Rotten Core

BAD JOKES, not forbidden fruit, were the cause of man's fall from grace, claims Eve in the first segment of The Apple Tree. If this were the case, then we should not be surprised if, after the show's run has ended, we learn that Leverett House Arts Society has sunk to the lower circles of the inferno.

The Apple Tree is based on three stories by Mark Twain, Frank R. Stoekton and Jules Feiffer, but any trace of these authors' original intent has been systematically expunged in the adaptation by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Hamick. The first segment. "The Diary of Adam and Eve," describes the problems of setting up the world's very first household. These problems, however, are in significant when compared to Eve's (Debby Rayson's) inability to find a register in which her troublesome voice will be content to stay. Eve weasels her way into Adam's hut, and finally into his heart, but not before they are both driven out of the garden by the Snake (David Cohen), dressed in white tie and black tails, who solves his vocal problem by not singing in any register at all.

At first, Adam didn't really like Eve, but by the end of the skit they are proclaiming their undying love to each other. They didn't really leave paradise, because they still had each other, and that, you see, is paradise. Unfortunately, Bock and Harnick insist upon reiterating this devastating insight three times in songs so soggy with sentimentality you could dunk your donuts in them.

Act II, "The Lady or the Tiger," is set in a medieval kingdom where justice is meted out in inimitable medieval fashion. Prisoners are cast into a pit where they must choose between two doors, one concealing a ferocious tiger, the other a homely damsel whom the unfortunate victim must marry. Actually, the procedure is more like something out of "Let's Make a Deal" than a medieval court of justice. In any case, the plot centers around the dilemma of Princess Barbara (Colleen McMahon), who falls in love with a soldier and must decide whether to give him to the beast or to another woman. The Snake supplies her with the information with which she can save or kill her lover. In one of the sultrier moments of the evening, Barbara sings "I've Got What You Want," and asks the musical question, "Better dead than wed?" The skit ends without ever revealing what her decision is, but by this time, one is too happy that the skit is over to ask further questions.

The final story, "Passionella, concerns Ella, played by Barbara Fazio, a chimney sweep who aspires to movie stardom. Her wish is granted by that irrepressible snake, and she finds her Prince Charming, a curious sequined admixture of Presley, James Dean and Jagger played by Michael Blake. "Passionella" is the most entertaining skit of the three. It is energetic and funny but, unfortunately, like the other skits, it is performed sloppily. Costume changes are made too hastily, sounds are emitted from the orchestra which have nothing to do with what is happening on stage, and the choreography is slipshod. Perhaps the plays would have hung together if David Cohen had been more commanding in the role of the snake.

Although one cast performs exuberantly, director John Sebastian Baioochi doesn't seem to be in control of his material, which is not very entertaining to begin with.