City Center Encores! Presents The Apple Tree with Kristin Chenoweth May 12-16

Kristin Chenoweth is set to star in The Apple Tree, the final Encores! presentation of the 2004-5 Season, it was announced by Artistic Director Jack Viertel and Music Director Rob Fisher. The engagement, which runs May 12-16, 2005, also marks Mr. Fisher's final production as Encores! Music Director - a position he has held for Encores! entire 12-year history. The production is directed by Gary Griffin.

The Apple Tree features music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me, Fiorello!); and a book by Messrs. Bock, Harnick and Jerome Coopersmith.

The Apple Tree is a unique and innovative evening of three one-act musicals about men, women and a little thing called temptation from one of Broadway's most beloved songwriting teams. Act I is based on Mark Twain's "The Diary of Adam and Eve", Act II on Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger?", and Act III on Jules Feiffer's "Passionella". Notable songs include "What Makes Me Love Him?"; "Go To Sleep Whatever You Are"; and "Oh, To Be A Movie Star".

Under the direction of Mike Nichols in his first musical outing, The Apple Tree opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 18, 1966 where it played for 463 performances. The original Broadway cast featured Alan Alda and Barbara Harris. The show was nominated for seven Tony® Awards including Best Musical; with a win for Harris as Best Actress in a Musical.

Tony® Award-winner Kristin Chenoweth last appeared on the stage, originating the role of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, in the musical, Wicked. The performance earned a 2004 Tony® Nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. Her last Encores! appearance was in the leading role in On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. Other Encores! appearances include Strike Up The Band and Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash. She made her Broadway debut in Moliere's Scapin, starring Bill Irwin, followed by the Kander & Ebb musical, Steel Pier, for which she won the Theatre World Award. For her performance as 'Sally' in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, she won the Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics' Circle Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She has starred in the television movie versions of Annie and The Music Man. On film, she has three features about to be released: The Pink Panther (opposite Steve Martin, Kevin Kline and Beyonce Knowles); Bewitched (opposite Nicole Kidman); and the musical Asphalt Beach, written and directed by Peter Spears. Ms. Chenoweth has recorded two solo albums for Sony Classics, most recently, the just-released As I Am. Chenoweth will star in the Los Angeles Opera production of Alice in Wonderland for the 2006 Season

Since 1994, NEW YORK CITY CENTER ENCORES! has celebrated the rarely heard works of America's most important composers and lyricists. Conceived as "concert versions," each ENCORES! season gives three scores the chance to be heard as originally intended by their creators. Over the years, ENCORES! has presented the works of the Gershwins, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Kurt Weill, Bock and Harnick, Burt Bacharach, Kander and Ebb, Comden and Green, and many more. The program is the recipient of a special 2000 Tony® Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, as well as the recipient of a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award and Jujamcyn Theaters Award.

Lead sponsorship of the NEW YORK CITY CENTER ENCORES! 2004-2005 season is provided by Newman's Own. Newman's Own is a premium food company headquartered in Westport, CT. Paul Newman donates all after-tax profits from the sale of Newman's Own products to educational and charitable causes. Since 1982, he has donated more than $125 million to over 2,000 charities. American Express is a Major Sponsor of New York City Center.

THE APPLE TREE Performance Schedule:Thursday, May 12, 8:00 p.m.Friday, May 13, 8:00 p.m.Saturday, May 14, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.Sunday, May 15, 6:30 p.m.A special gala performance will also also take place onMonday, May 16, 7:00 p.m.Tickets for the 2005 ENCORES! season are available at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.nycitycenter.org. Tickets for the Orchestra, Grand Tier and mid-Mezzanine are $90, tickets for the rear mezzanine and front gallery are $50, tickets for the rear gallery are $25.