Golden Apple, The

Golden Apple, The (1954), a musical comedy by John Latouche (book, lyrics), Jerome Moross (music).[Phoenix Theatre, 173 perf.; NYDCC Award.] Angel's Roost, Washington, is a small turn‐of‐the‐century American village where little happens until the traveling salesman Paris ( Jonathan Lucas) arrives in a balloon and so beguiles Helen ( Kaye Ballard), the wife of Sheriff Menelaus ( Dean Michener), that she elopes with him to Rhododendron. Ulysses ( Stephen Douglass) and his neighbors pursue the pair, while the town's mayor, Hector ( Jack Whiting), throws road blocks in the pursuers' path. After Ulysses outclasses Paris in a boxing match, the Angel's Roost soldiers begin their detour‐laden journey home, where Ulysses finds his wife, Penelope ( Priscilla Gillette), waiting for him. Notable songs: Doomed, Doomed, Doomed; Lazy Afternoon; It's the Going Home Together; Windflowers. This brilliant re‐creation of The Iliad and The Odyssey in terms of 1900 America garnered general critical approbation but failed to find a large public. While there was virtually no dialogue, Latouche's adroit, witty lyrics and Moross's charming music were at once contemporary yet period in flavor. Thus, in the song “Scylla and Charybdis” the returning soldiers were beguiled by two shady financial manipulators to a melody and words reminiscent of Gallagher and Shean. The show has enjoyed several revivals but has yet to be given a major Broadway mounting and find the success it deserves.