Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The scrappy new musical THE APPLE BOYS is completely and unexpectedly charming and disarming

• By drediman
• December 19, 2018
• No Comments

The company of Heart on Sleeve Productions’ “The Apple Boys: A Barbershop Quartet Musical” at HERE Arts Center. Photo by Richard Termine.

This past weekend, I had the great pleasure of catching Jonothon Lyons and Ben Bonnema’s The Apple Boys: A Barbershop Quartet Musical. If the title fails to excite, trust me, the scrappy, completely charming show currently running at HERE Arts Center (courtesy of Heart on Sleeve Productions) is among the best Off-Broadway musicals I’ve yet encountered this season. The joyful new musical – a disarming mix of Jersey Boys and Peter and the Starcatcher – tells the colorful story of the formation and rise to prominence of the Apple Boys, a fictitious Coney Island barbershop quartet during the turn of the 20th century.

Nearly all aspects of this little musical, at least in this production, are just about perfect. Kudos to director David Alpert for skillfully calibrating these elements into a breathless, dynamic staging that calls to mind Alex Timbers’ inspired work on the aforementioned Peter and the Starcatcher. Using only a cast of four and just a few props, The Apple Boys emphatically reminds us of the magic of theater as it tells the barbershop quartet’s zanily eventful story with boundless inventiveness and variety. Mr. Bonnema’s pastiche score is beautifully crafted and quite witty, while the book by Mr. Lyons (who also stars in the show) is both delightfully silly and authentically heartfelt.

The utterly talented quartet of actors – Mr. Lyons, Amanda Ryan Paige, Jelani Remy, and Teddy Yudain – each play a dizzying number of roles and collectively give a masterclass in ensemble work. Individually, their marvelous performances strike comic gold. But as a team, I consistently found myself in awe of the precision, acute self-awareness (astonishing for a cast this young), and heart they brought to the material. Even though the musical lasts a brisk 75 minutes, these hardworking actors have their work cut out for them; indeed, they’re clearly totally spent by the end of the show. I would love, and fully expect, to see this one have a fruitful future life. In the meantime, don’t miss the sparkling incarnation at HERE; it runs only until the end of the week.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE APPLE BOYS: A BARBERSHOP QUARTET MUSICAL
Off-Broadway, Musical
Heart on Sleeve Productions at HERE Arts Center
1 hour, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 23