Guest Post, from BrotherMeister

Please feel free to contact me with posts that you may find interesting. This is from my brother, and the tix were only $18.00, which counts as low-cost tix as far as ConcertMeister is concerned. From BrotherMeister:

Date: Saturday, November 10, 2018
Place: Kent State University
Show: Children of Eden
Book by John Caird, Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz

I knew virtually nothing about the show going in except that it was a Stephen Schwartz show which was post-Godspell and pre-Wicked. My program was light on facts, but Wikipedia helped out.

Written in 1986, it had little commercial success, but remains popular with school and community theatres and is ranked in the top 20 of most frequently licensed musicals. I can see why both those facts are true. While we enjoyed it immensely, the music was good but not particularly memorable, and the production was extremely interesting, but not ‘easy’.

It’s a Two-Act show, with Act I focusing on the story of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel. Act II tells the story of Noah and the flood. Having memorized the Wicked cast album (and having seen the show four times) it was fascinating to hear some similar musical themes in a germ stage.

The production was intriguing, with a huge cast — 22 named players — and an additional 10 or so unnamed. They’d clearly pulled heavily from the School of Dance, to fantastic effect, and seemingly all the dancers could sing well, too. Even in the choral parts, of which there were many, no weak voices were apparent. Clearly the actors had been rehearsed heavily in dance as well ... it was nigh impossible to guess which were the Theatre students and which were Dance.

Staging was coolly minimal, with mobile scaffolding along with giant boxes with pictures on each of their six sides, which could be combined to create stairs or other scenic needs (apple tree, ark, etc.). Costuming was an eclectic mix of high-concept fashion — clearly influenced (created?) by the fashion school at Kent State — and streetwear, mostly monochromatic.

We were impressed with “Father” (Fred Rose), Eve (Merrie Drees), and most especially Adam (Devin Pfeiffer), a freshman(!) with the acting and singing chops of a seasoned Broadway pro. Noah’s wife (Montria Walker) stole Act II with her gospel-inspired “Ain’t It Good?”

Overall a very interesting night of theatre which could so easily have gone very wrong. It’s nice to see myriad forces coming together in such a successful fashion.

BrotherMeister

(I am ConcertMeister and I approve this post.)