"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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"Extremely ambitious and wildly uneven...'Golden Apple' is the kind of show Encores! takes seriously, as evidenced here by the thoughtful direction of Michael Berresse and the often enchanting choreography of Joshua Bergasse. Their dedicated work goes a long way in both showing off the musical’s strengths and trying to cover up its weaknesses...One must also credit the Herculean efforts put forth by a star-studded cast."
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"The music is certainly is worthy of the praise. It’s powerful and electric...And with this cast of stellar singers, it’s as beautiful sounding as one could hope...It’s a strange piece of work to say the least...Lindsay Mendez's performance is not to be missed... It’s not a perfect show, and at times it feels as tedious as a lecture on Homer’s 'The Odyssey,' but the magnificence of the vocal talent collected here to sing this rich music is a gift from the Gods."
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"'The Golden Apple' got the Encores! treatment at its most glorious with a sonorous 31-piece orchestra, and a splendid 40-member cast...The score is delightful, a veritable catalogue of mid-twentieth century American music...The book is a busy, overly ambitious effort...Although many have praised Latouche’s lyrics, I am surely not alone in finding them inadequate for a full-length, sung-through musical...Still, I hope they issue a cast recording."
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"Encores! has retrieved this legendary show in a staging that reveals why so many people have revered the musical with its glorious score by Moross and lyrics by Latouche. One of the most thrilling aspects of this revival is the rendition of the score by the Encores! orchestra...Excellent singers are required and this presentation has them...'The Golden Apple' is exactly the kind of work that bears rediscovery. And Encores! has provided an enjoyable and very accomplished revisit."
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“A nonpareil gem…The affection vibrated through the inspired work of director Michael Berresse, choreographer Joshua Bergasse and musical director Rob Berman…A gleeful take on the Homeric epics…The music and the lyrics/book are virtually seamless...The abundance of on-the-money pastiches are enough to perhaps make even Stephen Sondheim a bit envious…The cast bursts with one formidable talent after another."
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"Despite the impressive music and clever lyrics, 'The Golden Apple' never quite becomes engaging, let alone transportive. The characters are of the one-adjective, two-dimensional type. The book is plodding, and there’s an artificial quality to many of the songs...The show just feels mechanical. The drama never becomes real, nor is there any discernible genuine emotion."
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"This is a real score, a worthy companion to the great American operas of the period...The musical values have been not only preserved but celebrated...Ryan Silverman and debutante Mikaela Bennett sing beautifully...Lindsay Mendez is her usual terrific self...Berresse's staging is simple but effective as is Bergasse's choreography. Bravo to Rob Berman for such superb musical direction...A real treat."
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