The Golden Apple NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (77)
See it if you love golden age musicals
Don't see it if you hate golden age musicals
See it if you want to see a very rarely produced classic
Don't see it if you want to see it done right Read more
See it if you care at all about Classic musical theatre. It's a most eclectic piece that needs a great cast & creative team.
Don't see it if you don't care for musical theatre or through singing.
See it if you want a new twist on the Iliad/Odyssey. Enjoy operatic songs. Had some good moments but mostly a let down. Best part was Lindsey Mendez.
Don't see it if you have no idea about the Iliad you will end up very lost. Many of the singers were hard to understand.
See it if You enjoy encores! Minimal sets but a full orchestra! Voices were fabulous and choreography too
Don't see it if Slow moving and dated story line but costumes and staging made up for it
See it if You're a fan of Linsday Mendez, Alli Mauzey, or Ashley Brown, and love experiencing a musical you've never seen before.
Don't see it if You don't like Golden Age shows, or are easily bored by adapted plots.
See it if you are tired of seeing the same old musicals get revived again and again.
Don't see it if you aren't interested in a show that is quite dated and didn't do very well in its own time.
See it if Like fantastic singing and don't care that the show is boring.
Don't see it if A slow pace and silliness bother you.
Critic Reviews (18)
"These are the ingredients of a camp Americana operetta, which is what 'The Golden Apple' could so easily have been. But oh, the music: 135 glorious minutes of it, unsullied by dialogue...The glory of 'The Golden Apple' is a series of complex musical scenes and let’s-call-them-arias that define their own territory...The overall tone is generically cheerful and cute. There is way too much mimed jollity...There are some compensatory charms in the production’s make-do spirit."
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"The essential silliness of an incoherent plot takes nothing away from the qualities that have made the score treasured by Broadway cultists...The music has an infectiously Coplandesque appeal, careering from folksy to modern...The performances were utterly charming. But the true strength of the production lay in Berman’s musical direction of a plush-by-Broadway-standards orchestra playing spectacularly intricate, exuberant orchestrations. Earwormy bliss."
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"It's hit and myth, frankly...The delightful and punchy orchestral prelude gets things off to a rousing start — but it’s a mixed bag from there. Suffice it to say that compacting the whole Trojan War and its aftermath gets a bit zzz-inducing...Director Michael Berresse has assembled a game and talented cast of Broadway vets and new faces...When all is said and sung, the seldom-performed show is a curiosity worth seeing."
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"An unusual, daring and unapologetically brilliant 1954 musical...The Encores! staging is clean and simple but vibrant and beautifully sung by a fine cast led by Mikaela Bennett...Whether 'The Golden Apple' grows on you or not, this production shows off the Encores! series at its best, in producing a unique and extraordinary but underappreciated musical that probably would not have otherwise received another major New York production."
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"Individual elements may be scrumptious, but consumed together you're likely to walk away with a massive stomachache...Unfortunately, this ambitious staging of an even more ambitious musical can't manage to keep the show's wings from melting under the blazing stage lights...There's just so much going on, audience members are liable to tune out from sheer exhaustion. This is inherent in the script and not for lack of effort by director Michael Berresse and his capable cast."
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"Bookwriter/lyricist John Latouche mixes literary wit with hearty folksiness...An excitingly eclectic Americana sound that's rarely heard on Broadway...Lindsay Mendez shines brightly as Helen, singing with warmth, humor and gleeful sexuality...There are plenty of juicy supporting roles to go around and Encores! has gathered a top cast to play them...A musical that retains its youthful vim with its consistent cleverness...This one deserves a far greater following."
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"While the show certainly has its serious, deeply moving sections...overall it's notable for the creators' wonderfully light touch, and there's general agreement that the Moross/Latouche score is among the very best ever created for a flop Broadway musical...The quality and range of the music in 'The Golden Apple' is astounding, the lyrics true genius...One of the essential series' finest and most noteworthy achievements."
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"Excellently presented but underwhelming due to the patchy material...What may have been smart and cute long ago in a small Off-Broadway theater becomes dull on a large stage...Latouche’s lyrics have wit and craft, but his book is weak...Latouche and Moross’ efforts yielded a collection of likable songs...Berresse’s staging is lively and inventive...This spirited and mildly entertaining incarnation is an exciting event for musical theater aficionados, but is ultimately an uneven experience."
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