway, his voice is very prominent and I could hear every word he said before and after each act and I could tell by his laughter which parts of the show particularly tickled him.  He seemed very interested in the split orchestra situation - “How does the conductor conduct with the orchestra split on two sides like that?” he asked his family, resulting in a discussion about TV monitors.  He kept focusing in this issue several times throughout the night.  A few other tidbits of Alda eavesdropping:  “Let me ask you a serious question,” he said to his in-laws or whoever they were,  “can you get into our big, giant limo with us and come back to our apartment afterwards?”  He talked a lot about the history of the play, his work on it, and working with people at the time, mostly to his grandson (who seemed about 12 years old to me).  He seemed to be teaching the boy, which was pretty cool as the boy seemed close to his grandfather.   “This was 1966 – closed in 1967.”  His grandson clarified:  “Closed in October 1967.”  “You know too much!”  Alda replied.  Grandson: “I’ve been researching.”

Alda was blown away by Kristin Chenowith.  “She’s wonderful.  Isn’t she wonderful?  She is just so wonderful,”  he said after the first act.  .”  “She does it differently that Barbara did.  She puts her own stamp on it.  She’s too young to have seen our production.  She’s brilliant.  This was a real treat.”

“The Diary of Adam and Eve” made him cry.  (Me too, by the way).  The grandson asked why the play was “sad” and made people cry, and a discussion ensued about the meaning of the play and how it especially resonates with those who have been married or had a long-term relationship.  “It’s not said, it’s poignant,” he told the boy.  And, explaining why it made him cry, “She brought a lot of truth to her character and made me feel it.  That’s why I got moved by it.”  Surprisingly, he said “That’s why I wanted to do the play – that one speech.”  (Adams monologue at the end, at Eve’s grave).  “I thought the rest of the show was trite.  I did it for a year, just for that one speech.”

Am I going to say anything else about “The Apple Tree” other than just quoting Alan Alda?  No.

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