"Let There Be"... A Theater Organization in trouble?

When a sports team gets cancelled, there are riots in the streets(maybe not that, but parents complain, many meetings happen and then the sports team gets rebooted). However, it seems like the arts are the first things to be cut out of society these days. It is terrible (considering how the ancient Greeks would create plays to welcome the god Dionysus, and you can read more here) and it affects many people. It seems that Trumbull (home town of the famous "Justice for RENT" movement in 2013) faces yet another issue.

TYA (Trumbull Youth Association) has performed an annual summer musical for 45 years. This year, the production staff chose to perform the Stephen Schwartz musical, CHILDREN OF EDEN. The show is loosely based off of the book of Genisus and brings out the themes of love, second chances, responsibilities, and so many more themes and messages. However, could this be the last summer musical for TYA?

The cast of Children of Eden during "The Return of the Animals" Scene in Act Two

About a half hour before the first Sunday show of CHILDREN OF EDEN, one of the producers informed the cast that ticket sales are not doing well. If they do not improve, there may not be a show for 2015.

The fact that the musical has never been performed on Broadway does seem to have some impact on it. Other community theaters are performing Shrek and Les Miserables, so why would they see a "biblical show"?

IT'S NOT!

Yes, the story in Act One is Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel. Yes, Act Two is the story of Noah and the Flood. Yes, there is God. However, these are simply stories. Stories that Stephen Schwartz felt can be placed into a musical setting. Every musical can have a message. This one is perfectly summed up in the final song of the show, "In The Beginning" with the lyrics: "Our hands can choose to drop the knife. Our hearts can choose to stop the hating... And pray we're wiser than we were in the beginning.".

Overall, isn't that what theater means? Doesn't it reflect life? With everything that has happened these past few years, this show just highlights exactly what humanity needed to do to be perfect. It also shows that even when this world was made, people were made and even God made mistakes. Sure, it doesn't have someone who is a big green ogre that learns to love, or a bunch of school boys trying to save France. It isn't the most popular show, but it 100% is a brilliant show.

The arts might not mean much to the average American, but there are many theater kids being denied the right to express. If Trumbull losses TYA, I don't know what to do. This organization has become close and dear to my heart over the 5 years I have been a part of it. I do not want to see what will happen if this nightmare becomes a reality.

To go to the official Facebook page, click here
To buy tickets to TYA's Children of Eden (3 shows left), click here

-Nathan Clift
17 Year Old, Incoming Senior at Trumbull High School
President of the NPT Youth Board