ofEden FEATURING THE SUNDAY YOUNG ARTISTS OF AMERICA MARCH 13, 2016 YOUTH ORCHESTRA AND AT 4.OO PM VOCAL ENSEMBLE & THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE NORTH BETHESDA 5301 TUCKERMAN LANE MIDDLE SCHOOL CHORUS NORTH BETHESDA, MD 20852 Young Artists of America presents Two outstanding its 2016 Musical Theatre programs to choose Intensive Summer Camp. This promises from in 2016: to be a fun and intensive summer where Daytime Camp students can explore their passion for the which will culminate in a performing arts by following a two-week Final Showcase discipline in either Voice, Acting or Dance. Overnight Intensive Camp which will culminate in a fully mounted production of the musical Fame! MUSICAL THEATRE INTENSIVE SUMMER CAMP JULY 16-29, 2016 www.youngartistsamerica.org Young Artists of America at Strathmore Rolando Sanz, Producing Artistic Director Kristofer Sanz, Music Director presents CHILDREN OF EDEN Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz Book by John Caird Directed by Noah Himmelstein Guest Mentor: Composer Stephen Schwartz Starring Ken Page as Father SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2016 4:00 PM THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE in collaboration with North Bethesda Middle School Chorus Jason McFeaters, Director Performance Conduct Please turn off all cell phones. No flash photography. No talking. The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited. Kindly abstain from leaving your seat during the performance. No food allowed in the concert hall. CHILDREN OF EDEN Book by JOHN CAIRD Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SCHWARTZ Based on a concept by Charles Lisanby Original orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin & Martin Erskine Symphonic orchestral arrangements by Manfred Knaak CHILDREN OF EDEN is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019, Phone: 212-541-4684 Fax: 212-397-4684, www.MTIShows.com CHILDREN OF EDEN MUSICAL NUMBERS Act One Let There Be ..................................................... Father, Storytellers The Naming ...................................................... Father, Adam, Eve, Storytellers Grateful Children............................................ Adam, Eve Father’s Day ..................................................... Father The Spark of Creation .................................. Eve In Pursuit of Excellence................................ Snake, Eve A World Without You .................................... Adam, Father, Eve The Expulsion ................................................... Father, Storytellers The Wasteland ................................................ Storytellers Close to Home .................................................. Adam, Eve, Young Cain, Young Abel Lost in the Wilderness ................................. Abel, Cain A Ring of Stones ............................................. Cain, Eve, Abel, Adam The Mark of Cain ............................................ Father, Storytellers Children of Eden ............................................. Eve, Storytellers 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION Act Two Generations ...................................................... Storytellers A Piece of Eight ............................................... Storytellers, Noah, Yonah, Japheth, Family The Return of the Animals ......................... Orchestra Stranger to the Rain ..................................... Yonah In Whatever Time We Have ...................... Japheth, Yonah The Flood ........................................................... Father, Storytellers What Is He Waiting For? ............................ Noah, Family Sailor of the Skies .......................................... Yonah The Hardest Part of Love .......................... Noah, Father Ain’t It Good? ................................................... Mama, Noah, Family, Storytellers In the Beginning .............................................. Company CAST AND ENSEMBLE Father Snakes 1-5 KEN PAGE * BRENNA McFARLAND, CHLOE FRIEDMAN, ADALIA JIMENEZ, Adam/Noah SAM NASAR, BEN NEWMAN ARI GOLDBLOOM-HELZNER Understudies: Amanda Primosch, Understudy: Ben Newman Rachel Heney, Carly Hirsh, Rachel Wei, Grace Hebeisen, Zoe Lee, Cole Sebastian & Jeremy Lewin Eve/Mama Noah JULIA FANZERES Soloists for The End of Understudy: Edima Essien a Perfect Day MIRANDA KELLEY, Cain/Japheth LINDSEY JACOBSON BOBBY GALLAGHER * Understudies: Shira Minsk, Understudy: Daniel LaMond Dora Segall, Katherine Donahue & Anelia Slavoff Abel/Ham ETHAN MILLER Soloists for The Wasteland Understudy: Kevin Key CARLEIGH SOLOMON, DANIELLE BURMAN, KEVIN KEY, ADALIA Seth/Shem JIMENEZ, DANIEL LAMOND KEVIN KEY Understudies: Madeleine Jacobson, Understudy: Brandon Goldberg Chloe