Children's Letters to God CD: Heavenly Listening

Dear God, How did you know you were God?

Dear God, Who draws the lines around the countries?

Theatre-goers who think the newest crop of Broadway scores may be somewhat lacking in wit and sophisticated tunefulness will be smacking their heads after hearing the newly-released CD of Children's Letters to God, the Off-Broadway show which, playing at the Lambs Theatre, was technically the first new musical to open in the Theatre District this season.

Those who missed the all-too-short run of this David Evans (music)/Douglas J. Cohen (lyrics)/Stuart Hample (book) tuner now get a second chance to hear some of the cleverest words and catchiest melodies to hit Times Square in many a month.

Inspired by Hample's popular book, Children's Letters to God on stage was a smart and funny collection of songs and scenes performed by fives kids, ages 10-15, dealing with the everyday questions people of all ages have about the world. It's not a religious show. God, however you want to interpret that word, is treated as simply a higher being who has all the answers.

The nineteen songs (there's one bonus number cut from the show) are performed by the original Off-Broadway cast which eschews cuteness and precociousness for age-appropriate humor and degrees of maturity. Their voices are strong, expressive and refreshingly normal. They could be the kids next door, who just happen to take voice lessons.

As their ages increase, so do the complexity of their issues. Young Kicker (Andrew Zutty) merrily sings "How I love to squish ants!" until he makes the connection between how he treats the little insects and how the big kids treat him. Iris (Libby Jacobson) has a song of appreciation for her pet turtle, but his sudden death prompts many questions.

Physically awkward Theo (Jimmy Dieffenbach) sings of his lack of self-esteem whenever the kids pick teams for sports and he's always one of the last chosen, and Joanna (Sara Kapner) asks God for "Six Hours as a Princess", so that her first crush would finally notice her.

The object of her affection, Brett (Gerard Canonico) is preoccupied with his parents' divorce and his father's impending move to another state. In the score's most poignant lyric, he remembers his dad's explanation, "Kid, sometimes marriages fail / It's kind of like school... You get graded. / And just like a shortstop that's getting stale / Fathers also get traded."

Lighter moments give Cohen a chance to display some off-beat thoughts like, "If everyone you knew was just like everybody else / They probably would never have Olympics / 'Cause if a hundred people ran the hundred meter race / We'd need a hundred medals, for they'd all come in first place." A holiday song contains the sly reference, "All is Toys R Us dot com / All is bright." Evans matches him with a collection of bright, jazzy show tunes and sweet, simple ballads played by a four piece combo.

The CD's booklet includes notes from the authors explaining the genesis of the show, plus all the lyrics, accompanied by an attractive assortment of color photos.

Even kids with no interest in musical theatre (who, of course, must change their evil ways immediately) should find Children's Letters to God a fun and entertaining CD, and parents will appreciate the many issues in the songs that could prompt discussions. But adults without kids needn't think of this one as a "guilty pleasure". This is one "family musical" that even a Sondheim aficionado can enjoy.

Photo by Carol Rosegg: (clockwise from top) Libby Jacobson, Jimmy Dieffenbach, Sara Kapner, Andrew Zutty, Gerard Canonico