Hi. These were my thoughts on a 2002 regional production in Arvada, Colo. It was a big enough deal at the time that Stephen Schwartz came out to counsel the cast:
The Arvada Center's regional premiere of the musical opus "Children of Eden" is a beautiful and beguiling biblical pageant play, artfully presented by an impeccable ensemble. With its magical spectacle, gorgeous music and playful choreography, "Eden" casts you under the spell of its gentle
earnestness.
But this sea of tranquility is hardly still. Because just under the surface, "Eden" willfully treads into such treacherous theological territory, it promises to move the faithful to tears of joy or to the exits infuriated.
"Eden" is not what it is sold as. It is not the story of a modern family based loosely on characters from the Book of Genesis. It IS Genesis. It's practically a literal "King James for Kids" catechism retelling of it, until late, when writer John Caird goes on a fictional tangent that transforms the chapter on Noah into a moving parable on the birth of racism.
There is nothing wrong with the creative license taken here but for its deeply troubling portrayal of Father (God) as a dad just like any other: human, erratic, stubborn and consequentially wishy-washy. Had Caird set the story in a time and place not specific to the Garden of Eden, with new names, we might be able to separate the characters from their biblical counterparts. It would be fascinating to see God as a father in, say, 1940s Chicago, with human weaknesses and the capacity to change.
But this is the Creation story. We are in the garden, the wilderness; on the ark. Adam is Adam, Noah is Noah and "Father" is God. And while your dad might kick you out of the house if you mess up on the wrong day, he probably isn't capable of banishing you and yours to centuries of famine and flood until he gets over his hurt pride. And that is what is so troubling here.
No one would argue the God of the Old Testament is not a vengeful, punitive and intractable God who ruled by fear. We are taught blind capitulation from Chapter 1 because we are human, and so we aren't in on The Plan. Love him or leave him, that's the OT. But God is not a man.
By humanizing God, "Eden" presents an arbitrary man who obstinately refuses to grant forgiveness when it is asked for. He will wipe out an entire wing of his own progeny in retribution for the sin of an ancestor (Cain), while sparing another wing despite the sin of the sinner's mother (Eve).
Yet the children of "Eden" are portrayed as remarkably consistent in their "noble" defiance. It's God who is the capricious flake, because after years of exacting consistent retribution, he suddenly goes all New Testament on us, but 1,500 pages early.
It happens during the Great Flood. No one knows why it's still raining after 40 days until Noah discovers his willful son Japheth has stowed away Yonah, a banned girl from the cursed race of Cain (again, this chapter only takes place in Caird's imagination).
But when Noah defies God and spares the lovers rather than tossing them overboard, the Almighty goes soft. This would be a lovely, modern message of second chances … if it weren't so wrong. So much for the idea that whoever we are, wherever we are, we are all descended from the chosen people of the ark. So much for father knows best. Defy your parents long enough, and they'll come around.
So that's out of my system. Now, about that play …
It's terrific by every other standard. Fans of the long-running "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" won't have the same raucous good time, but "Eden" is a far more substantive theatrical experience.
Stephen Schwartz's music evokes his most popular musicals, "Godspell" (When Eve is visited by the snake, think Jesus with the Pharisees) and more obviously "Pippin." But Schwartz also dabbles in '40s jazz harmonies ("In Pursuit of Excellence"), electric blues ("The Wasteland") and even gospel spirituals (the highlight of the evening, "Ain't It Good?").
The vocal performances are often jaw-dropping, most notably Gabrielle Goyette (Eve), who used to shake her groove thing as Peaches in Peaches & Herb. The breakout performance is by young Eduardo Rioseco, who plays up the Pippin-esque passion of Cain and Japheth. He sings a knockout solo ("Lost in the Wilderness") and a classic love duet ("In Whatever Time We Have") with Michelle Liu Coughlin. Context aside, the superb James Alexander does what he is directed to do as Father quite well.
Director Peter Flynn borrows from "The Lion King" in the best ways, with culturally diverse costumes, air-blown ribbons for water and a spectacular pageant of animals entering the ark. Designed by Rod Lansberry and created by Rebecca E. Shepard, the parade drew appreciative gasps.
All in all, ``Children of Eden' is a thought-provoking exercise, and if causes you to re-examine your relationship with your God or father, well, that's good enough.
Updated On: 4/16/07 at 11:50 AM
