As we prepare to present Children of Eden, a two-act musical based on the Book of Genesis, we thought we’d share some fun facts about the show.
- 1. Children of Eden was written by Stephen Schwartz with book by John Caird. He also wrote Godspell, Wicked, and Pippin, among others.
2.The original cast production of Children of Eden was developed as a Royal Shakespeare Company workshop with John Caird as director. The show opened January 8. 1991 and closed in April. The London production had a different actor as each character, where the American productions double up the main characters.
3. Recordings of the London show are rare because the CD release was marred with manufacturing defects that caused most of the discs to “bronze” making them unplayable. In the 1991 London recording, Stephen Schwartz played the piano himself.
4. After London, Children of Eden was next performed six years later at the Paper Mill Playhouse. The cast included Stephanie Mills (of The Wiz fame).
5. As we stated earlier, Children of Eden is based on the Book of Genesis. There is of course creative license, but not so much that church groups are discouraged from performing the show. The show is very popular among community theatre and church drama troupes worldwide.
(more fun facts about Children of Eden… coming soon)