About the Show
The Apple Boys is a fast-paced, optimistic four-person comedy set in Gilded Age Coney Island.
Under threat of an unfair rent hike, Jack, the grandson of Johnny Appleseed, sets out to save his family apple orchard through a chance encounter with three new friends: “famous” hotdog purveyor Nathan, champion strongman Warren, and aspiring roller-coaster designer Hank.
In pursuit of their dreams, while challenging the ruling elite, this unlikely cohort discovers the transformative power of working together by joining their voices in song.
Clips
Competition Medley Demo
A dozen quartets compete for the top prize at the American Ballad Contest for Amateur Barbershop Quartets!
Reviews
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Rollo Romig
December 13th, 2018
In New York City somewhere around 1907 or the nineteen-thirties—historical accuracy is not a primary consideration here—an aspiring fruit farmer teams up with three other guileless dreamers to save his family’s apple orchard through a foolproof get-rich-quick scheme: busking as a barbershop quartet. This new musical comedy is a bushelful of delights: Ben Bonnema’s clever, catchy songs, Jonothon Lyons’s wonderfully fun yet tightly constructed book, and adorable, hilarious performances from the quartet (Jelani Remy, Amanda Ryan Paige, Teddy Yudain, and Lyons). Directed by David Alpert and chock-full of solid gags that get maximum mileage out of old-timey tropes and Coney Island lore, the show is a thoroughly winning tribute to collaboration in all realms, not least the theatre.
Published in the print edition of the December 24 & 31, 2018, issue.
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Marcina Zaccaria
December 17th, 2018
The Apple Boys celebrates every aspect of turn of the century artistry…
It’s an incredibly well-designed experience. Like pocket cabaret, it has elements of surprise and comedic bits. However, it’s so complete in form. Direction by David Alpert makes great use of the space. Actors jump on trunks and present in straight lines for performance, when not evoking soft shoe routines or silent film era, sight gags. Tight musical sequences and fanciful dances bring cheers…
It’s a thoroughly enjoyable 75 minutes.
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Victor Gluck
December 13th, 2018
The Apple Boys is a surprisingly entertaining tall tale that makes excellent use of this uniquely American art form. The talented and hard-working cast brings to life 40 characters from turn-of-the-last-century New York, often without catching a breath. The musical is also a valentine to the Big Apple from Coney Island to Central Park and with its references to many famous New Yorkers. At a swift 80 minutes, The Apple Boys is a most diverting musical evening in the theater.
Creative Team
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Jonothon Lyons
BOOK
Jonothon is an Independent Theater Award winning writer (Outstanding Original Short Script -The Tenement 2010) and a recipient of the Jim Henson Foundation Seed Grant (Ensō 2013). He has performed Off-Broadway in Little Shop of Horrors, Blue Man Group, and Sleep No More. And at The Metropolitan Opera in Simon McBurney’s Die Zauberflöte, Lileana Blain-Cruz’s El Niño, and Anthony Minghella’s Madama Butterfly. He’s received over 2 billion views and 5 million followers for his viral internet creation Buddy the Rat (@jonothonlyons). He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, AGMA, The Dramatists Guild, and the Barbershop Harmony Society.
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Ben Bonnema
MUSIC & LYRICS
Ben has received a Jonathan Larson Grant, the Fred Ebb Award, and the Harold Adamson Lyric Award. Theatre: One Way with Christopher Staskel (NAMT, Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed), Boys Who Tricked Me (Musical Theatre Factory, “heart-healing musical theatre" -Joshua Barone of the New York Times), The Lost Girl with Arianna Rose. New Media: Peter Panic with James Marion (Adult Swim Games, two million downloads). Film: Mary Poppins Returns (Music Associate to Marc Shaiman). Ben holds an M.F.A. from NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. He helped form the Climbers United union.
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David Alpert
DIRECTOR
David won the Wilde Award for his direction of Fully Committed, and was nominated for Best Director for A Scythe of Time at the New York Musical Festival. Off-Broadway: Our Brother’s Son (The Linney). Broadway/Off Associate: If/Then, The Trip to Bountiful, The Best Man, Talley’s Folly, Old Friends, Flashdance, Guys & Dolls. Founding Artistic Director of BroadwayCon, Creator of “E-Ticket to Broadway” podcast, producer of the “Living for Today” concert benefiting Gilana’s Fund, Creative Director for Idina Menzel (Carnegie Hall, Radio City, Bridges Tour, “Which Way to the Stage” on Disney+). David was named a Distinguished Alum of Western Michigan University, is a member of SDC and on faculty at NYU.
Support
All photos are by Richard Termine and feature Jonothon Lyons, Amanda Ryan Paige, Jelani Remy, & Teddy Yudain at HERE Arts Center in 2018. Full credits for that production: Directed by David Alpert Music Direction by Cynthia Meng Music Supervision by Rona Siddiqui Choreography by Marc Kimelman Scenic Design by Starlet Jacobs Lighting Design by Rui Rita Costume Design by Lindsay McWilliams Sound Design by D.J. Potts Produced by Johnnie Moore Hawkins