(WAYNE, NJ) -- On January 22 and 23, 2016, Aspire Performing Arts Company will present Children of Eden, by musical theater legend Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell). Children of Eden features children and teens ages 6 through 18 from Wayne and the surrounding areas. Children of Eden is a joyous and inspirational musical about parents, children, and faith, not to mention centuries of unresolved family business. The show ultimately delivers a bittersweet but inspiring message: that "the hardest part of love... is letting go." The original production was produced here in New Jersey in 1997 at the Paper Mill Playhouse, starring Stephanie Mills and Adrian Zmed.
Stephen Schwartz is quoted as saying, "I think the work of which I am most proud is Children of Eden, for several reasons. To begin with, I think it's my best score musically. It also contains the song that is maybe my personal favorite of my songs from a purely visceral point of view, ‘Stranger to the Rain’; a song that embodies how I feel about parenting (which is very important to me), ‘The Hardest Part of Love’; and above all, the song that most espouses my philosophy of life and which, if I had one song to be remembered by, is the one I would choose: ‘In the Beginning.’"
Lisa Beth Vettoso, Aspire PAC’s Artistic Director, says “It has been a personal dream of mine to direct Children of Eden, and it has been on my ‘short list’ for about 10 years. What I love more than anything else about Children of Eden is how it speaks to the heart of what makes each of us human. And how, ultimately, we have free will, and with that comes the responsibility that we control our own actions and our own destiny - and what power and beauty lies in that. I am thrilled to give my actors the opportunity to share in a show that means so much to me, and provide them with a memorable experience to last a lifetime.”
Performances will take place on Friday, January 22 at 8:00pm and Saturday, January 23 at 3:00pm at Wayne Hills High School, located at 272 Berdan Avenue in Wayne, NJ. Children of Eden is directed by Lisa Beth Vettoso. Randi Seffinger serves as Associate Director and Rich Lovallo is Music Director.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.aspirepac.com.
Aspire Performing Arts was founded in January 2011 by Lisa Beth Vettoso. Ms. Vettoso has more than twenty years of experience in the performing arts and has been working with youth for more than a decade. Aspire Performing Arts Company’s mission is to provide educational workshops and full-length production opportunities for children and teens, offering them a professional arts experience in a friendly atmosphere. For more information on Aspire Performing Arts Company, please visit www.aspirepac.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aspirepac
