‘Children of Eden’ is Idyllic

In the beginning, God created heaven and Earth. And Adam and Eve. And snakes with sequined skin and lisps.

Or so says “Children of Eden,” the first musical and student production to run in the recently finished New College Theatre. Directed by Nelson T. Greaves and Jonah C. Priour ’09 and produced by Laura S. Hirschberg ’09, “Children of Eden,” which ran through Jan. 12, presented a modern reinterpretation of the Book of Genesis that nonetheless adhered fairly closely to Biblical tradition. The play’s script left the cast little room for creativity, but provided the foundation for a stunning production.

The musical’s first act outlines God’s creation of the Earth and his children, Adam and Eve (Harvard theatre veterans Barry A. Shafrin ’09 and Rachel E. Flynn ’09). True to Biblical form, “Father” bans his children from the Garden of Eden after they partake of a forbidden fruit.

After making a home for themselves outside the Garden, Adam and Eve give birth to Cain (K’idar J. Miller ’08) and Abel (Andrew F. Cone ’11), and all four wait eagerly for the day that Father will forgive their sins and welcome them back. As it happens, Father has no intention of doing any such thing. While they wait, Cain kills Abel after his family denies him the right to leave and explore the world.

Matthew I. Bohrer ’10 was excellent in the role of the Almighty. Appropriately clad in a brown sweater and khakis, Bohrer portrayed a loving but firm father figure with a paternal dignity worthy of Mr. Rogers himself. As Adam, Shafrin imbued his character with a careful balance between filial piety towards God and his own authority as the father of Cain and Abel.

However, the truly standout performances of Act One were vocal. While several long numbers lacked energy and weighed the act down, the sparkle of snakeskin brightened the play’s first half. Snakes Kyle J. Dancewicz ’11, Matt Stone ’11, Christina J. Kelly ’09, Julianne I. Ross ’11, and Tisa Vo ’11 convinced Eve to eat the fruit in an exciting show tune-like number. Miller also contributed a brilliant performance as Cain, capturing restlessness and anguish in his beautiful, deep voice.

Act Two’s retelling of the Biblical story of Noah really demonstrated the cast’s potential, demonstrating the energy that Act One lacked. As Eve and Mama Noah, Flynn had teased the audience with her voice throughout the entirety of the play, letting it ring through pieces with clarity and emotion—but also hinting that it was capable of something more. Flynn finally revealed that “something more” in the third-to-last song, “Ain’t it Good?” when she sang with all the power and feeling of a gospel choir. (Yeah, the entire choir.)

The familiarity of the stories that “Children of Eden” depicted made it difficult to build suspense, but the production was far more interesting than any sermon and provided an insightful commentary on the love between parents and children. The orchestra (conducted by Samuel L. Linden ’10) perfectly set the mood for each scene, and each number seemed sewn into the actors’ spectacular movements.

Choreographer Sachi Ezura ’08, who is also a Crimson magazine staff writer, was the unsung star of the show. She worked well within the confines of the spare set (designed by Sally H. Rinehart ’09) to create scenes that were both visually interesting and dramatically effective. The collective efforts of Ezura, Greaves and Priour were especially commendable for their use of a large group of narrators as the primary dancers of the show.

In the end, God never took his children back into the Garden of Eden. But in spite of the familiar narrative with which they worked, those children were able to present an entertaining, if not suspenseful, tale of their lives outside that Garden.

—Crimson reviewer Beryl C.D. Lipton can be reached at blipton@fas.harvard.edu.