Children Of Eden

Score another triumph for Derby Dinner Playhouse, the first dinner theater in the country given the rights to present Stephen Schwartz's grand-scale musical Children of Eden. What producer/director Bekki Jo  Schneider and her huge cast have wrought is sensationally good.  Schwartz's music and lyrics for his earlier Godspell (he keeps returning to Biblical and spiritual themes) are better known, but his mature Children of Eden score has greater depth and is far more dramatically satisfying. Stories from Genesis -- the creation of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah's Ark, and the Flood -- are enacted with wit, passion, and reverence by the splendid group of actors/singers/dancers Schneider has assembled.

John P. White's array of colorful costumes, Barbara Cullen's breathtaking choreography and Theresa Burnell's magical lighting also deserve star billing.  The imposing, strong voiced John Payonk presides over events as Father/God, stern and wise in the beginning when he takes pleasure in creating Adam and Eve, sad and disillusioned later as he banishes them for disobeying. Jennifer Cetrone as the determined, questioning Eve enchants.  Her In Pursuit of Excellence duet with the smooth-talking Snake (Stephen Brotebeck) from the Garden of Eden (a cartoonish toylike prop is carried by six singer/dancers led by Brotebeck as a slithering, high-stepping Fosse type in bowler hat, black trousers, and glittery shirt) is Schwartz's wittiest, catchiest number.

Jim Hesselman's Adam is a sympathetic Everyman buffeted by circumstances he can't understand or control. Hesselman, Cetrone, and Payonk soar as a trio in their gorgeous "A World Without You." As edgy, violence-prone Cain in act one, where he sings a stunning "Lost in the Wilderness," and as Noah's compassionate son Japheth in act two, where he and his beloved Yonah (Ashley Hunt), an outcast as a descendant of Cain, intensify their commitment with another exquisite Schwartz song, "In Whatever Time There Is," Corwyn Hodge is spectacular. Another standout is Gayle King as Mama Noah, leading her family storytellers in the rousing "Ain't It Good?".  "The Hardest Part of Love," a duet by Noah (an impressive Brian Bowman) and Father, is touchingly effective.

The various ensemble numbers ("Generations," "In the Beginning"), in which the stage seems to fill with a cast of thousands, are fluidly performed without a trace of awkwardness. The talent and professionalism of the child singers/actors are remarkable. Very well staged and thrilling to the audience is the parade of animals to Noah's Ark. 

This dynamic production will be long remembered and cherished.