Casa Manana's 2016 Apprentice Program to Present CHILDREN OF EDEN

Casa Manana's 2016 Apprentice Program is excited to present Children of Eden, August 5-7, 2016. Tickets are on sale now.

From the musical theatre greats Stephen Schwartz and John Caird comes a joyous and inspirational musical about parents, children and faith...not to mention centuries of unresolved family business! Based on the Book of Genesis, Adam, Eve, Noah and the "Father" who created them deal with the headstrong, cataclysmic actions of their respective children. Children of Eden delivers a bittersweet but inspiring message: that "the hardest part of love...is letting go." This show is suitable for most audiences.

The all-student Children of Eden cast will be led by Apprentice Program veterans Charlie H. Ray as "Adam/Noah", Hayden Hart as "Father" and Addie Morales as "Eve/Mama."

The cast of 30 students also includes: Sophia Kaiafas as "Yonah", Christopher Dorf as "Can/Japheth", Jacob Wyckstrom as "Abel/Ham", Madeline Ayala, Katie Blanton, William David Carlton, Jeremy Coca, Emma Colwell, Lauren Davidson, Zachary Inez Garcia, Tanner Garmon, Shelby Taylor Griswold, Berri Rae Harris, Lindy Jones, Tatem Lee, TJ Little, Ashton Miramontes, Stephen Newton, Avery Perkins, Natalie Renfro, Brandon Shreve, Allison Simpson, Brooke Verbois, Abby Ware, Brad Weatherford and McKenna Woodlan.

Creative team members include Casa Manana's Director of Children's Theatre and Education Noah Putterman as director, James Kinney as choreographer, W. Brent Sawyer as music director, Samuel Rushen as lighting designer, Kyle McCord as Sound Designer, Tammy Spencer as costume designer, and Catherine Petty-Rogers as wig, hair and makeup designer.

Conceived in 2010 by Executive Producer and President of Casa Mañana, Wally Jones, the Apprentice Program is an audition-based program for local teenage performers ages 14 - 19. Whether they aspire to careers in the theatre as performers, designers, stage managers, technicians or administrators, this summer musical gives the area's most dedicated young artists the opportunity to present a Broadway-caliber musical production, fully staged and produced by Casa Mañana. Past Apprentice Program productions include LES MISERABLES: School Edition, The Secret Garden, Parade, Jekyll & Hyde and Big Fish. The inaugural Apprentice Program production of LES MISERABLES:School Edition (2010) was hailed as "a musical miracle" by theatre critic Gary Cogil. Recently named the #1 regional theatre training program for young performers by backstage.com, the elite Apprentice Program includes participants who have been accepted to prestigious universities such as Carnegie Mellon University, Rider University, Webster University, Otterbein University, The Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC, and Baldwin Wallace University to name a few.

Casa Mañana's production of Children of Eden is presented for a limited engagement at Casa Mañana Theatre. Performance dates are Friday, August 5 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, August 6 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, August 7 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets for Children of Eden are on sale now and can be purchased online at www.casamanana.org or by calling the box office at 817.332.2272. You can also visit the Casa Mañana Theatre box office at 3101 West Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth. Ticket prices range from $25 - $35. For more information, visit www.casamanana.org.