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Friday’s opening night of the Children of Eden’s U.S. symphonic premiere was not what an event of that magnitude should have been. Playing to a sparse house at the vast Music Hall, that “should have been” feeling of squandered potential unfortunately ravaged the production from top to bottom.

Let it be said that Children of Eden is not a top-tier musical to begin with, nor is it Schwartz’s best work. The tunes of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell are much more compelling and engaging than the shells of melodies represented by Children of Eden. Tonally, the show is wildly uneven, with cutesy children’s numbers giving way to violent skull-crushing murder. True, Children is two Genesis stories (Adam and Eve, Noah and family) and those elements— innocence and violence—are ingrained in those tales, but the staged result is stylistic whiplash.

The three leads were well cast and had impressive voices. Nathan Granner (Father) played an emotional God with tenderness but ultimately frustration and rage as his mandates are ignored. [Full disclosure: Granner is a founder and board member of KCM] Unfortunately, the show doesn’t give Granner any chances to truly shine vocally. He’s either furious or calm, hardly the character arc worthy of such a commanding voice. Cary Mock had the best characters to work with in Adam and Noah. From the wide-eyed glee of naming animals to choosing Eve over Eden, Mock conveyed the emotions well, and that was exemplified further in the second act when, as Noah, his voice took on a more measured, controlled timbre. Mock and Granner’s best moment was their duet “The Hardest Part of Love.”

As Eve, Erikka Dunn played the character’s inquisitiveness naturally without being bratty or spoiled. Eve, in choosing the apple, came off as more mature and multifaceted than Father with his childish, pointless rules; kudos to Dunn and Granner for playing those scenes well. Dunn’s first solo, “Spark of Creation,” was marred by pitch problems. Unfortunately, this song is one of the major motifs of the musical, and so its theme recurs multiple times. Each time it returned, I was reminded of Dunn’s less-than-stellar initial performance. However, she completely redeemed herself in the gospel-infused “Ain’t it Good.” It had swagger, vibrancy, and soul. In fact, if the musical had only comprised the last three numbers—“The Hardest Part of Love,” “Ain’t it Good,” and “In the Beginning”—I would have been a happy audience member. Alas, there were too many miscues beforehand for me to forget.

As the curtain pulled back for the opening number, the stage was overstuffed with bodies, to the detriment of movement and sound. This problem was compounded by the decision to situate the full orchestra (who was stellar throughout, especially the winds) onstage. With space at a premium, there could have been far fewer Storytellers (I would have cut two per voice part). As they served as the main body of chorus, featured soloists, and dancers, they were supposed to be triple-threats—yet it was clear the vast majority were merely fine singers. By reducing the Storyteller corps, and hiring a cadre of six or so trained dancers, the appearance of professionalism in the production would have skyrocketed. As it was, it looked—though it didn’t sound—like an all-inclusive, come-as-you-are, high-school production, especially when the full ensemble was on stage.

Choreography, in concept and execution, was sloppy and rudimentary throughout. Most puzzling was the very questionable choice of throwing objects. The Snake, played by five of the strongest-voiced, best-harmonizing Storytellers, was required to toss the apple back and forth as each member sang his or her lines. It was dropped countless times, and the lack of coordination became comical to the detriment of the lyrics and the well-executed singing.

The technical aspects of the show were not at the level they needed to be. Though the lighting design was beautiful and rich and the set was well built, the coordination of lighting and sound was severely lacking. The spotlights had trouble tracking the actors. Reverb effect on the body microphones was distracting, and the sins of feedback and leaving live mics turned on backstage occurred far too often.

With such a dismal turnout for opening night, I question the longevity of the show. A nine day run in such a large, expensive hall is certainly ambitious but seemingly fiscally irresponsible. The musicians deserve a better crowd, but because of all the technical and staging problems with the production, it is hard to recommend.

REVIEW:
Piane Productions
Children of Eden
Runs Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 24, 2011
Music Hall
13^th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets visit http://www.childrenofedenkc.com

By Lee Hartman

Editor-in-Chief; Traditional and New Classical Contributor

Lee Hartman holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (D.M.A., M.M.) and the University of Delaware (B.M.). At the University of Delaware, he received a Dean's Scholar position enabling him to pursue an individually designed academic program combining music education and composition. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City he served for three years as the Assistant Director to Musica Nova, the conservatory's new music ensemble, while teaching a variety of composition classes.

In 2007 he was invited to both the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavík, Iceland and the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China to give lectures and master classes in composition. In the summer of 2009, Hartman served as an orchestra manager for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Aspen Opera Theater Center for various performances. He serves on the National Executive Committee of the Society of Composers, Inc. as Submissions Coordinator. His primary composition instructors include James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, John Beall, and Jennifer Margaret Barker. He currently teaches music theory at the University of Central Missouri and general music classes at Park University having previously taught at UD (2007–08) and UMKC (2006–07).

His compositions can be found at http://www.leehartmanmusic.com