I love any chance I have to support teens in the arts whether it be a youth production or at a high school it is a privilege to see emerging talents blossom. This weekend I had the joy of seeing the teens at Liahona Preparatory Academy in their latest production of Children of Eden and they once again knocked daunting material out of the park. What director Jordan Long pulls off with these talented teens is always outstanding and this was no exception.

First of all it should be clarified that this was not Children of Eden Jr. No it is the full adult version with 33 songs! They could easily have done the teen version and nobody would have questioned it so it’s pretty impressive they took on the complete version. It also has an absolutely massive cast with most of the actors taking on multiple roles (the first act is the Adam/Eve story and the second act is Noah.) I was very excited to see this musical because the last time I saw it was when BYU did it way back in 2009! It’s such a daunting show that it’s not tried often. Plus, not every company wants to take on such overtly Christian material (Stephen Schwartz says it’s not a Biblical musical in the director’s notes but I think that’s kind of ridiculous. Just because it is also a father story doesn’t mean it’s also not Biblical.)

I love the fact the ensemble at Liahona is so large and involved in the production. The choreography by Joleah Long is varied from contemporary to tap and so many of the students get to have solos and play named characters. The Storytellers were particularly impressive along with Brigham Ker as Father and James Fox and Lily Bennion as Adam/Noah and Eve/Mama Noah respectively. The set for act 1 is kept on the simple side (set design Brian and Canon Hadfeild) but then the ark in act 2 is large and impressive. The most awe-inspiring scenes of the night are the rain sequences on the ark with Yonah (Katira Davis) singing “Stranger in the Rain” and Japeth (Ryker Trumble) and Yonah singing “In Whatever Time We Have.”

The only major thing I would change about the night is I wasn’t crazy about the backtrack they were using. It sounded synthesized and electronic. I guess I prefer something with a little more of a traditional orchestral sound. It’s also a long show and there will probably be some who wish they had done the Jr version! But I was very impressed with the students and Jordan Long for continuing to push his teens with bold ambitious projects. I will always be first in line to see what they are working on! There is one more night to see Children of Eden at Liahona and tickets can be purchased here.

Children of Eden features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird based on the Biblical book of Genesis. It first premiered at the West End in 1991 but has shockingly never been in New York- not on or Off-Broadway.

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