THREE PLAYS
ONE NIGHT
TIMOTHY
GARVIN
Manzanita resident
switches gears from
being Adam in the
fi rst act’s “The Diary
of Adam and Eve,”
pictured, a king and
father in the second
act, and a member
of the ensemble in
the third act.
12 | March 3, 2016 | coastweekend.com
The Coaster Theatre’s new musical
‘The Apple Tree’ challenges a small
cast but promises fun for audience
Story by NANCY McCARTHY
T
hose attending “The Apple Tree”
at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse
may think they are about to see
one play in three acts.
Actually, though, they will see
three plays in one night.
Opening March 4, “The Apple Tree”
runs through April 16. Friday and Saturday
shows start at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday mat-
inees on March 20 and April 3 begin at 3
p.m.
“The Apple Tree” is a trio of mini musi-
cals about love, secrets and choices ranging
from the beginning of time with Adam and
Eve, through the Middle Ages and ending in
a 1960s New York fantasy.
Taken from Mark
Twain’s “Extracts From
Adam’s 'iary,” the ¿ rst
act, “The Diary of Adam
and Eve,” reveals here-
tofore unknown details
about the world’s ¿ rst
couple: their meeting,
courtship, their children
and, oh yeah, how the
whole bite-of-the apple
drama came about.
“It’s very much a
‘Women are from Venus
and Men are from Mars’
thing before the book
was written,” said Pat-
rick Lathrop, who directs
the play. Lathrop also is
the Coaster Theatre’s ex-
ecutive director.
“The Lady Or the Tiger,” originally tak-
en from a story by Frank R. Stockton, is a
rock ‘n’ roll study of jealousy and revenge
set in a mythical barbarian kingdom, where
a choice could mean life or death. Just what
— or who — is behind door No. 1 and door
No. 2?
This act is a favorite for actor Jean Rice
“because it has a tiger in it.” Not only is
Rice fond of tigers, she gets to play the tiger.
“Passionella,” is based on Jules Feiffer’s
Cinderella-story about a chimney sweep
who dreams of being a glamorous movie
star and nearly ruins her chance to ¿ nd true
love. “Elvis Presley” makes a brief appear-
ance, complete with guitar.
“It’s a girl’s fantasy come to life,” said
Aaron Harris, who plays the “Elvis” charac-
ter, known in the play as “Flip.”
“The Apple Tree” was written by Shel-
don Harnick and Jerry Brock, who also
wrote the Broadway favorites “Fiddler on
the Roof” and “She Loves Me.”
The challenge for the cast’s 10 members
is to take on different roles in each of the
plays. Lisa Fergus plays the leads — Eve,
Princess Barbara and Ella — in all three
acts. How does she switch personalities —
and musical styles — so quickly? It’s not
easy, she admitted.
“I’m working on it,” said Fergus during
a rehearsal. She also must play different
ages, as she goes from being a “newborn”
to an elderly woman in “The Diary of Adam
and Eve.”
“A lot of it is the
costumes,” created by
Judith Light, Fergus
said. With each —
and sometimes very
quick costume change
— comes a change in
personality.
Timothy Garvin
is another actor who
must switch gears
from being Adam
(Eve’s love interest)
in the ¿ rst act, a king
and father to Fergus’s
Barbara in the second
act, and a member of
the ensemble in the
third act.
Along with per-
sonality switches and costume changes,
each of the three acts produces different
emotions, Garvin noted.
“In ‘Adam and Eve,’ there is laughter
and silliness. In ‘Lady or the Tiger?,’ there
is deception and some sadness, and ‘Passio-
nella’ has an upbeat, fairytale feel,” he said.
With a variety of musical styles to mas-
ter, the small ensemble is being led by music
director Mont Chris Hubbard, of Portland.
Hubbard has extensive experience writing
and directing musical scores and is the cre-
ator of a Portland musical variety show as
well as three CDs.
This is the Coaster’s ¿ rst spring musi-
cal. Although the theater usually produces a
‘The Apple Tree’ is a
trio of mini musicals
about love, secrets and
choices ranging from the
beginning of time with
Adam and Eve, through
the Middle Ages and
ending in a 1960s New
York fantasy.
‘The Apple Tree’
7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday,
March 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26,
April 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 16
3 p.m. Sunday, March 20 and April 3
Coaster Theatre
108 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach
www.coastertheatre.com
503-436-1242
$18 to $23
Submitted photos by George Vetter/Cannon-Beach.net
Husband and wife Aaron and Jessica Harris are performing at the Coaster for the i rst time. In addition to playing Flip, an
Elvis-like character in the third act’s “Passionella,” pictured, Aaron also is Sanjar, the young captain who must make a choice
in “The Lady or the Tiger.” Jessica sings and dances as part of the ensemble.
musical during the holidays, this year, the
holiday play will be the popular “It’s a Won-
derful Life,” a nonmusical.
Rice, who is a member of the Coaster’s
programming committee, said the commit-
tee read the script and listened to the music
and liked it. Among the deciding factors
was the ability to produce “The Apple Tree”
with “three or 25 characters,” depending on
how many community ac-
tors auditioned for it, Rice
said. “That was a major
plus.”
The cast — all volun-
teers — includes:
Lisa Fergus: With 30 years
experience on the stage, Fergus
has played Cinderella in “Into
The Woods,” Ruby in “Dames
at Sea” and Sister Mary Leo in
“Nunsense.” She has also cho-
reographed several productions, including
“Beauty and the Beast,” which she also di-
rected.
Timothy Garvin: Garvin’s ¿ rst appear-
ance on the Coaster stage was as Sir Har-
ry in last year’s “Once Upon a Mattress.”
A Manzanita resident, Garvin has been in-
volved with the Riverbend Players in Ne-
halem.
Emily Estrada: A recent graduate of
the University of Oregon’s theater arts
program, Estrada served as stage manager
for two shows at the Coaster. In
“The Apple Tree”, she plays a
snake because what would
Adam and Eve do without
a snake? She also tells the
story of “The Lady or the
Tiger” as a balladeer, and
she is in the ensemble.
Aaron and Jessica Har-
From left, Aaron Harris is Capt. Sanjar, Lisa Fergus is Prin-
cess Barbara, and Timothy Garvin is King Arik in “The Lady
or the Tiger,” the act two mini-musical in the Coaster The-
atre’s production of “The Apple Tree.”
ris: New to Cannon Beach since Septem-
ber, the husband and wife are performing at
the Coaster for the ¿ rst time. In addition to
playing Flip, Aaron also is Sanjar, the young
captain who must make a choice in “The
Lady or the Tiger.” Jessica sings and dances
as part of the ensemble.
Ellen Jensen: This is Jensen’s 13th play.
She also has appeared in “Annie Get Your
Gun,” “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”
and “Into the Woods,” among others. Jensen
plays the narrator in “Passionella” and is in
the ensemble.
Jean Rice, Katherine Lacaze, Dick and
Kris Frank: In addition to playing the tiger
in “The Lady and the Tiger,” Rice also is
in the ensemble, as well as Lacaze. Lacaze
has volunteered as stage manager and per-
formed in two plays, including the recently
staged “Dead Guilty.” Dick and Kris Frank,
who are in the ensemble, have also played
roles in several Coaster productions, includ-
ing “My Fair Lady,” “Scrooge” and “White
Christmas.”
March 3, 2016 | coastweekend.com | 13