Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and his brood get their Sunday School stories told Broadway-musical-style in Stephen Schwartz and John Caird’s Children Of Eden, a gorgeously staged, terrifically performed showcase for Cal State Fullerton’s musical theater BFA classes of 2019 and 2020.

Schwartz had already tackled the Bible in his maiden musical Godspell back in 1971 before going on to Pippin/Wicked fame.

Still, while Godspell’s New Testament tale has been regionally revived more times than any Schwartz lover could possibly count, the Genesis-based Children Of Eden has largely remained the domain of schools and community theaters, few of which could possibly come close to the caliber of work being presented on the CSUF Little Theatre stage.

 Though most likely to appeal to theatergoers of a religious bent, with Rufus Bonds Jr. doing particularly imaginative work as director, William F. Lett creating some of his most exciting choreography ever, musical director David Lamoureux eliciting exquisite vocals and an equally gorgeous orchestral accompaniment, an often breathtaking production design, and above all an absolutely fabulous cast of over forty, even those most resistant to Bible lore will likely find themselves falling under Children Of Eden’s spell.

There is no denying whatsoever the absolute beauty of songs like “The Spark Of Creation,” “Lost In The Wilderness,” “In Whatever Time We Have,” the title song, and just about any other Children Of Eden gem, particularly as performed by an all-around splendid student cast.

 Act One follows a sweet-and-innocent Adam and Eve (Jeff Garrido and Brianna Clark) from the Garden they’ve been given by their my-way-or-the-highway Father (Jack O’Leary) to “The Wasteland,” where sons Cain (Dillon Klena) and Abel (Seann Altman) find themselves reenacting the same battle between one individual’s curiosity and another’s complacency that got their parents kicked out of paradise in the first place.

 Zooming ahead in time to Noah (Jacob Wayne), his wife Mama (Natalie Giannosa), their sons Shem (Marlon James Magtibay), Ham (Steven Ruvalcaba), and Japeth (Timothy H. Lee), and their daughters-in-law Aphra (Sarah Bloom) and Aysha (Gabrielle Adner) as they build the ark they hope will allow them to survive the planned destruction of the godforsaken “race of Cain,” Act Two focuses on the forbidden love of Japeth for Cain-descended servant-girl Yonah (Yadira Del Rincon), one that echoes the obstacles that interracial, interfaith, and same-sex couples find still placed in their way by those of a less than tolerant bent, epitomized here by an Old Testament Father who gives new meaning to the term conditional love.

 Multi-talented lead performers Adner, Altman, Bloom, Clark, Del Rincon, Garrido, Giannosa, Klena, Lee, Magtibay, O’Leary, Ruvalcaba, and Wayne all have promising professional careers ahead of them in musical theater.

 Brightest-of-show honors are shared by Clark (who rules Act One with an Eve who reveals dramatic chops to match her vocals), Del Rincon (a heartbreaking, gorgeously voiced Yonah), and Giannosa (whose revival meeting-ready “Ain’t It Good” gives Mama the chance to show off the evening’s most spectacular pipes).

 Choreographer Lett and costume designer Whitney Claytor serve up a series of production numbers that perhaps only The Lion King can rival in spectacle and splendor featuring a multitude of animals from Aardvark to Zebra played by human performers sporting a variety of supremely imaginative costumes and puppets.

 And just wait till you see species after species filling the stage in “The Naming” and “The Return Of The Animals,” two of the most spectacular production numbers I’ve seen in years of reviewing CSUF productions, or the ballet-meets-Fosse moves of in “In Pursuit Of Excellence,” performed by a septet of serpents led by an especially sizzling Wayne.

 Ensemble members Sidney Aptaker, Damian Arteaga, Jisel Soleil Ayon, Amanda Domb, Brooke Gatto (Young Abel), Carissa Hamann, Courtney Hays, Abigail Heilman, Claire Kantz, Jessica Kilgore, Allison King, Kiana King, Riley Mawhorter, Gabriel Manley, Avery Mann, Samantha McCabe, Helen McCormick, Carly McLaurin, Amanda Neiman, Jessica Pierini, Catie Robinson, dance captain Beth Roy, Dylan Schmoll, Robyn Stephenson, Madison Stirrett, Isaiah Suniga, Paige Taylor, and Leianna Weaver (Young Cain) deliver the goods throughout, whether as storytellers, Snakes, or singer/dancers.

 Scenic designer Mauri Smith fills the proscenium with streamers and lights in Act One and in Act Two with a great big ark, Claytor’s costumes are Bible-meets-Fantasia stunners, Kate Galleran scores points for her makeup and hair designs and Nick Durand and Bryce Moon for their projections, and Jean-Yves Tessier lights all of the above with the beauty and panache he has brought to countless professional productions.

Add to this Lauren Zuiderveld’s crystal-clear sound design and Michael Polak’s exciting fight choreography and you’ve got a production whose look and sound rivals the best of SoCal regional theater.

 Maggie Riordan is stage manager and Lindsey Dunbar, Lesley Gonzalez, and Gloria Perez are assistant stage managers. Vanessa Cortez is assistant director. Jalen Morgan is technical director.

For its epic size and scope alone, Children Of Eden is a musical few professional theater companies could ever hope to produce, just one reason Cal State Fullerton’s big-stage revival is a rare theatrical treat. Though theatergoers of an edgier, more adventurous bent will have to wait for spring semester’s Heathers: The Musical, in the meantime Children Of Eden is guaranteed to dazzle both the eyes and the ears.

Little Theatre, California State University Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton.
http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/theatre/events/td_productions.php

–Steven Stanley
November 3, 2018
Photos: Jordan Kubat

Tags: Cal State Fullerton, John Caird, Orange County Theater Review, Stephen Schwartz