Which playlet contains this number?

It is part of "Passionella", the third story inside The Apple Tree.

Who is singing, dramatically?

The company reacts to Passionella as if she has just entered on a wave of public fascination.

Who performs it on the original cast recording?

Track credits list Barbara Harris with the ensemble on the cast album metadata.

Why is it structured as repetition?

It imitates gossip and fascination, where the question itself builds momentum.

Is the question meant to be answered in the moment?

Not really. The act of asking claims a right to know and turns a person into a public topic.

How long is the track?

Most listings place it around 1:22 to 1:25, depending on the catalog entry.

Is it a standalone performance piece?

It is more of a scene fragment and plays best in context as a bridge between transformation and crowd response.

Does it connect to the show theme across all three playlets?

Yes. Each story tests a desire and shows how a wish is shaped once it enters a system.

Is there an official music video?

No pop-style video. The standard official presence is an auto-generated audio upload tied to the cast recording catalog.

(Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She? Lyrics — Apple Tree, The

(Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She? Lyrics

Who, who, who, who, who is she?
Who is this ravishing sight?
With a fantasy face and staggering smile.
Her indescribable bust.

Who is she?
She must be someone alright.
But who can she be?
Do you know?
Do you?
No.

Then who, who, who, who is she?
And where's she off to tonight?
You think the chaffeur would drive?
With everyone pride and hard.
Unless of course
She's an underground movie star.
Tell us who you are man.
Tell us who you are man.

I'm Passionella.
Passionella.
Passionella.
That's who I am.
That's who she is.
Last Update: March, 10th 2026

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Song Overview

(Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She? lyrics by Barbara Harris — Barbara Harris and the ensemble perform "(Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She?" in the official audio upload.

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

Work: The Apple Tree (Broadway, 1966), playlet three: "Passionella".
Placement: Right after Ella becomes Passionella and the room starts reacting to her like she is a headline.
Voices: Barbara Harris with the company on the original cast recording.
What makes it pop: A chant-like hook that turns attention into a spotlight, then into pressure.

Scene from (Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She? by Barbara Harris — The question builds like a crowd ripple in "Passionella".

The Apple Tree (1966) - stage musical - Diegetic and non-diegetic layers. The ensemble circles Passionella with a rhythmic question, treating her identity like gossip that has turned into a ceremony. It matters because the playlet shows how fame works: first you are noticed, then you are owned by the noticing.

This is a short number, but it does a lot of narrative lifting. "Gorgeous" gives you the private thrill of transformation. Then this track flips the camera outward. Suddenly it is not about how she sees herself, it is about how strangers see her, and how quickly their curiosity starts writing the script.

The craft is in the repetition. "Who is she?" is not asked to learn facts. It is asked to keep the attention going, like a chant that feeds itself. The ensemble sound feels bright, even playful, but the subtext is sharper: Ella wanted to be seen, and now she is learning what it costs to stay seen.

Creation History

Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick built "Passionella" as a mid-century media fable, where the wish for glamour collides with the machinery of celebrity. On the cast album, this number is credited to Barbara Harris with the company and clocks in at roughly a minute and change, recorded in the documented October 23, 1966 session. That compactness is part of its point: attention does not develop slowly, it hits fast, then multiplies.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Barbara Harris performing (Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She? — Public curiosity becomes a chorus.

Plot

In "Passionella", Ella has been transformed into the glamorous Passionella on a nightly timer tied to television programming. As soon as she appears, the world responds. This number captures the first wave of public fascination: the company asks who she is, with the kind of eager insistence that turns a person into a topic.

Song Meaning

The song is about identity being outsourced. Ella has just stepped into a new image, but the ensemble is already claiming a stake in it. The repeated question sounds innocent, yet it behaves like a net: it pulls her toward the crowd’s definition of her. According to the Masterworks Broadway catalog framing of the show and its cast album, "Passionella" is built around TV-era glamour, and this chorus is one of the clearest demonstrations of how glamour turns into public ownership.

Annotations

"Who, who, who, who, who is she?"

Repetition is the trick. The words barely change, which is exactly how rumor works: the content is thin, the momentum is huge. The rhythm keeps pushing forward, as if the question itself creates the right to an answer.

"Who is she?"

It is also a musical close-up. The company is not singing about what she did, or what she said. They are singing about her existence. That choice tells you what the crowd values: image first, person later.

Style notes: chant as spotlight

The song sits like a quick burst of crowd texture, a bridge between transformation and consequence. It is closer to a chorus in a Greek sense than a standalone showcase. I think of it as the sound of a room leaning in.

