Children of Eden

Children of Eden is a 1991 musical with music and lyrics by

Though commercially the musical has had very little success, it is popular in community and regional theatres worldwide, due to its ability to accommodate a large or small cast, religious subject, and its universal themes of family and love. The show's publisher, Music Theatre International, reports that Children of Eden is one of its top 20 most frequently licensed properties.^[1]

Production history

Origins

Children of Eden was originally written in 1986 as Family Tree for a production by Youth Sing Praise, a religious-oriented high school theatre camp performed at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois. Stephen Schwartz adapted the script and music of Family Tree into a full-length musical, giving it the title it uses today.^[2]

Original London Production

The original cast production of Children of Eden was developed as a Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) workshop. The production was directed by John Caird, and starred Ken Page as Father, Richard Lloyd-King as the Snake, Martin Smith as Adam, Shezwae Powell as Eve, Adrian Beaumont as Cain, Kevin Colson as Noah, Earlene Bentley as Mama Noah, Frances Ruffelle as Yonah, Anthony Barclay as Japheth, Craig Pinder as Shem, Ray Shell as Ham, Hiromi Itoh as Aysha and Ruthie Henshall as Aphra. After the RSC's budget was cut, it instead opened at the Prince Edward Theatre in London's West End on January 8, 1991. The show closed on April 6, 1991, due to poor reviews and the negative effects the Persian Gulf War had on tourism worldwide.^[1]

Because of the show's poor reviews and quick closing, the idea of a Broadway transfer was abandoned. Schwartz believes the show has not played on Broadway because of the expense required to produce it in an Actor's Equity house, due to the cast of characters.^[2]

American Premiere

Throughout the 1990s, the show received numerous productions at both the amateur and professional levels; it was also reworked and edited, with songs and scenes being added and cut. In 1997, a major production was mounted at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. The production ran from November 5 to December 14, 1997. In contrast to the London production, the Paper Mill production had actors double roles. A cast recording of this production was produced by Schwartz himself. This revised version, commonly known as the "American version" or "Paper Mill version", is substantially what is currently licensed for production in the United States.

The cast featured William Solo as Father, Adrian Zmed as Adam/Noah, Stephanie Mills as Eve/Mama Noah, Darius de Haas as Cain/Japheth, Hunter Foster as Abel/Ham, and Kelli Rabke as Yonah.

Subsequent Productions

The New York City premiere of the piece was as the inaugural World AIDS Day Concert presented by

A Gala charity concert adaptation ran for one night only at the Prince of Wales theatre in London on 29 January 2012. The concert was produced to support Crohn's and Colitis UK and featured performers from London's West End theatre community and from UK television.[4]

In 2013 Children of Eden was presented in

A one-night only concert was presented at the

In 2015, the show was adapted into a junior version by Lindsay Maron and was presented at the Summit Playhouse in Summit, NJ from July 24-August 2, with preview performances July 17–19. The production was directed and choreographed by Maron with musical direction and musical arrangements by Alex Ratner. The cast included 37 performers from all over the tristate area. Stephen Schwartz and executives from MTI attended the production and the junior version of the show is now available through MTI.[6]

In 2016, Children of Eden marked its 30th anniversary. In celebration of this achievement, Youth Sing Praise, the same religious-oriented high school theatre camp that premiered it in 1986, performed the show at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville, Illinois, on June 25, 2016, to a crowd of over 1,000 people.

In 2016, 25 years after its original London production, Children of Eden was revived at the new Union Theatre in Southwark, London.^[7]

In 2019, Schwartz announced a planned Chicago production in 2020 and its possible filming. The production was later postponed indefinitely due to

Much like the story in Book of Genesis, the universe is born out of darkness. Father, with the help of the Storytellers, brings the universe and life into existence, including Father's new children, Adam and Eve ("Let There Be"). Eve finds herself drawn to the Tree of Knowledge, but Father tells her to stay away from "that tree," though he provides no clear reason why ("The Tree of Knowledge"). Father attempts to distract the two with a game where they name all the animals in the garden ("The Naming"). With everything right in the newly created world, Father reflects on parenthood and Adam and Eve fall in love with one another ("Grateful Children", "Father's Day", and "Perfect"). Though her life is perfect, Eve still hungers for something more: knowledge, adventure, and to see what lies beyond the garden ("The Spark of Creation"). Eve meets a snake who tempts her with apples from the forbidden tree and the possibilities that would open up for her if she eats it. ("In Pursuit of Excellence"). She eats the fruit and is awakened to knowledge and possibility. ("The End of a Perfect Day" and "Childhood's End"). Later that night, Eve attempts to trick Adam into eating the apple in several apple-related dishes, but stops him before eats. Eve admits to Adam that she ate of the Tree of Knowledge and the two hide from Father in the garden.

