Musical Players Become 'Children of Eden'

Author: Suzanne Mozes

Presented by Middlebury College Musical Players (MCMP) and directed by David Moan '04, "Children of Eden" rocked McCullough this past weekend. This more obscure musical dramatizes the early chapters of The Bible, from Adam and Eve to Noah and the flood.
The play's focus on the recurring theme of parent/child relationships is particularly interesting. It begins with God and his children, Adam and Eve, moves onto their struggles with Cain and Abel, and finishes on Noah's problems with his son Japheth.
In each case, the play highlights the difficulty that parents have letting go of their children when children need to mature outside of their parents' control.The set was more dramatic than has been seen for an MCMP show in several years and was very effective in showing the difference between the beautiful and green Garden of Eden and the dry and barren wasteland to which man was exiled after the fall.
Although some of the set changes were rather lengthy and complicated, they were well covered up by narration from the chorus of storytellers. The lighting proved effective, especially in entertaining moments such as when Eve discovered that, when she walked near to the Tree of Knowledge, day turned into night.
Grounding the play with his omnipotent voice, Nicholas Cloutier '06 assumed the role of Father. Unfortunately, Cloutier, still green around the edges like the setting of the first act, needs to become omnipotent in his stage presence. As a first year, he has many years to train in this aspect of his performance. Jake Nicholson '05, with a firm voice and natural ease on stage, could not have been a better choice to cast in the role of Adam. Erin King '04 solidly performed the role of Eve, improving with time on stage that paralleled the aging of her character.
The highlight of the first act was definitely the song "In Pursuit of Excellence," a duet sung by the Snake and Eve during which the Snake convinced Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
The Snake, which was a group of five performers, Kevin Velez '06, Laura Barrett '06, Jenny Bemis '06, Adam Beard '06 and Caitlin Dennis '06, had a great energy and really seemed to be enjoying their Vaudevillian dance number.
Velez seemed to be having particular fun with the part, playing with a deliciously evil hissing voice and slinky physicality. The rest of the act moved a little slowly, especially some of the longer solos where the singers seemed to lose energy and grow tired part way through.
The second act picked up the pace and quality, both in terms of more consistently strong performances from singers, and more enjoyable music and tighter dialogue. The duet "In Whatever Time We Have" between Japheth, Ian Fleishman '06, and Yonah, Retta Leaphart '06, was particularly moving.
Their voices blended beautifully and both managed to fill the space with their voices without seeming to strain. Although they were sometimes less convincing on their spoken lines, they both seemed really invested emotionally in both the duet and in their solos.
MCMP chose to go in a new direction in deciding to produce "Children of Eden." Generally a more obscure musical, this play provided new music for MCMP members with versatility in role distribution. With a cast of 28, dominated by first-years, casting for this show attested to the larger than average numbers interested in participating with the production. Produced and directed by students, Special Projects Manager for the Department of Library and Informtion Services Jeff Rehbach was always on hand for any questions or assistance.
Musical Director Kevin Velez explains that "'Children of Eden' was a very high-energy show," which demanded "a tremendous amount of work from everyone, and yielded a meaningful message to viewers, as well as promise for the future of MCMP."
Though he did not expect to be given such responsibility as a first-year student,David Donnelly led the pit orchestra in a sound score covering 46 songs, longer than most Broadway tracks. Moanlauded Donnelly, saying he had "not heard a pit orchestra that good in a long time."
The show provided a really fun and energetic evening of theater. The majority of the performances were very solid, and all of the singers seemed to be having a wonderful time on stage.
Their enthusiasm for the work they were doing was certainly infectious and the applause and cheers from the audience attested to the fact that they were well entertained. Hopefully the success of this production will encourage MCMP to continue to branch out and experiment with less traditional types of musical theater.
-Laura Rockefeller contributed to this article.