Countdown to Children of Eden
Countdown to Children of Eden
Our latest musical will be opening on Sunday Night, so for those who might be interested, here's the first of my diary entries.
Children of Eden is a recent musical by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of Wicked, Godspell and several film musicals including Prince of Egypt and Hunchback of Notre Dame. The show works on several levels, primarily as a simple retelling of the Book of Genesis, but also as a commentary on Parenthood. Act 1 tells the story of Adam and Eve, up to and including the Death of Abel and finishing with the death of Eve. The difficulties with the Bible story are handled cleverly, with Cain discovering a tribe over the mountains and Adam's remonstrations that "What if these are people He never made?". These "tribes" allow us to get round the whole incestuous problems. We're told that the third child Seth, brought back a wife from over the mountains and from this marriage the Generations of Adam were sprung. There are some powerful moments, including the expulsion and Adam's heartrending song when Father asks him to choose between Eve and remaining in the Garden with Father, "I cannot live in a World without You".
ADAM
Oh my Father, Lord and Creator
You know that half my heart is yours
All that you gave me I can't repay you
If I betray you, I'll break in two
How could I live in a world without you
FATHER
You'll stay here Adam be my son forever..
ADAM
But oh my life's partner, my wife my lover
You know that half my heart is yours
Each I see you, you fill my spirit
Just knowing you're near, it makes the day new
How could I live in a world without you
Oh Father please don't choose
Either way it's more than I can bear to lose
Either way it's ripping out my heart
This choice is tearing me apart
FATHER
You see what have done
Pain has come into the garden
Where there is choice there is pain
Make this one choice my son
Choose not to eat this fruit
And you will never have to make a choice again
ADAM
Oh Eve what would you give
If this day you could relive
Would you let the apple go uneaten?
EVE
No, I cannot bear this pain
But I would not go back again
ADAM
Oh my garden, all peace and beauty
I know that all my heart is yours
I want to stay here, stay here forever
Father forever, I cannot leave
But Eve I don't know what else to do
How can I live...
I cannot live...
I will not live..
In a world without [long pause]
You
The final scene of act one has Father (God) finally breaking his silence to Eve and welcoming her home on her death as she sings the title song Children of Eden.
Act two begins with a song called Generations, detailing the lineage from Adam to Noah, finishing with my entrance as Noah. My character is very conflicted, from the first showing respect for Father, but little love or understanding on either side. Very early I ask if he is "Sure" about the flood. Father explains that only the Family of Noah has remained pure, free of the taint of the blood of Cain. Of course, as the act unfolds we find that the youngest son Japheth has fallen in love with Yonah, a daughter of the race of Cain. When he smuggles her aboard the Ark, Father falls silent and will no longer speak to Noah. Finally, when she is discovered, Noah must choose between sacrificing his Son (and Yonah) or letting them live and possibly earning Fathers wrath. Naturally he chooses instead to marry them and they prepare for the end. Just before this I have a song called "The Hardest Part of Love (is letting go)" which is performed as a sort of duet with Father, although I am unaware of him.
The message of the show is simple. If you love your children, let them go. Don't try to control them, give them their freedom to make their own mistakes. Its genuinely touching, even if it sounds a little schmaltzy.
Tonight is our last normal rehearsal before moving on to the stage tomorrow night for Technical rehearsals.
Children of Eden is a recent musical by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of Wicked, Godspell and several film musicals including Prince of Egypt and Hunchback of Notre Dame. The show works on several levels, primarily as a simple retelling of the Book of Genesis, but also as a commentary on Parenthood. Act 1 tells the story of Adam and Eve, up to and including the Death of Abel and finishing with the death of Eve. The difficulties with the Bible story are handled cleverly, with Cain discovering a tribe over the mountains and Adam's remonstrations that "What if these are people He never made?". These "tribes" allow us to get round the whole incestuous problems. We're told that the third child Seth, brought back a wife from over the mountains and from this marriage the Generations of Adam were sprung. There are some powerful moments, including the expulsion and Adam's heartrending song when Father asks him to choose between Eve and remaining in the Garden with Father, "I cannot live in a World without You".
ADAM
Oh my Father, Lord and Creator
You know that half my heart is yours
All that you gave me I can't repay you
If I betray you, I'll break in two
How could I live in a world without you
FATHER
You'll stay here Adam be my son forever..
ADAM
But oh my life's partner, my wife my lover
You know that half my heart is yours
Each I see you, you fill my spirit
Just knowing you're near, it makes the day new
How could I live in a world without you
Oh Father please don't choose
Either way it's more than I can bear to lose
Either way it's ripping out my heart
This choice is tearing me apart
FATHER
You see what have done
Pain has come into the garden
Where there is choice there is pain
Make this one choice my son
Choose not to eat this fruit
And you will never have to make a choice again
ADAM
Oh Eve what would you give
If this day you could relive
Would you let the apple go uneaten?
EVE
No, I cannot bear this pain
But I would not go back again
ADAM
Oh my garden, all peace and beauty
I know that all my heart is yours
I want to stay here, stay here forever
Father forever, I cannot leave
But Eve I don't know what else to do
How can I live...
I cannot live...
I will not live..
In a world without [long pause]
You
The final scene of act one has Father (God) finally breaking his silence to Eve and welcoming her home on her death as she sings the title song Children of Eden.
Act two begins with a song called Generations, detailing the lineage from Adam to Noah, finishing with my entrance as Noah. My character is very conflicted, from the first showing respect for Father, but little love or understanding on either side. Very early I ask if he is "Sure" about the flood. Father explains that only the Family of Noah has remained pure, free of the taint of the blood of Cain. Of course, as the act unfolds we find that the youngest son Japheth has fallen in love with Yonah, a daughter of the race of Cain. When he smuggles her aboard the Ark, Father falls silent and will no longer speak to Noah. Finally, when she is discovered, Noah must choose between sacrificing his Son (and Yonah) or letting them live and possibly earning Fathers wrath. Naturally he chooses instead to marry them and they prepare for the end. Just before this I have a song called "The Hardest Part of Love (is letting go)" which is performed as a sort of duet with Father, although I am unaware of him.
