Spotlight Players to Present Children of Eden

The next production of the Spotlight Players will be a two-act musical called Children of Eden. Written in 1986 for a high school group as The Family Tree, the current full-length musical by Stephen Schwartz didn't exactly receive critical acclaim when it opened in London's West End five years later. But this play, based on the most popular stories of the Book of Genesis -- Adam & Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the flood -- has been consistently popular with community theatre groups ever since. The Paper Mill Playhouse production, recorded in 1997, is now known as the American version of the show. Copies of the original recording of the West End show were flawed, so most were destroyed and no new release was ever authorized. The surviving copies are now, oddly enough, considered prized collectibles. Check out the detailed reviews of the upcoming shows at APP and MyCentralJersey.

Evening performances will be held at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan on 12, 13, 19, and 20 March at 8 pm. Matinees will be played at 3 pm on 14, 20, and 21 March.