Children of Eden (Papermill Playhouse Cast)
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CD Details
Composer: Stephen SchwartzConductor: Danny Kosarin
Orchestra: Bruce Coughlin
Performer: Adrian Zmed
Performer: Alexa Petronaci
Performer: Angela Garrison
Performer: Barry Cavanagh
Performer: Bart Shatto
Performer: Beth Roe
Performer: Capathia Jenkins
Performer: Casey Lee Ross
Performer: Cassandra Mendez
Performer: Charles Bergell
Performer: Cheryl Allison
Performer: Chris Frascella
Performer: Christopher Windom
Performer: Darius de Haas
Performer: Dave Greenberg
Performer: Dena Risha
Performer: Dian Foster
Edition: Music CD
Format: Cast Recording
CD Release Date: 1998-05-19
Music Label: RCA Victor Broadway
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Act 1. Let There Be - Children of Eden
- Act 1. The Tree of Knowledge
- Act 1. The Naming
- Act 1. Grateful Children
- Act 1. Father's Day
- Act 1. Perfect
- Act 1. The Spark of Creation
- Act 1. The Pursuit of Excellence
- Act 1. The End of a Perfect Day
- Act 1. Childhood's End
- Act 1. A World Without You
- Act 1. The Expulsion
- Act 1. The Wasteland
- Act 1. The Spark of Creation (Reprise 1)
- Act 1. Lost in the Wilderness
- Act 1. Close to Home
- Act 1. A Ring of Stones
- Act 1. The Death of Abel
- Act 1. The Mark of Cain
- Act 1. Children of Eden
- Act 2. Generations
- Act 2. The Gathering Storm
- Act 2. A Piece of Eight
- Act 2. The Return of the Animals
- Act 2. Noah's Lullaby
- Act 2. Stranger to the Rain
- Act 2. In Whatever Time We Have
- Act 2. The Flood
- Act 2. What Is He Waiting For?
- Act 2. Sailor of the Skies
- Act 2. The Spark of Creation (Reprise 2)
- Act 2. The Hardest Part of Love
- Act 2. Words of Doom
- Act 2. The Hour of Darkness
- Act 2. Ain't It Good?
- Act 2. Precious Children
- Act 2. In the Beginning
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. Sailor of the Skies - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. The Spark of Creation (Reprise 2) - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. The Hardest Part of Love - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. Words of Doom - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. The Hour of Darkness - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. Ain't It Good? - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. Precious Children - Children of Eden
- Children of Eden, musical play: Act 2. In the Beginning - Children of Eden
Music reviews of Children of Eden (Papermill Playhouse Cast)
Music Review: Simply, the best musical of the 1990s
Rating: 5 Stars
Stephen Schwartz and John Caird have teamed up to create one of the greatest musicals ever written - one of my three favorite musicals of all time. Unlike many of the new musicals of the past 20 years, CHILDREN OF EDEN can be successfully produced by organizations of any budget or talent level. Well-written characters as well as wonderful ensemble parts populate this show. Opportunities for creative costuming and choreography abound, but the show is effective without either. Small organizations can have actors portray different characters in the first and second acts. As the album demonstrates, casting can be color-blind. Also, this is a show the whole family can enjoy - there's no swearing, there's no sexual innuendo, and there's very little violence.
THE BOOK:
What's most amazing about CHILDREN OF EDEN is Caird's book. He takes the most familiar stories from the book of Genesis - Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the ark - and relates them to the most profound and common experiences of family life. (True, Caird takes some liberties with his source material, but the details he adds only enhance the relevance of these Biblical characters to our lives.) Along the way, Caird tackles a number of the greatest enigmas of life: Why does God seem to abandon us from time to time? Why should we pray? How do you prevent a teenager from rebelling? Who can "play God" with the welfare of others? Who can forgive others' transgressions? There are so many issues packed into this musical, but Caird delves into each masterfully. The show never gets too weighty, nor does it seem rushed. Eve's soliloquy at the end of Act I may be the best humdinger of a death scene ever written!
The best part of Caird's book is the parallels he draws between humanity's relationship with God - "Father," as he is called in the show -- and children's relationships with their parents. Just as Eve doesn't understand why Father forbids her to eat from the tree of knowledge, so Cain questions why Adam forbids him from setting off on his own. When Father doesn't respond to Noah's calls for help, Noah recognizes that he, too, must let his son make his own decisions.
While the first act is virtually perfect, the second act is merely excellent. Perhaps it's because Caird has to fabricate more plot, or because there isn't as much material to cover, but Act II doesn't have quite the same energy and pizzazz as Act I.
THE MUSIC AND THE LYRICS:
This is Stephen Schwartz's strongest score, easily better than PIPPIN or even GODSPELL: the music is varied, from the driving pulse on the African-flavored "Generations" to the soaring pop-ballad dreaminess of "In Whatever Time We Have." There's melody to spare - tracks 7 through 15 on disc 1 is one of the musical theater's greatest sequence of songs perfectly matched to the situations for which they were created.
The lyrics are exquisitely crafted, but I'll begrudgingly limit myself to two examples. Enjoy "In Pursuit of Excellence," the perfect title for a song by a hissing snake. Revel in the rapid-fire internal rhymes and alliteration as Father calls "florescent fish and crescent worms and a billion bugs and a trillion germs" into being in "Let There Be."
Schwartz utilizes reprises to highlight the comparisons and contrasts of Caird's book. Abel agonizes over his choice of whether to side with his father or his brother just as Adam agonizes over choosing between his Father and his wife. Noah's wife invokes Eve's passion for knowledge as she points out Noah's responsibility to determine the fate of the family.
However, as with the book, Act II is not quite as strong as Act I. "Pieces of Eight" is a children's song: it merely relates plot without delving into the motivations of the characters. The tune is pleasant enough; it just seems out of place in the context of the rest of the show.
THE CAST:
I can't understand the qualms some other .... reviewers have with the cast. True, the three leads may not have the best voices ever heard, but they are each very talented. Stephanie Mills brings a powerhouse vitality to Eve's "The Spark of Creation" and a revivalist's enthusiasm to Noah's wife's "Ain't It Good." Adrian Zmed's simple phrasing lends an innocence to Adam during "The Naming" of the animals and an anguish to Noah's decision that "The Hardest Part of Love" is letting go. William Solo's expressive range, from querulous anger to heart-warming love, leads to the most humanistic portrayal of God I've ever heard. Praise also goes to the ensemble - playing such an essential part in this show - especially to the soloists in "The Wasteland" and to the quintet who portray the snake.
SUMMARY:
CHILDREN OF EDEN is not well known, but I fail to see how anyone with an appreciation for thought-provoking drama, beautiful music, clever lyrics, religious art, or a well-integrated score - even an appreciation for any one of these elements - could be disappointed with this recording. Buy it today!
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