The message of the show is simple. If you love your children, let them go. Don't try to control them, give them their freedom to make their own mistakes. Its genuinely touching, even if it sounds a little schmaltzy.
Tonight is our last normal rehearsal before moving on to the stage tomorrow night for Technical rehearsals.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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Happy tech week! I hope all goes as well as can be expected. I take it you're playing Adam/Noah?
A World Without You is one of my favourite songs.
(Coincedentally, the opening night of my show is tonight.)
A World Without You is one of my favourite songs.
(Coincedentally, the opening night of my show is tonight.)
And it is said by the Eldar that in the water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the sea, and yet know not what for what they listen.
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- Primula Baggins
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Break a leg, both of you! I can't wait to hear how it all goes.
Mossy, what show is it? And what are you doing?
Mossy, what show is it? And what are you doing?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Thanks, Prim and Voronwë!
We had a really terrific opening night (with the exception of a stuck screw that really slowed down the set change).
I am the assisant stage manager on a one act by Doug Wright called The Stonewater Rapture. It's a very intense and disturbing (and sometimes darkly comedic) play about two teenagers in a very small, conservative town in Stonewater, Texas who have a sort of sexual awakening, although that's not really the best way to put it.
Sorry to hijack your thread, Alatar.
We had a really terrific opening night (with the exception of a stuck screw that really slowed down the set change).
I am the assisant stage manager on a one act by Doug Wright called The Stonewater Rapture. It's a very intense and disturbing (and sometimes darkly comedic) play about two teenagers in a very small, conservative town in Stonewater, Texas who have a sort of sexual awakening, although that's not really the best way to put it.
Sorry to hijack your thread, Alatar.
And it is said by the Eldar that in the water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the sea, and yet know not what for what they listen.
No worries Mossy, I was about to ask the same question!
We've split the cast in CoE, so Adam and Noah are seperate actors. For those who don't know, as written the cast is doubled, so Noah plays Adam, Cain plays Japheth, etc. This has the advantage of allowing very strong parallels in the story to shine through, notably the Death of Abel scene, which is almost word for word and action for action reproduced in Act 2, with Noah replacing Adam, Japheth replacing Cain and Ham replacing Abel. The two have different outcomes however, since Yonah throws herself into the fray to protect Abel/Ham, thus breaking the cycle of violence.
However, being an amateur society, we try to give as many people as possible roles, so the cast was split in our production. I think the parallels are still clear and the story equally powerful.
Disaster rehearsal last night. Everyone is tired, concentration is failing. We need the energy that will come with the move to stage tonight.
We've split the cast in CoE, so Adam and Noah are seperate actors. For those who don't know, as written the cast is doubled, so Noah plays Adam, Cain plays Japheth, etc. This has the advantage of allowing very strong parallels in the story to shine through, notably the Death of Abel scene, which is almost word for word and action for action reproduced in Act 2, with Noah replacing Adam, Japheth replacing Cain and Ham replacing Abel. The two have different outcomes however, since Yonah throws herself into the fray to protect Abel/Ham, thus breaking the cycle of violence.
However, being an amateur society, we try to give as many people as possible roles, so the cast was split in our production. I think the parallels are still clear and the story equally powerful.
Disaster rehearsal last night. Everyone is tired, concentration is failing. We need the energy that will come with the move to stage tonight.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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Tech rehearsal tonight. Went well, all considered. Lots of techy type issues that stopped a proper run, but hey, thats what tech rehearsals are for.
Band Call tomorrow, which will be our first time hearing the orchestra/band. Thats in the afternoon, followed by full dress rehearsal tomorrow night and opening on Sunday.
Band Call tomorrow, which will be our first time hearing the orchestra/band. Thats in the afternoon, followed by full dress rehearsal tomorrow night and opening on Sunday.
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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Fun! (Unlike tech rehearsals.) Band calls are always exciting.
Hope all goes well!
(This was our first night with no hitches whatsoever. It was exciting.)
Hope all goes well!
(This was our first night with no hitches whatsoever. It was exciting.)
And it is said by the Eldar that in the water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the sea, and yet know not what for what they listen.
Well, Dress Rehearsal went very well. Opening night, as a result was just ok. Its a stage truism that a good dress often means a poor opening night. The same energy isn't there unless you're genuinely scared it won't work!
Anyway, here's a slideshow:
Children of Eden Dress Rehearsal
Here's me in action:
Anyway, here's a slideshow:
Children of Eden Dress Rehearsal
Here's me in action:
The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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You look very biblical. (But different from in other photos-- I don't think I would have recognised you in the slideshow.) It looks like a great show.
I hope you have/had a better second night! It's very true about dress rehearsal, but if opening night was just okay, then perhaps it will carry over and you'll have a terrific second night.
I hope you have/had a better second night! It's very true about dress rehearsal, but if opening night was just okay, then perhaps it will carry over and you'll have a terrific second night.
And it is said by the Eldar that in the water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the sea, and yet know not what for what they listen.
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Alatar, good luck with the rest of the show! I know from experience that it is highly likely that the mistakes that were so obvious to you were not apparent to most anyone else.
I really like the beard, by the way.
I really like the beard, by the way.
"Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world."
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Thanks for sharing the slide show, Alatar! The show looks great. And I entirely agree with Voronwë about the beard—it really suits you!
Will there be some video or audio files?
Will there be some video or audio files?
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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