"CHILDREN'S LETTERS TO GOD"
I would not have imagined it was possible to make a musical out of the book "Children's Letters to God."
While I'd enjoyed the breezy original book, it was hard for me to see dramatic possibilities in it. The book consists simply of very short, cutesy letters from kids. Here are samples: "Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy." And, "Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don't you just keep the ones you got now?"
Author Stuart Hample has adapted his own book for the stage, in collaboration with composer David Evans and lyricist Douglas J. Cohen, and wisely he has used his book only as general source of inspiration. Letters are quoted, to set atmosphere, but brand new invented scenes and songs deal with general concerns of kids growing up: death, parents separating, a friend moving away, and the like. Refreshingly, the kids sound like real kids, not like overly slick pro child actors (which reflects well on the kids, the writers, and director Stafford Arima). And that is rare, too. (All too often, Broadway show kids are too clearly acting, in a way that gets annoying.) These young actors are experienced, and clearly comfortable on stage But they have a naturalness, which is appealing. And they still have some rough edges, which is good. (The cast includes Sara Kapner, Libbie Jacobson, Jimmy Dieffenbach, and Andrew Zutty.)
Hample has a good ear for how kids speak, when the littlest kid in their clique complain that the friend moving away is the only big kid who knows his name, it rings true. As does the decision of the friends to all watch the stars at a certain time, so that they can commune with their friend who's moved, and will be watching the same stars, thousands of miles away. It's neat seeing an authentic ritual like that put into a musical. Or seeing the kids decide to hold a memorial service for a pet who has died (with its owner solemnly wearing a turtlenck in the turtle's memory). The score, in the tradition of contemporary children's theater (and children's TV), tends to be more mild, gentle and meandering than I might wish. For my own tastes, I was happier when the songs got a bit bolder and more challenging, melodically, as in "Daydreams" (which has a strong, appealing hook) and the inspiring finale, "I Know." But the little kids in the house were enjoying the show a lot. And they're the main concern. Evans, who currently is assistant conductor of the Broadway hit "Wicked," has written extensively for kids--from "Sesame Street" on TV to "Theaterworks" musicals on stage--as well as co-creating with Winnie Holzman the memorable off-Broadway musical, "Birds of Paradise"
--C.C.D.
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