Porchlight Music Theater begins its ninth season of Chicago’s “lost” musical series with Porchlight Revisiting The Apple Tree, book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, book and music by Jerry Bock, with additional material by James Coopersmith.
Each of the three musical stories in The Apple Tree is directed by a different person, Frankie Leo Bennett (The Diary of Adam and Eve), Jamal Howard (The Lady or the Tiger?) and Laura Savage (Passionella), with musical direction from David Fiorello. Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree will be on Wednesday, December 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, December 8 at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. only at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn , presented for three performances street.
Porchlight Revisits subscriptions with three performance discounts are available and single tickets to Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree are $52 at PorchlightMusicTheatre.org or by calling the Porchlight Music Theater box office at 773.777.9884.
Now in its ninth season, Porchlight Revisits celebrates the rarely seen musical gems of Broadway, Off-Broadway and beyond and is the ticket to go behind the scenes with an introduction to the luminaries who created the greatest musicals of all time, and an opportunity to discover a new “old” favorite in a big show. Chicago’s finest musical theater talent dusts off these treasures and, for a limited edition, transports audiences into the world of musical theater artistry from the past. In addition to productions from days gone by, each Porchlight Revisis includes the Behind the Show Backstory, an entertaining and informative multimedia presentation created and hosted by Artistic Director Michael Weber that introduces the evening’s production, including the show’s creative history, juicy backstage stories and much more.
The 2022-2023 Porchlight Revisits season begins with The Apple Tree from the songwriting team behind Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me. Nominated for Best Musical by Tony, this witty, melodic and charming piece is made up of three musical miniatures : The Journal of Adam and Eve, a whimsical, touching twist on the story of the world’s first couple, adapted from Mark Twain’s short stories; The Lady or the Tiger?, a 1960s rock ‘n’ roll fable set in a mythical kingdom and exploring the fickleness of love and passionella, based on Jules Feiffer’s offbeat Cinderella tale about a chimney sweep who dreams of it to be a “glamorous movie star”.
Additional Porchlight Revisits in the 2023-2023 season include Porchlight Revisits I am a Camera, Wednesday 8 February at 7:30pm and Thursday 9 February at 1:30pm, an addition to Porchlight’s Mainstage Cabaret, this special event production one Rare opportunity to experience the remarkable 1951 play that became the inspiration for the musical Cabaret and Porchlight Revisites Two by Two, Wednesday 24 May at 7:30pm and Thursday 25 May at 1:30pm and 7:00pm: 30pm Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Peter Stone based on The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets. Porchlight Revisites Two by Two tells the story of Noah, the Flood and their aftermath with touches of modern themes including the environment and generational differences.
The cast of Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree includes Jonah Cochin (Adam/Ensemble); Maddison Denault (Princess Barbara/ensemble); Susan Hofflander (Snake/ensemble); Shea Hopkins (Flip/The Prince/Ensemble); Ruchir Khazanchi (Captain Sanjar/Ensemble); Michael Mejia (balladeist/ensemble); Leah Morrow (Ella/Passionella/Ensemble); Emma Rosenthal (narrator/ensemble) and Ciarra Stroud (Eva/ensemble).
The Porchlight Revisits The Apple Tree creative team includes Frankie Leo Bennett (director, The Diary of Adam and Eve), Jamal Howard (director/choreographer, The Lady or the Tiger?) and Laura Savage (director, choreographer, Passionella); David Fiorello (Music Director), Rachel Sypniewski (Costume Designer); Rachel West (lighting designer), Matthew R. Chase (sound designer); Alden Vasquez (stage manager); Emily Marrazzo (assistant stage manager); Kevin Vilchez (assistant stage manager); Majel Cuza (Production Manager) and Michael Weber (Artistic Director).
