Children of Eden - Synopsis (American Version)

Synopsis (American Version)

Act I

The play opens with the creation story from the Book of Genesis ("Let There Be"). Eve is drawn to the tree of knowledge, even though Father (the God-character is always addressed as "Father" by the other characters) has warned her to stay away ("The Tree of Knowledge"). Father attempts to distract Adam and Eve by playing a game where Adam and Eve name all the animals ("The Naming"). With his children distracted for the time being, everything is right with the newly created world ("Grateful Children," "Father's Day," and "Perfect"). Eve, however, still hungers for something more than what she has ("The Spark of Creation"). She meets a snake that tempts her with the fruit from the forbidden tree ("In Pursuit of Excellence"). Eve eats the fruit, meaning that she must be banished from the Garden of Eden ("The End of a Perfect Day" and "Childhood's End").

In a twist from the Genesis tale, Adam is portrayed as torn between two choices: either he can stay with Father in Eden, or he can eat the fruit and be banished with Eve. He chooses to stay with Eve, even though it means leaving the garden forever ("A World Without You"). Adam and Eve are driven out into the surrounding wilderness and have two children, Cain and Abel ("The Expulsion" and "The Wasteland"). Eve realizes that the same fire that led to her eating the fruit is present in her son, Cain ("The Spark of Creation (Reprise 1)"). Cain tells Abel of the problems that Adam and Eve made for them by leaving the garden and says that he intends to find the lost garden ("Lost in the Wilderness").

Adam and Eve find some pleasure in the fact that they have been able to create a life for themselves outside of Eden ("Close to Home"), but this peacefulness is again shattered when Cain says that he has found a ring of stones, proof that they are not the only humans alive; Adam admits that he had seen the ring of stones and the people who live there before but that he had never mentioned it because he was afraid of the potential consequences ("A Ring of Stones" and "Clash of the Generations"). This leads to a fight between Adam and Cain, but when Abel intervenes, he is killed, as Cain attempts to kill Adam but hits Abel instead ("The Death of Abel"). Father decrees that Cain's descendants will always bear a mark for the sin of their ancestor ("The Mark of Cain").

Act I closes with Eve about to die. She delivers a monologue about Cain's departure from the family and the birth of another son, Seth, who has since had children of his own. She then prays that her children and her grandchildren will regain the garden that was lost ("Children of Eden").

Act II

The act opens with "Generations," a list of the many descendants of Cain and Seth, all the way down to Noah and his family, whose story comprises the second act’s plot. Father tells Noah that a storm is coming, so Noah must build a boat ("The Gathering Storm").

Noah has three sons, and two of them, (Shem and Ham), have wives, but his youngest son, Japheth, is unhappy with the wives Noah has tried to obtain for him. Instead, he wishes to marry the servant-girl, Yonah, a descendant of the race of Cain, and Japheth tells this to his surprised family ("A Piece of Eight"); however, Noah will not allow Yonah on the ark. All the animals return so that they can board the ark ("The Return of the Animals" and "Noah's Lullaby"). Japheth comes to say goodbye to Yonah. She sings "Stranger to the Rain," in which she says that she has always faced the problem of being shunned because she bears the mark of Cain. Japheth decides to sneak Yonah onto the ark. Japheth and Yonah sing "In Whatever Time We Have," which tells of their love for each other.

The rain comes, and it keeps raining and raining ("The Flood" and "What is He Waiting For?"). Yonah releases a dove to find dry land ("Sailor of the Skies"). The rest of the family discovers Yonah, and Shem and Ham wish to throw her overboard, but Japheth intervenes. It escalates into a fight, and it is only because Yonah intervenes that one of the brothers is not killed. Noah is unsure as to what he must do. His wife asks him if Father speaks to him anymore, and when Noah answers "No," she tells him, "You must be the father now." Noah has to decide what should be done without God telling him what to do ("The Spark of Creation (Reprise 2)"). Noah sings of the difficulties that he has faced in being a father, while at the same time Father sings of the problems he has faced in being a father ("The Hardest Part of Love"). Noah calls the family together ("Words of Doom"). He decides to give Japheth and Yonah his blessing ("The Hour of Darkness"). Then the dove returns and the family again sees the light of the stars. Mama leads the family in the gospel song ("Ain't It Good?"). Father gives humanity the power to control its fate ("Precious Children"). The family sings of the problems they will face and their desire to return someday to the Garden of Eden ("In the Beginning").