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by Jerry Bock
& Sheldon Harnick
The Illinois Theatre Center of
Park Forest will present their holiday musical, THE APPLE TREE by Jerry
Bock and Sheldon Harnick, for a three week run starting Friday, December
3. This Broadway hit is
suitable for the whole family.
THE APPLE TREE is actually three
short musicals adapted from three great short stories, all dealing with
the topics of love and temptation.
"The Diaries of Adam and Eve" by Mark Twain takes us back to Eden
and the very first lovers.
"The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank R. Stockton is a lusty fable of
jealousy and betrayal set in a mythical barbaric kingdom, and Jules
Feiffer's "Passionella" hilariously resets the Cinderella story in
1960's Hollywood. The New
York Daily News described the show as "Three of the most charming
and witty musicals imaginable... The songs are extraordinary, both
musically and lyrically."
Katrina Kuntz plays the three lead female roles:
Eve, the scheming Princess Barbara, and Ella, the chimney sweep who
dreams of being a movie star. Ms. Kuntz previously appeared at ITC in
SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER. Her
other theatre credits include roles with Light Opera Works, Chicago
Shakespeare Theatre, Noble Fool, and Theatre at the Center.
Glenn Stanton makes his ITC debut as Adam, Captain
Sanjar, and Flip "the Prince" Charming.
Mr. Stanton has performed with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre,
Metropolis Theatre, Porchlight, Theatre Building Chicago, and numerous
others.
ITC favorite Frank Roberts completes the trio of
lead performers, playing the Snake, the Balladeer, and the Narrator - in
each story, the character that provides the temptation that drives the
story. Mr. Roberts' previous
ITC appearances include ARCHY AND MEHITABEL, ENTER THE GUARDSMAN,
TRIUMPH OF LOVE, and A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD.
The ensemble includes ITC veterans Ernest W. Ray and
Jameson Wentworth App, along with newcomers Morgan Glynn Briggs, Tom
McGunn and Danielle Scampini.
The production is directed by Etel Billig.
Composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick are
best known as the authors of the Tony Award winning FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
(1964). They also won the
Tony and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for their earlier work, FIORELLO
(1959). Their other
collaborations include THE BODY BEAUTIFUL, TENDERLOIN, SHE LOVES ME and
THE ROTHSCHILDS.
THE APPLE TREE runs Friday,
December 3 through Sunday, December 19.
Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, and
Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM.
Tickets are priced at $22 on Fri. & Sat., $20 at all other times, with a
$1 discount for students & seniors.
The Illinois
Theatre
Center
is located in Downtown Park Forest at 371 Artists' Walk (off Indianwood Blvd., adjacent to Village
Hall).
For tickets, call (708) 481-3510.
Dec. 3 to Dec. 19, 2010 |