Malouf, Vivian Douglass, Miranda Kelley, Cole Sebastian, Madison Middleton, Jenna Prosen, Aphra Jeremy Lewin, Brandon Goldberg HELEN FERGUSON Understudies: Madeline Statter Soloist for Death of Abel & Hayley Segall ADALIA JIMENEZ Understudy: Brenna McFarland Aysha LINDSAY JACOBSON Soloists for Generations Understudies: Annabel Cromwell & McKenzie McMahon BRENNA McFARLAND, ADALIA JIMENEZ, EDIMA ESSIEN, LILY JAMES Yonah Understudies: Grayson Willis, AMANDA YUAN Anna Votaw, Madeline Schupak, Understudy: Adalia Jimenez Emily Donahue Young Cain, Young Abel Soloist for A Piece of Eight WILL COFFEY, WILL JOSELOFF CHLOE MALOUF Understudies: Elinor Berger, Lana Newman * designates guest artist PROGRAM NOTES The book of Genesis has fascinated and inspired dramatists for centuries, from the medieval mystery plays to such modern American theatre writers as Arthur Miller and Richard Rodgers. Still, when John Caird and I began work on CHILDREN OF EDEN in 1985, it was with a certain amount of trepidation. After all, these are sacred stories to many if not most in our audience, yet here we were adding characters and incidents and putting our own “spin” on the characters, a vision of Noah, Eve, Cain, and especially God Himself that didn’t exactly jibe with what’s taught in Sunday school. As part of our fairly extensive research in the early stages of the project, we made what to me was a surprising discovery. I learned that the Book of Genesis was not a spontaneous account that first appeared complete and original in the Old Testament, but rather a highly edited version of ancient Hebrew tribal beliefs and stories which had been handed down orally from generation to generation. Many elements were changed, omitted or embroidered upon over time. This explains why, as is often noted, in the early chapters of the Old Testament itself two somewhat contradictory versions are presented: Were Adam and Eve created simultaneously, as in Genesis I:27, or Adam first, as in II:22? Did the Flood last forty days, as in VII:12, or 150, as in VII:24? We came across other sources, in a book of Hebrew myths compiled by Robert Graves, and even whole unfamiliar books of the Bible, edited out of the Old Testament but collected as The Forgotten Books of Eden, translated from ancient Egyptian and published by World Bible Publishers. This version was so radical that it included twin sisters for Cain and Abel. Finally I read, and was fascinated by, a book called Memories & Visions of Paradise by Richard Heinberg, which examines the stories of the Lost Eden and the Flood in many cultures and convincingly advances the argument that these events may have actually happened historically, though not precisely as described in Genesis. After these readings and more, many of which inspired and influenced our own take on the stories, John and I felt more comfortable about playing slightly loose with these Bible tales. And over the years, it has been a relief PROGRAM NOTES and, so to speak, a revelation how positively audiences, from the most evangelical to the highly secular, have reacted to the show. So it is with excitement and joy that I anticipate this new production by the Young Artists of America at Strathmore, featuring over three hundred young artists including a full symphonic orchestra. If children are indeed the future of the arts, it is exhilarating to me that the future is returning all the way to the very beginning in this production of Children of Eden. — Stephen Schwartz, Composer & Lyricist Young Artists of America is thrilled to be back on the stage at the Music Center at Strathmore for our third full production as the first affiliate of Strathmore. YAA prides itself on being a collaborative organization, and we could not be more pleased to be able to invite our friends from North Bethesda Middle School to share the stage with us. YAA strives to provide unique performance opportunities for our students, and today’s performance is a testament to the kind of high quality work that arts groups can produce when combining talents and resources. Our goal as the newest affiliate at Strathmore is to continue reach out to the arts community and welcome talented organizations like NBMS to perform on the mainstage at Strathmore with us. A special and sincere thanks to Stephen Schwartz, Ken Page, Noah Himmelstein and Andrew Lazarow for sharing their time, vision and talents with our students. This is truly an experience that none of us will ever forget! — Rolando Sanz, Producing Artistic Director, Young Artists of America at Strathmore ARTISTIC STAFF BIOGRAPHIES Producing Artistic Director, Rolando Sanz, is a nationally-renowned operatic tenor. A proud graduate of the Yale University School of Music, he has been praised by Opera News for his “warm, strong, highly promising”