Based on the international-best selling book
A New Musical Book by Stuart Hample
Music by David Evans
Lyrics by Douglas J. Cohen

A good friend of mine and producer extraordinaire, Michael Rubinoff, was kind enough to lend me his Children's Letters To God: A New Musical CD that he bought when he was in New York this past December.

In exchange I lent him my copy of Colored Lights, the Kander and Ebb recollections, a gem of a book which I will discuss in a later post. I recalled having walked by the theater that was playing Children's Letters to God (across from the now closed Dracula, The Musical that really bites. I take that back. I haven't seen Dracula or heard the CD so what the heck do I know??) last August and thinking "Nah, probably too much of a saccharine-sweet, Barney-like show".

Unlike me, Michael was smart enough to see Children's Letter To God when he had the chance, and gave it a thumbs up. I listened to the CD and loved it right away! It is completely cast with kids/tweens and the talent of this group, the original off-Broadway cast, is phenomenal! I recognized a lot of the faces and names from a reading of Steven Schwartz's Captain Louie which I had the pleasure of seeing last September during the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

The topics covered are not wildly controversial, but pretty standard kid stuff: Pet turtles dying, divorce, you know the typical angst of growing up. But it is presented in a really catchy, innocent and true way that makes it endearing and charming, not boring and smarmy. I particulary liked "Arnold" (the aforementioned doomed turtle), "Questions for the rain" and "A Simple Holiday Song". I'd love to see this show done here in Toronto (starring my ten year old daughter (and singer/actress) Myrna.

Myrna and her sister Trinity listened to it and loved it, and they are pretty sophisticated musical theater critics. Some shows are too simple and babyish for some kids, or too adult in theme for others, but Children's Letters to God would have, I think, a great mass kid appeal.