Apple Holler calling

     The musical Barnstorm!, compiled and directed by Michael Becker (right) is now playing at Apple Holler's Red Barn Theater.      Actress DeChantel Kosmatk performs in the show. A new attraction at Apple Holler is the Golden Goat Bridge with goats grazing on top of the bridge while children play under it. School children head back to their school bus with pumpkins in hand after an outing of fun in the apple orchard at Apple Holler.

     With autumn leaves falling and the air crispy, there probably is no better place to spend a day than at Apple Holler if you love apples, cheese and Wisconsin. You can have lunch or dinner there and see a show that comes with dining. "It's an experience -- more than just eating food. It's fun and entertainment all rolled into one," promised Dave Flannery, owner of the 75-acre farm and the restaurant-theater on it.

     You can start the day picking apples on the farm which is off West Frontage Road between Kenosha and Racine. There are as many as 28 varieties grown on the farm including Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Jonathan, Gala, Fuji and McIntosh which Flannery said is still very popular with Wisconsinites.
     The pick-your-own season will last until Nov. 28, that is if there are still apples hanging on the trees before then
     Musical review
     The current show at Apple Holler's Red Barn Theatre is Barnstorm!, a musical revue featuring recent Broadway songs and original songs composed by Michael Becker, in-house entertainment director since 1999. It will also include sing-alongs and improvised comedy skits.
     "I wanted to develop something original for our unique performance stage," said Becker who has a bachelor's degree in music from Lawrence University.
     "This is the first time we are trying improv, something like Whose Line Is It Anyway? Each performance will be different, since the audience suggestions will change the subject of the comic skits," he added.
     Songs in Barnstorm! include selections from recent Broadway musicals such as Avenue Q, Hairspray, The Producers and The Wicked. Mixed in will be old classic tunes, songs by Becker, and sing alongs. The theater is inside or rather in the center of the restaurant which Flannery says provides a certain intimacy between audience and theater, and allows better interaction.
      The cast consists of six actors who rotate in the shows so that only three will perform on any given day. Selected solo songs will change based on which actor is in the cast that day, so the show will vary greatly in each performance.
      Becker's credits as director and pianist include such shows as I Do! I Do!, Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, The Taffetas, Apple Holler's Country Christmas, They're Playing Our Song, Hello Muddah! Hello Faddah!, George and Gracie and Some Enchanted Evening. Becker is also the music director at Trinity Methodist Church in Racine.
Lunch, dinner shows     
      Barnstorm can be seen at the Red Barn Theatre with lunch or dinner. The price of $39.95 includes Wisconsin wine and cheese, full course meal, dessert, beverage, tax and tip. To attend the show only, the price is $22.10 which includes dessert. Barnstorm will run through Nov. 24 on selected weekdays and Saturday evenings. For reservations call (262) 886-8500.
      Originally a cow farm, Apple Holler was later turned into an orchard. Flannery, a former sales engineer for a Chicago company, rented the farm first to open his restaurant in the converted barn in 1987.
     Business was so good he bought the orchard in 1994. Besides apples, it grows pears and pumpkins. Flannery, 56, and his wife, Vickie, also operate a gift shop.
      At Apple Holler, people may be hollering with joy at picking apples, eating the food or watching the show. But the name has nothing to do with hollering or yelling. Holler, as explained by Flannery, denotes the elevations of the farmland. Simply said, the land is a bit hilly which, he said, facilitates apple growing.
     Low-lying areas, according to him, provide better protection for blossoms in a freeze because cold air, with greater density, dives. Even in the same tree there is a temperature difference between the top and the bottom.
     "Three years ago we lost 80 percent of the crop because of a freeze. This year only 20 percent," he said.
      And this year Wisconsin orchards fare much better than Illinois orchards, which is one reason he thinks people should visit Apple Holler.