JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

The last time the Appalachian Regional Theatre Society came to Jonesborough to do a production, the group from Hazard, Ky., sold out every show. It was such a success the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre is having them back for another production this weekend.

ARTS will present two acts of “The Apple Tree,” a musical put together from stories by different authors, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The show opens today at 8 p.m., with Saturday shows at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sunday shows at 2 and 7 p.m.

Act I is “The Diary of Adam and Eve,” based on a Mark Twain story, while Act III, “Passionella,” is taken from Jules Feiffer’s novel.

Last year the ARTS group won a state award for its production of “Smoke On the Water” and also won honors for Best Musical Ensemble at a national competition in Orlando, Fla. The play’s soldout performances at JRT helped raise money for that trip to Florida.

“We love to come to Jonesborough,” said Carol Combs, who is directing the show. “The audience was so appreciative and it was so awesome. I’m really impressed that people pack that place night in and night out.

“The first act, ‘Adam and Eve,’ is from a story by Mark Twain, so it’s funny but it also bites a little, and tugs a little at the end. The next act is based on a cartoon-type story that is broad, physical comedy. It’s pure farce. We have to turn a little old woman into a sexy goddess, and it is a lot of fun. The two acts are very different.”

“The Apple Tree” was a Broadway hit and Barbara Harris won a Tony for her role in the show in 1967. Combs said it was one of the first shows she ever saw on Broadway and she’s always loved it, “but I never had the right two characters together to do it. Now the people we’ve got blend together beautifully and do a fine job. I think Jonesborough will love them.”

The play’s lead actor, Robbie Smith, received a degree in theater from Northern Kentucky University and has worked extensively on the road and locally with Jenny Wiley Theatre in Kentucky. Smith has received many theatrical accolades, including Best Play at the Kentucky Theatre Association’s Community Theatre Festival.

The play’s leading lady, Michelle Stacy, received a degree in theatre and English from Morehead State University. Michelle will be performing with her husband, Alan Stacy, in his acting debut with his role as The Snake.

“Adam and Eve” is taken from Twain’s “Extracts From Adam’s Diary,”and deals with the world’s first couple. “Passionella” is based on Feiffer’s Cinderella story about a chimney sweep who dreams of being a glamorous movie star. The complete “The Apple Tree” actually has three acts, but the second act, called “The Lady and the Tiger,” requires a bigger chorus than ARTS was able to put together, so they opted to do only Acts I and III.

“But they’re all put together under the title under ‘The Apple Tree’ because they all deal with temptation,” Combs said.

Bock and Harnick, who wrote the original music and lyrics, are most famous for doing the music for “Fiddler on the Roof” – “Although that music is nothing like the music in these,” Combs added.

Jonesborough Repertory Theatre and Appalachian Regional Theatre Society came together because Dr. Joe Florence, director of rural medicine at East Tennessee State University and a longtime theater lover and technical director, worked in community theatre for many years when he lived in Hazard.

“He and his wife, Kaye, have helped build this relationship,” said JRT director Kathleen Buttolph. “And we’re getting great cooperation from several places in town – The AmericInn, The Historic Eureka Inn and Franklin House Bed & Breakfast – to house these folks for all three nights, so it’s wonderful community outreach.”

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com

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