Father, after discovering Eve has eaten the apple, tells her that she must leave the garden as she is no longer innocent. But unlike in the Genesis tale, Adam is made to choose his fate: he can either stay with Father in Eden, or he can eat the fruit and be banished with Eve. Adam, deeply torn by the decision, decides that, even though it means he has to leave the garden he loves with all his heart, he must be with Eve ("A World Without You"). Adam and Eve are driven out of the garden by Father and into the wasteland of the outside world. As the years pass, they build a new life and have two children, Cain and Abel ("The Expulsion" and "The Wasteland"). The family hope that Father will one day bring them home to Eden, praying to him each day and offering sacrifices of their crops.

Adam and Eve, out of fear for their children's safety, have set their glen as a boundary, preventing them from going beyond a nearby waterfall. As the children grow into adulthood, Eve sees the same fire she once had present in her son, Cain ("The Spark of Creation (Reprise 1)"). Cain, much like his mother, longs to see the world beyond the boundaries placed by his parents, wile Abel remains devoted to their parents and the idea that Father will one day bring them back to the garden. Cain begs Abel to run away with him, claiming Father doesn't care about them and that the boys should not be stuck with the consequences of their parents mistakes ("Lost in the Wilderness"). As Abel hesitantly agrees to leave, Father appears. Having never seen Father, the two are shocked. Father shows the two love and affection and promises them their very own wives. Assuming that he has arrived to take them all back to the garden, Abel goes to fetch their parents, but is stopped by Father. It quickly becomes clear that Father has no intention of seeing their parents or taking any of them back to Eden. Cain, further embittered, tells Father and Abel that he is going to leave the glen, finally free from the boundaries and predetermined fate his parents and Father have set for him ("Lost in the Wilderness (Reprise)"). Father tells Abel to keep their visit secret from his parents, but that he will return to them soon.

Adam and Eve, deeply worried for Cain's safety, reminisce on the boy's childhoods and find some comfort in the fact they have created a life and family for themselves outside of Eden ("Close to Home") But this peacefulness is shattered when Cain returns from his journey. He tells the family that he has seemingly found evidence proving the existence of other humans: a ring of giant stones. Cain takes the family to see the stones in the wasteland. While Eve and Abel are just as excited as Cain, Adam, however, becomes distant, cold, and mean, telling the family to return home. After prodding from the Family, Adam admits that he had found the ring of stones many years earlier, and was frightened of the people he found there. He kept this a secret, even from Eve, out of fear of the potential consequences ("A Ring of Stones" and "Clash of the Generations"). Adam's betrayal quickly leads to a family-wide fight, culminating with Cain threatening to leave forever, taking Abel with him and starting a new life. Torn between these choices, Abel, fighting through his heartbreak, decides to stay with his parents. Devastated, Cain begins to leave, but is forcibly stopped by Adam, who slaps him and sends him to the ground. Cain vows that he will kill Adam and the two begin to fight. When Abel intervenes, Cain throws him off and, in his rage, beats Abel to death with a stone ("The Death of Abel"). Cain, leaving the remaining members of his family, tells them that Adam is the one that should be dead. Father, in his anger, burns a mark into Cain's face. Father also decrees that his descendants will bear this mark forever as punishment for the sin of their ancestor. Cain stumbles into the wasteland. ("The Mark of Cain").

Many years after Abel's death and Cain's departure, Eve attempts to speak to Father one last time as she prepares herself for death. She details the lives they lead after the tragedy; the birth of another son, Seth, who has since had children of his own, Adam's grief over the loss of both his sons, and Adam's recent death. Surrounded by her many children and grandchildren, she prays that they may one day regain the garden that was lost. As she dies, Father greets her, allowing her into heaven ("Children of Eden").

Act II

The storytellers reconvene and continue their story, following the lineage of both Seth and Cain, tracing the descendants all the way down to Noah and his family ("Generations").

Father, after centuries of facing the race of Cain, has created a storm that will wipe them from the face of their Earth. He informs Noah of the impending doom, as Noah's family remain the only who are untainted by Cain's lineage, and commands him to build an ark for refuge. Noah begs Father to reconsider, but Father leaves him with the command and that the ark must be large enough for both his family and two of every animal ("The Gathering Storm").

Noah and his wife, Mama Noah, have three sons, and the eldest two,

External links

• Children of Eden
• Children of Eden at the Music Theatre International website