So, now for some shots from the play itself. The show is "Children of Eden" which tells the story of God and his/her relationship with the humans he created. In this script it seems that God learns as much from the humans as they learn from him/her.

I finally decided it was supposed to be the story of how God changed from the God who demanded sacrifices from us, the instant- punishment- which- lasts-forever kind of God, into the New Testament God who is willing to sacrifice himself in order to save US.

It is a beautiful play, and they performed it beautifully. The singing was absolutely superb and the acting was very impressive. I easily became mesmerized by their performances, and sometimes forgot to take photos! And it was beautifully lit.... the lighting design was very good. The only thing wrong with it was they didn't have enough children to play the animals for Noah's ark. Oh well!

Tags:   show play musical Nativity Players Cincinnati Ohio USA Eve Satan Snake Like the snaky suit? apple fruit of the tree of knowledge theater stage performance

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(Performance) Another point in the temptation scene.

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(Performance) Adam and Eve giving thanks to their Creator on their first night of life.

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Here is a series of shots of the show, just after creation (at the end of the song "Let there Be". Adam and Eve come to being inside the beautiful garden. God (in the white suit) is pleased with all he sees.

In the photos in the comments, Eve looks curiously at Adam as he asks God a question.
Then you see Adam and Eve giving thanks to their creator (in this case being played by a woman.... it WAS Mother's Day, after all!).
Then you see them waking up after their first night's sleep, at dawn, surrounded by perfection.

Ok, and to answer some questions people have asked:

1. How did I get the tree to the school? We got a truck called a "UHaul", a big boxy truck. I removed the leaves and put the tree on its side in the truck. I designed one side of the tree to support all the weight. The hard part was getting the tree up two flights of stairs and around a corner into a rather narrow passageway, and then into the gym!

2. How did I carve the styrofoam? I used "hotwire" styrofoam carving tools from the Hotwire Foam Factory in California. They come in all sorts of configurations, including ones you can configure yourself.

3. Is there a script available? The rights to Children of Eden are held by the company "Music Theatre International". If you call them, you might be able to rent a "perusal script" for 10 to 15 dollars, which you have to return to them in a certain amount of time. But I think you have to be connected with a theater company. So, maybe not. In order to put on these big musicals, we pay thousands of dollars for the rights (it all depends on how many seats you have in your theater.) What might be better is to find all of your local community theaters' websites and see if any of them put on the show, then go see it!

4. Was there an easier way? I'm sure there was. But the only reason I accepted the task with only one month to do it (when I would have preferred 4 months) was because I always wanted to sculpt a tree out of a block of styrofoam (rather than build a tree out of something....).

5. Is it an Ent? Well, it can't walk or talk, so I guess I would have to say... um... no. Sorry!

6. How many hours did you work? I began on the 3rd of April. I worked on it every day except one (when I had to take my husband to the hospital... yes, he is fine, thanks for asking!). I worked 4-6 hours a day on it in the beginning. Then my stamina improved by being pushed, and by the end I could work for 8 - 10 hours in a day. So I would guess, not counting the making of the leaves, that I put in about 160 hours on it.


Oh, and the play did go well for its first weekend... thanks so many of you for asking! We have one more weekend of performances to go.

Tags:   Play musical Children of Eden Nativity Players Cincinnati Ohio USA Adam Eve God

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Adam and Eve awaken after their first sleep, in Eden
Up above you see the "storytellers" who sang much of the story, very beautifully. You can also see the silhouette of the top of the tree. You didn't really get to see much of the tree, it was so dark most of the time, because the lighting was wonderfully dramatic.

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