Script of “Children of Eden” by Stephen Schwartz

When you purchase the right to perform “Children of Eden” from the authorized distributor, which is Music Theatre International, 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019, (212) 541-4684, http://www.mtishows.com, you receive, under the doctrine of “fair use”, the right to as many copies of the script as you need to perform the play.

Music Theatre International will send you some copies of the libretto vocal book, which includes the script. Those copies are fine for the actors, singers, dancers, and musicians. They make few marginal notes, and they will erase them before returning the documents to Music Theatre International. However, the director, choreographer, lighting designer and sound designer need to make many notes and require large margins. The needs of these users are usually met by photocopying the script, but the material distributed by Music Theater International is difficult to photocopy because of the way it is bound. This file is a response to that problem. You can print a copy of this script for everyone who needs to make extensive notes.

The words and music of Children of Eden were copyrighted in 1996, as noted on the front cover. Eventually, the copyright will expire, and Children of Eden will be in the public domain. When that happens there will be no restrictions on its use. Until then, please respect the copyright by destroying any copies you print after your production is complete.

The pagination of this file matches the pagination of the script distributed by Music Theatre International, to facilitate the use of them together, since the acts are not divided into scenes.

I have corrected the few errors that I noticed in the script, and tried to avoid adding errors of my own. However, as a practical matter, errors will always creep in to a 135-page script. I would appreciate being informed of any errors, so that I might correct them at https://www.systemeyescomputerstore.com.

I am distributing the script in three formats: as an Open Document Text (.odt) file so you can correct errors yourself without having to wait for me; as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file so you can print with correct pagination, and as a Microsoft Word (.doc) file in case you cannot read Open Document Text files. Depending on your document editor you might get different pagination from the editable files—the PDF file illustrates the page boundaries found in the script distributed by Music Theatre International.

The cover picture is from a rehearsal of the April 2010 production of Children of Eden by the Amherst PTA Play. The central figure is John Ogrodowczyk, who sang the part of Father.