As one reviewer called it: “Appleseed” is a touching, enjoyable piece of light Americana; an enthusiastic, lively musical, a professional, entertaining mixture of light humor and pathos.”
So why has this great show never made it to Broadway? Not for lack of trying. In fact, three bigtime Broadway producers took it on, promising to bring it to the Great White Way. One was Ed Padula, an extremely successful producer who brought “Bye, Bye, Birdie” to Broadway. The others were all well known and successful. So what happened?
Well, there was a little God problem. Every one of them told us there was too much God, too much Jesus, too much religious stuff in it. Won’t work on Broadway they said, one after another. Scale the God stuff down, they chanted.
But the show’s not about God, or Jesus; it’s about Johnny Appleseed. It doesn’t preach or proselytize. It’s a story about an American hero of sorts. God was in his nature. We couldn’t keep Him out of it and still present Johnny Appleseed in his true light – the guy who walked around planting apple trees and telling all who’d listen “The News Right Fresh from Heaven.”
The show has been produced three times: the premier being at the University of Texas at Austin in 1971 to rave reviews (you can see them on this site). Yeah, that’s right. 50 years ago. And we’re still at it. The script you see here is the best one yet – presenting Johnny’s reason for planting all those apples.
So if you’re looking for a great family oriented musical, and you aren’t afraid to get God and Jesus out there, and you have a ton of money, give me a shout and we’ll get together.