"Complex, hilarious, timely and expertly delivered”

The Golden Apple: For the Fairest is a Trojan tragic-comedy featuring love, war, swords, sheep, a wooden horse, family, romance and death. Starring Aphrodite, goddess of love, Athena: goddess of wisdom and Hera: Queen of the Gods. See goddesses haggle over a golden apple at the expense of human lives! See Paris steal Helen, Queen of Sparta and bring war (and a thousand ships) to Troy! See Cassandra’s prophecies of death and destruction fall on deaf ears! Watch touching love stories unfold, betrayal unfurl, order unravel and tragedy descend!

Written and directed by Emily Davis

Puppet and set design by Shannon Harvey

 Produced by Agathe David-Weill

 Lighting Design by Tina Polzin

 Costume Design by Matthew Simonelli

Music/Sound Design by George Henik

Fight Direction by Bethany Burgess Smith

Stage Management by Christopher L Thomasson

The Production featured: Daoud Ali, Amy Attaway, Julie Baber, John Capalbo, Courtney Cunningham, Myles Goldin, Jo Jo Hristova, Mina Kim, Jennifer McGeorge, Geeda Searfoorce, Steve Spehar and Jason Vail.

Audience Reviews

I thought Golden Apple was funny and thoughtful with stand-out performances. What I most enjoyed was the way you skillfully  wove the theme of beauty throughout.  Beauty as cruelty, beauty as folly, beauty as powerless and powerful. I am still thinking  about Aphrodite’s  epiphany  at the end.

 – Chris Cunningham

You had an idea to demonstrate, a particularly somber, nay, heavy one, and you did so very well. I was particularly impressed  with  Cassandra. The passion there: message, rebuff, message, frustration  at more rejection, message, yet again obdurate  NO, emotional collapse.  Fine, there, really fine.

– Howard Laniado

I absolutely loved the show. It was amazing! It’s funny and poignant and the performances are awesome. It’s a great evening of theatre for all ages. It was so creative and visual with minimal staging that I shutter to think of what you could do with a budget!

–       Jason Godbey

The Golden Apple is a delightful romp through a timeless tale.  All in all, an entertaining evening with a stellar performance by Courtney Cunningham as Philoctetes, the fool.  Cunningham is hilarious, the love scene with her foot will have you rolling in the aisles!  Bravo Messenger!

– Leese Walker

I thought that the script was bright, witty, and original, offering new twists and immediate perspectives to material that has been so worked over that even “Hercules” got a shot at it.  The mask work was clean and communicative to the point that when the masks came off to reveal the goddesses in human form, they were an extension of the goddesses themselves…or were the goddesses an extension of the actresses….i like that.  And of course Shannon’s masks and puppetry were beautiful, as well as expressive.  The little sheep was a brilliant way to kick off the show.  And then there is Courtney…a bundle of energy with a razor sense of timing.  she is funny as hell.

– Kevin Bartlett

Everything I saw was consistently fantastic. The show was a perfect example of the strength of successful ensemble work as it relates not only to actors, but also to director, musicians, producer and set designer. The text was complex, hilarious, timely and expertly delivered. I felt like you really stuck your knuckles in there and got to the good stuff, and with so much of the right mixture of humor and tragedy. And of course it was all very well executed by an outstanding cast who’s energy amazed me throughout. Distinct characters and obvious passion. ABSOLUTE FEARLESSNESS and great timing. I feel sort of funny saying that the goddess masks were beautiful because I feel like it’s so Obvious. They were “divine.” They were played with grace and elegance, without losing their plucky distinctiveness. All of the mythical romances were attended to with absolute conviction, taking us all along for the ride.

It’s so easy to forget how important these myths are. And how juicy.

The show felt new and exciting and important. It was one of those productions that other theater artists go to and think, “See, now thisis the kind of thing I want to be doing!” The whole thing was an inspiration.

– Vanessa Valliere

A show with great acting and a great script that had everything: romance, history, universal themes, comedy, tragedy, sword-fighting, and a guy in love with his foot.

– Donna Shaunesey