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The Golden Apple

 
American Theater Guide: The Golden Apple
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Golden Apple, The (1954), a musical comedy by John Latouche (book, lyrics), Jerome Moross (music).[ Phoenix Theatre, 173 perf.; NYDCC Award.] Angel's Roost, Washington, is a small turn‐of‐the‐century American village where little happens until the traveling salesman Paris (Jonathan Lucas) arrives in a balloon and so beguiles Helen (Kaye Ballard), the wife of Sheriff Menelaus (Dean Michener), that she elopes with him to Rhododendron. Ulysses (Stephen Douglass) and his neighbors pursue the pair, while the town's mayor, Hector (Jack Whiting), throws road blocks in the pursuers' path. After Ulysses outclasses Paris in a boxing match, the Angel's Roost soldiers begin their detour‐laden journey home, where Ulysses finds his wife, Penelope (Priscilla Gillette), waiting for him. Notable songs: Doomed, Doomed, Doomed; Lazy Afternoon; It's the Going Home Together; Windflowers. This brilliant re‐creation of The Iliad and The Odyssey in terms of 1900 America garnered general critical approbation but failed to find a large public. While there was virtually no dialogue, Latouche's adroit, witty lyrics and Moross's charming music were at once contemporary yet period in flavor. Thus, in the song “Scylla and Charybdis” the returning soldiers were beguiled by two shady financial manipulators to a melody and words reminiscent of Gallagher and Shean. The show has enjoyed several revivals but has yet to be given a major Broadway mounting and find the success it deserves.

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Wikipedia: The Golden Apple (musical)
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This article is about the 1954 musical. For other uses, see Golden apple (disambiguation).
The Golden Apple
Music Jerome Moross
Lyrics John Treville Latouche
Book John Treville Latouche
Basis Iliad and Odyssey of Homer
Productions 1954 Broadway
1995 Light Opera Works

The Golden Apple is a musical adaptation of both the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer, with music by Jerome Moross and lyrics by John Treville Latouche. The show was one of the first musicals produced at the Off-Broadway Phoenix Theatre (in March 1954) and moved up to Broadway on April 20, 1954 at the Alvin Theater where the cerebral and through-sung musical played for only 125 performances despite rave reviews. The original production starred Kaye Ballard as Helen, and Stephen Douglass as Ulysses. The production won the Best Musical award from the New York Drama Critics Circle, and the lyrics are much praised.

The musical is entirely through-composed and exhibits features similar to more operatic musicals like Porgy and Bess, Candide, and The Most Happy Fella. Jerome Moross was a classical composer of concert music, ballets, as well as a highly appreciated film score. The musical has developed a cult following, even though the full score has never been commercially recorded and the show has never been revived on Broadway. The play is remembered in part for introducing the standard "Lazy Afternoon" sung by Ballard, portraying a character based on Helen of Troy, and the fantastical, suggestive settings by William and Jean Eckart.

The piece continues to receive occasional productions. For example, a 1990 production in New York featured Muriel Costa-Greenspon. The work was produced in 1995 by Light Opera Works in Chicago, Illinois and in 2006 by the 42nd Street Moon Company in San Francisco, California. The Shaw Festival has also produced it. The complete piano-vocal score was published for the first time in 2009, by Alfred Music Publishing.

Contents

Roles and original cast

  • Helen (mezzo-soprano) - Kaye Ballard
  • Lovey Mars (alto) - Bibi Osterwald
  • Penelope (soprano) - Priscilla Gillette
  • Ulysses (baritone)- Stephen Douglass
  • Paris (dancing role) - Jonathan Lucas
  • Hector (basso) - Jack Whiting
  • Menelaus (tenor) - Dean Michener
  • Mrs. Juniper (mezzo-soprano) - Geraldine Viti
  • Miss Minerva Oliver (soprano) - Portia Nelson
  • Mother Hare (alto) - Nola Day

Synopsis

The show resets the events of Homer's epics to the U.S. state of Washington, near Mt. Olympus, during the years after the Spanish-American War at the turn of the 20th century. The small town of Angel’s Roost is thrown into confusion when old Menelaus’s fancy-free wife, Helen, runs off with a traveling salesman named Paris (he's in town to judge an apple pie bake-off). Ulysses, just returned from the Spanish-American War, is already restless and goes to retrieve Helen, leaving his wife Penelope for a ten-year adventure.

Musical numbers

Act I
  • Nothin' Ever Happens in Angel's Roost - Helen, Lovey Mars, Mrs. Juniper and Miss Minerva Oliver
  • My Love Is on the Way - Penelope
  • It Was a Glad Adventure - Ulysses and the Heroes
  • Come Along, Boys - The Heroes and Ensemble
  • It's the Going Home Together - Ulysses and Penelope
  • Helen Is Always Willing - The Heroes
  • Introducin' Mr. Paris - Paris and Ensemble
  • Lazy Afternoon - Helen and Paris
Act II
  • My Picture in the Papers - Helen, Paris and Male Ensemble
  • Windflowers - Penelope
  • Store-bought Suit - Ulysses
  • By Goona-Goona Lagoon - Lovey Mars
  • Circe, Circe - Circe, Mother Hare and the Ensemble
  • We've Just Begun - Ulysses and Penelope

References

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Golden Apple (musical)".  Read more