"Children of Eden" - the Interview

My pal Jack Cirillo is directing the First Stage Theatre Company production of Children of Eden, which takes the stage starting Friday.

Being a heck of a nice guy, he agreed to take part in an email interview about the show - here 'tis:

Q: Tell us about the story of this show.

A: Children of Eden is a loose adaptation of the the book of Genesis. It uses the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the flood to examine the relationships between parents and children. The music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz, who also wrote Wicked, Godspell and Pippin and has collaborated with Alan Menkin (of Little Shop of Horrors and Beauty and The Beast fame) on a number of film projects, most recently--Enchanted. Children of Eden has an amazing score that employs a very eclectic range of musical genres from pop to gospel, and standard broadway to Caribbean sounds.

Q: Why did you want to direct this show?

A: I thought the shows message of "family" and parenthood was beautifully represented. and very appropriate for community children's theatre like First Stage. And, of course, the score is astounding. I've been listening to the original cast recording for over a year now and I'm still amazed by it!

Q: You're a professional - how challenging is it to work with so many young actors?

A: Like anything else, it has its high and low moments. The kids are wonderful and I've enjoyed each and every minute of our work together. They have grown so tremendously throughout the rehearsal of this show and I can't say enough about them. With a cast of 30 and an age range from 8 to 50-ish -- that makes for some challenges. We have one adult performer (the 50 something), Clint McElroy who plays "Father". He's such a strong dynamic performer and I can't imagine anyone better. The younger kids, of course, need more extra care and repetition to get things right than the older ones, so a production like this takes a huge number of rehearsal hours -- more than I'd care to count. The music is also very complex and its a constant refinement process between day one and opening night.

Q: Costuming is a big challenge with this show - how's that going?

A: Jeanette Bills and her team of minions haver been adapting costumes and animal masks that we rented from The Cumberland County Playhouse from Cumberland Tennessee. They are astounding and really add such a visual component to the show that works so nicely with the incredible set designed by MU Theatre student Amy Harper and the beautiful lights and projections composed by Perkins DeMuth and Adam Paul respectively -- both also MU Theatre students.

Q: The show is using First Stage actors, tech crew and parents alongside creative talent backstage from Marshall University (where it's being staged).
It sounds like a great learning opportunity both groups. How's it working out?

A: Extraordinarily well. This is a great fit for both organizations. MU Theatre brings to the table a huge amount of resources both in skill and knowledge so that the experience for these kids is both fun and educational. For MU Theatre, working with these kids provides an enormous recruitment tool. Many of these kids will (and in past years, HAVE) become MU Theatre students. As a theatre professor at Marshall, I relish the opportunity to work with these kids over longer periods of time than the four years that I have with them in college. A graduating student at Marshall just got accepted to one of the finest Graduate theatre programs in the country. I've been working with this student since I first came to Huntington 10 years ago. I believe that long term development has played a part in his success.

Q: Why would you recommend this show?

A: The show is a family show in the best sense of that phrase. It has enough "teeth" to satisfy even the most sophisticated theatre goer, while at the same time it offers a very benevolent and careful depiction of these very important stories.

Q: When and where is the show, and how can we get tickets?

A: The show plays on April 11 and 12, and 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m., and on April 13 and 20 at 2:00 p.m. -- all performances are in the Experimental Theatre (Black Box) at the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse at Marshall University. The Playhouse Box office is open M-F from 1-5 PM or call 696-2787 (ARTS) for reservations.