Catriona Mackenzie in The Apple Tree at Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre, London
The Apple Tree continues at Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre, London until 30 August.
Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock bestrode the 1960s musical scene. Original productions of She Loves Me (302 Broadway performances) and Fiddler On the Roof (3,242 Broadway performances) broke box office records. A couple of years later came The Apple Tree, with an original cast of Barbara Harris and Alan Alda, that managed to notch up a healthy 463 performances. Director Mike Nichols went on to direct The Graduate straight after.
This musical is actually three musical skits, the first on Adam and Eve, the second on a princess in love with a soldier and the third about a woman wanting to become a movie star. They all have the common thread of a woman wanting something but not entirely happy when she gets it. (No doubt there are subtle echoes of the women’s liberation movement being made here but it’s not an overtly political play.)
The Diary of Adam and Eve is inspired by Mark Twain’s short stories about our fallen ancestors. There is a constant sparring match between a perky Eve (Catriona Mackenzie) and a confused, dimwitted Adam (Rafe Watts). Mackenzie has all the charm and grace of a young Julie Andrews and completely owns the stage both in acting, singing and presence – she is all forms of lush. Watts doesn’t have the same kind of warmth (and possibly stage experience) to engage the audience in the same way and the direction results in him being physically abrupt with Eve, which doesn’t endear either.
The next skit, The Lady or the Tiger?, tells of Princess Barbara’s (Rosie Glossop) illicit love for Captain Sanjar (Luke Wilson) and both do the best they can with a nonsense that defies even the loose standards of this musical genre. The ending doesn’t have an ending and is pretty confusing even to an ironic postmodern audience. Given those limitations, both singers strive to create a believable rapport with each other. Glossop has a big voice, while Wilson – who has a beautiful tone – sadly doesn’t have much opportunity to use it.
The finale – Passionella – has poor chimney sweep Ella (Michaela Cartmell) pining to be a movie star despite her mockney Van Dyke accent. Maybe this section is a pop at Mary Poppins (the film had been out for two years) but it provides a great vehicle for Cartmell to show off her real acting and vocal ability. She has a wonderful talent to engage the audience – they loved her – and brings a much-needed charisma to the ending. Eventually she falls for Flip Charming, a brooding Brandoesque anti-hero played with comic effect by Xandy Champken, but her dreams of stardom end in the very real relationship with Flip’s alter ego, the prosaic Michael L. Brown.
The Apple Tree is not in the stable of great musicals. It’s fluff, it’s confetti, it’s a good-night-out-musical and there should be no shame in that. It doesn’t have the wit and snappiness of dialogue or anything approaching dramatic tightness.
Overall though, this is ladies’ night. It’s a vehicle for a good comic actress. If the anecdote is true that Harnick and Bock didn’t allow a revival until they found a suitable comic actress to play the female roles, then that makes a lot of sense. It demands a big presence to pull this rather disparate piece together and no doubt that’s why Kristin Chenoweth succeeded on Broadway in 2006. In this production we have three different women playing the roles, but really one actress would have added greatly to the thematic continuity of the production, with the added benefit of steadier acting and singing.
One aspect of continuity that is welcome is the Snake/Balladeer/Narrator (Daniel Donskoy) who appears in each playlet and is charmingly serpentine throughout. A real presence is demanded for this role and Donskoy has real presence.
Musically, as ever, All Star Productions has a great little orchestra directed by Aaron Clingham. They pack a punch and some of their multitasking musicians should be on double time.
After last summer’s smash hit Little Me, among other recent musical productions, the company shows how a pub theatre in East London is the best Off-West End in London.
Kieran Falconer
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