Harnick & Bock's THE APPLE TREE set for January 24

We'll be kicking off our 2010 readings with the 1966 musical comedy, "The Apple Tree." The team of Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, after their phenomenal success with "Fiddler on the Roof" in 1964, wrote "The Apple Tree," which, at that time, was considered a unique musical due to its structure of 3 separate one-act plays. As in "Fiddler," they were fond of stories about man and morality, how you learn life's lessons through experience. The original production of this show starred Barbara Harris, Larry Blyden, and (following in his father's footsteps as a Broadway leading man) Alan Alda.

Here's the breakdown of the show: Act I - The Diary of Adam and Eve. Based on a story by Mark Twain, this chronicle is infused with incomparable wit and a homespun sense of humor that identified Twain as the genius that he was. It starts at the very beginning and takes us from Adam and Eve's awakening through their 'married' lives with sons Cain and Abel through to the end with Eve's death. It is simplicity at the core which makes this yarn work with all of its inferences to what makes man and woman tick, their differences and idiosyncrasies - and the simplest message of all: true love.

Act II - The Lady or the Tiger? Based on material by Frank R. Stockton, this short and satirical look at early civilization akin to the Roman Empire, deliciously shows man's obsession with power, control and greed. No more the innocence of Adam and Eve. When a prisoner is punished, he must choose one of 2 doors, a temptress waiting behind one and a ferocious tiger behind the other. But like The Price Is Right- it, too, was like a game, a sport, after all - each door represents the unknown. Captain Sanjar and Princess Barbara are put to the test of love, when their clandestine affair is discovered and he is arrested. To save him, the Princess finds out behind which door the tiger lies, but when she learns that her lovely servant Najira is the lady behind the other door, her jealousy consumes her. She will lose her lover either way.

Act III - Passionella. Based on a story by Jules Feiffer, who adores the cartoon to show the foibles of humanity and does it to perfection, this is life contemporary, where greed is king and the winner takes it all. A parody of Cinderella, a hardworking chimney sweep Ella, wants more than life to be a glamorous movie star and gets her wish thanks to fairy godfather (or, perhaps in our case, godmother), the narrator, who appears to her through a TV set. Passionella is turned into a star, but just for a few hours, of course. Life is grande until Passionella realizes how lonely she is. She meets rock star Flip who prefers his women 'down-to-earth.' With a clever reversal to the fairy tale's ending, the 2 lovebirds become...well, I won't spoil the surprise! Let's just say, the message reverts to Adam and Eve: true love wins out when life is unadorned, in its purest form.

A "casting" sign-up sheet will be posted soon. So get a copy of the recording to listen to now! Copies of the script and score can be obtained soon by request from David Baer (entractepdx@gmail.com) for you to learn the roles once you've signed-up.