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'The Apple Tree' is a small offering of small stories in a small space
Wednesday, February 17, 1999 By Christopher Rawson, Post-Gazette Drama Critic
Small is the word for "The Apple Tree," a 1966 musical based on stories by Mark Twain, Frank Stockton and Jules Feiffer, with songs by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Its essence is cute - cute Adam and Eve, wry "The Lady or the Tiger?" and hapless Cinderella.
"The Apple Tree"
It gets even smaller at the Holiday Inn South Hills Dinner Theater, where producer Jude Pohl has cut out the middle story, leaving Twain's miniaturized account of Adam and Eve and Feiffer's thin tale of "Passionella," the would-be movie star.
Small, too, is the stage, set in a small triangular room that seats at most 85, only partially curtained off from the noise of a nearby bar and hallway. Lighting is rudimentary, and it's difficult to see the actors when they stoop or sit.
Smallest of all is the decor, which satisfies itself with two screens, a few pictures and such minimal props as a stepladder and paper apples on a potted plant.
The heart of "The Apple Tree" is gentle whimsy, so spare staging is appropriate. But small, also, are the attractions of the stories and score. Twain's Adam and Eve are innocents who bumble along figuring things out in a series of gentle skits. The episode of the snake passes in a genteel blur; God is no angry father; theology doesn't come into it.
Ella is a sad-sack who morphs into a movie star, then meets an equally improbable hunk before twisting to a predictable ending. The story takes a moment to tell but is stretched out in telling.
Small, too, is the accompaniment by Carol Karl, whose keyboard sounds like a distant tinkle. The score provides several pleasant songs and several forgettable ones.
But large is the commitment of the lead actors, David Finnegan (Adam and Charming) and Rebecca Wade (Eve and Ella). He makes the most of his sweet, L'il Abner face, and she of her golly-gee eyes. Both have some comic skill.
Along with intermission, "The Apple Tree" comes in small at well under two hours. I can't speak for the dinner.
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WHERE: Pohl Productions at Holiday Inn South Hills, across from South Hills Village Mall.