BWW Reviews: CHILDREN OF EDEN Gala Concert, Prince of Wales Theatre, January 29 2012

If the stagey police were lurking at the Prince of Wales Theatre tonight, they'll have had a lot of arrests to make. The West End talent on show on stage was only matched by the West End talent on show in the audience, as one would expect - the theatre community always comes out in force for these big charity gala events, and this one-night-only production of Stephen Schwartz and John Caird's Children of Eden was in aid of Crohn's and Colitis UK.

I'll hold my hands up now and admit to not being a huge fan of Schwartz's work in general - and I wasn't hugely surprised to hear echoes of his other scores running throughout ('What Is This Feeling?' from Wicked kept popping into my head a lot). Still, the choral writing was performed well by a large choir comprising established performers and musical theatre students, with a sextet of Storytellers leading much of the harmony singing, with Chloe Hart a standout vocalist as always.

Anton Stephans had the challenging task of playing God, which he did beautifully, making his Creator a very human Father. The first act of the show was by far the strongest, with Oliver Thornton and Louise Dearman as an exquisite Adam and Eve.

Dearman was the highlight of the evening - gorgeous vocals, delicate acting and a fantastic frock made for a compelling performance. Even a cynic like me couldn't help but be moved as she closed the first act with her touching rendition of the title song.

Gareth Gates and John Wilding, ITV talent show graduates both, played the couple's warring sons Cain and Abel - both sang well, and young Wilding may have a future in musical theatre once he becomes more comfortable on the stage.

Brenda Edwards, as Noah's wife (and another ITV talent show graduate), provided the best moment of the second act with her rendition of the gospel-tinged Ain't It Good? (Don't worry, Lauren Samuels represented the BBC side of reality TV as Yonah, the servant-girl of the race of Cain.)

Not all the featured roles had such terrific vocals - Russell Grant, as the Snake, is not much of a singer, and played the character much as anyone who'd seen him on last year's Strictly Come Dancing might have expected. Still, his next West End step is over to the Palladium in The Wizard of Oz - another role when he can probably get away with the Rex Harrison style of singing.

Still, it's churlish to pick too many holes in performances when it was all for a great cause. Kerry Ellis performed a special song for the occasion, John Caird made an appearance, and the chief executive of the charity thanked everyone for their support. And that, after all, was what it was all about.

To post a comment, you must register and login.