Shot of (Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She? by Barbara Harris — The hook turns curiosity into a collective demand.

Technical Information (Quick Facts)

Song: (Who, Who, Who, Who,) Who Is She?
Artist: Original Broadway Cast of The Apple Tree
Featured: Barbara Harris, The Apple Tree Ensemble
Composer: Jerry Bock
Lyricist: Sheldon Harnick
Music director and conductor: Elliot Lawrence
Release Date: January 1, 1966 (common digital catalog date)
Recording Date: October 23, 1966
Genre: Musical theatre
Instruments: Pit orchestra, chorus and solo lines
Label: Masterworks Broadway (catalog editions)
Mood: Curious, bright, insistent
Length: About 1:22 to 1:25 (varies by listing)
Track #: 20 (common cast recording sequence)
Language: English
Album: The Apple Tree (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
Music style: Ensemble chant and crowd texture in "Passionella"
Poetic meter: Mixed, speech-led theatre prosody

Frequently Asked Questions

Which playlet contains this number?: It is part of "Passionella", the third story inside The Apple Tree.
Who is singing, dramatically?: The company is reacting to Passionella as if she has just walked into the room on a wave of headlines.
Who performs it on the original cast recording?: Track credits list Barbara Harris with the ensemble on the 1966 cast album metadata.
Why is it structured as repetition?: Because it imitates gossip and fascination. The crowd does not need details to keep watching, it needs momentum.
Is the question meant to be answered in the moment?: Not really. The point is the act of asking, which claims a right to know and turns a person into a public topic.
How long is the track?: Most listings place it around 1:22 to 1:25, depending on the catalog entry.
Is it a standalone performance piece?: It is more of a scene fragment. It works best in context, bridging transformation and the crowd response.
Does it connect to the show theme across all three playlets?: Yes. Each story tests a desire - love, power, glamour - and shows how a wish can be manipulated once it enters a system.
Is there an official music video?: Not in a pop format. The most common official presence is the auto-generated audio upload tied to the cast recording catalog.

Awards and Chart Positions

This track is theatre-catalog material, so the widely documented milestones belong to the Broadway production and its awards record. According to the Tony Awards nominee listings for 1967, The Apple Tree received nominations across major categories including Best Musical, and Barbara Harris won Best Actress in a Musical. IBDB also lists the same Tony outcome and nominations for the production.

Year	Award	Category	Result
1967	Tony Awards	Best Actress in a Musical (Barbara Harris)	Won
1967	Tony Awards	Best Musical	Nominated
1967	Tony Awards	Best Actor in a Musical (Alan Alda)	Nominated
1967	Tony Awards	Best Original Score (Bock and Harnick)	Nominated

Additional Info

There is a little archival breadcrumb that made me smile: the New York Public Library finding aid for the Jerry Bock papers notes that a lead sheet includes this title. It is a reminder that even the short tracks have a real working life on paper, not just on a recording.

Also, the parentheses in the title are not random decoration. Masterworks Broadway once ran a whole post about parenthetical song titles and used this one as a clean example, which fits the way the number behaves. The parenthetical "who, who, who, who" is the engine noise of a crowd, and the rest of the title is the question the engine keeps generating.

Key Contributors

Entity	Type	Relationship
Jerry Bock	Person	Jerry Bock composed the music for the "Passionella" playlet numbers.
Sheldon Harnick	Person	Sheldon Harnick wrote the lyrics for the show.
Barbara Harris	Person	Barbara Harris performed Ella and Passionella and is credited on this track with the ensemble.
Elliot Lawrence	Person	Elliot Lawrence served as music director and conductor on the cast recording listings.
The Apple Tree Ensemble	Organization	The ensemble provides the chorus texture that drives the repeated question.
Masterworks Broadway	Organization	Masterworks Broadway distributes catalog editions and the official audio upload.
IBDB	Organization	IBDB documents Broadway production credits and the Tony outcomes for the show.
Tony Awards	Organization	The Tony Awards site maintains nominee lists for the 1967 season including the show and key nominees.
New York Public Library Archives	Organization	NYPL archives list lead sheets and materials that include this song title in the Jerry Bock papers.

Sources

Sources: Masterworks Broadway (official audio upload), MusicBrainz release entry, Presto Music track list, Apple Music track page, Discogs release listing, Tony Awards nominee list (1967), IBDB production record, NYPL Archives (Jerry Bock papers), Masterworks Broadway blog (parenthetical song titles)

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