Review: CHILDREN OF EDEN at The Weekend Theater

If you have been missing Sunday School and need a refresher on Adam and Eve and Noah, you are in luck. From now through July 30th, The Weekend Theater, 1001 W 7th St, in Little Rock, presents THE CHILDREN OF EDEN, a family-friendly musical about a few of the Bible’s more prominent forefathers. With Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and Book by John Caird, this show takes you through the Garden of Eden and beyond. 

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth, and when the lights were brought up, they were definitely bright. Most everyone knows how the origin story goes, so I will give a brief synopsis. Father (Christopher Straw) is lonely and wants company, so he creates Adam (Daniel Collier) and then Eve (Angela Collier). They are tasked with naming the animals, which is fun for a while, but Eve wants to know about the glistening tree. Father told them not to eat from it, but they did anyway, and Father got mad and kicked them out of the Garden of Eden. While in the wilderness, Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain (Lizzy Gudino-Pelton/Luke Ferguson) and Abel (Cambry Eakin/Timothy Gilbee). Abel is more obedient and wishes to please Father, while Abel is more of a hothead and wants to explore the world. The boys get in a fight, Cain (Ferguson) kills Abel (Gilbee), and disappears forever. Adam and Eve have one more son, Seth (Kagan Fletcher), who is the head for the genealogy line of Noah. 

In Act II, Noah (Daniel Collier) and his wife (Angela Collier) have three sons-Ham (Timothy Gilbee) with wife Aphra (Mikala Hicks), Shem (Dakota Mansfield) with wife Aysha (LeAnne Roberson), and Japeth (Benjamin Perry). Noah has to build an Ark because a flood is coming and has to fill it with animals. Also, Japeth needs to find a wife to take on the Ark. It turns out that he is in love with their servant Yonah (Izzy Hammonds), a descendant of Cain, and sneaks her on the Ark. In the end, Noah approves, the water goes away, and the brothers part ways to populate the world. I don’t have a clue why the family had to split up like they did, but that is how the story basically ended.  

Every time I come to this theater, I never know what to expect. They are always presenting something that is generally new to me and contains an element of surprise. Those surprises will either have me laughing, crying, and/or in shock which lasts for days after I’ve seen the performance. My surprise this time was that this show is kid friendly. This is not a good or bad statement, just an observation that you can bring your kids to this show, especially if you want them to see these Old Testament stories brought to life. The commitment was definitely there, and now I have faces to put to the Biblical characters when these stories are brought up in church.  

Husband/wife duo Daniel and Angela Collier are a powerhouse couple. Angela I’ve seen before and knew was amazing, but this was my first time watching Daniel perform, and together they really functioned well as the parentals of the musical. Daniel’s eyes exuded innocence and faith in the Father. Angela owned Eve’s inquisitiveness, and when she bit into the fruit, my friend whispered out ‘don’t do it.’ Both of them sang with so much passion, and their ease with each other was undeniable.    

Christopher Straw was so regal as Father. He brought a lot of depth and emotion that made Father so personable. His singing was so smooth, and his costume was beautiful with a lot of detail.  

The relationship between Luke Ferguson’s Cain and Timothy Gilbee’s Abel was emotional. They both emitted the opposing personalities, and when Cain killed Abel, it was so dramatic that more than one audience member (including myself) shed a few tears.  

I also enjoyed the emotional turmoil Izzy Hammonds exuded as Yonah. Through her performance, you could see the bravery yet worry her character demonstrated as she accepted her fate and the decisions that followed from her union with Benjamin Perry's Japeth.

With Direction by Elizabeth Reha and Produced by Tricia H., the whole cast melded together beautifully. It was enjoyable to see them weave in and out of the story. Their responses to what was going on added that much more detail to the show. No matter who you watched, they were invested in the moment.  

The talent of the musicians and singers was Heavenly. These angelic voices brought the Bible to life and having a live band accentuated the performance to an even higher level. Music Director and Keyboardist Jeannie Cross' Band includes Gabriel Womack-Reed I, Paul Brock-Guitar, Dan Schoultz-Bass, and Scott Southern-Drums. 

New to The Weekend Theater lobby is yarn art by Abigail Henthorne. It caught my eye as soon as I walked into the building. She has done some amazing work and is worth coming to check out.

I suggest you get tickets online as soon as possible. This show will impress even if you are not a Biblical scholar. For information or to purchase tickets, visit their website at http://www.weekendtheater.org. 

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