I really wanted to like Theatre Calgary’s current production, Beyond Eden. The musical is the flagship show of its season, and artistic director Dennis Garnhum’s pride in the project is obvious (he’s also the director). And what’s not to be proud of? Beyond Eden, the largest production Theatre Calgary has ever mounted, is a homegrown musical, created with the help of Theatre Calgary’s FUSE program — a program designed to develop new works for the theatre. It’s an awesome achievement. As such, I went to the show with high expectations. Unfortunately, Beyond Eden does not live up to the hype. I left disappointed.

The story is based on true events involving an anthropologist named Wilson Duff who travelled to the islands of the Haida Gwaii in 1957 to remove decaying totem poles in order to preserve them for posterity in museums. Beyond Eden’s Lewis Wilson (John Mann) is based on Duff. Accompanying the anthropologist on his journey was famed Haida artist Bill Reid, who was of Haida and European descent. He is represented in the production by Max Tomson (Cameron MacDuffee). Tom Jackson lends some star power to Beyond Eden with his portrayal of The Watchman — an historic figure in Haida society who warned the community of approaching danger. He appears to Wilson as a voice of the Haida people, telling him to leave their totem poles alone.

The production’s rock musical format doesn’t work with the story. While the music (by Bruce Ruddell and Bill Henderson) is accessible, catchy and, at times, poignant, it seems to inappropriately “Disney-ize” the narrative. The music is a cheesy fit with the story.

Playing the lead character, Duff, is Spirit of the West front man, John Mann. His vocal work is amazing, but I can’t buy him in the role of Wilson. He comes across as a hip, 21st century musician, not as a father and anthropologist on an important, and controversial, expedition in 1957. MacDuffee is more successful portraying Tomson, a man who is struggling with his dual cultural identities. His performance offers the most emotional honesty of the entire cast.

Beyond Eden is clichéd, even when the Haida guide, Joe Duncan (played by young Calgary actor Telly James), dons the racist badge, calling Tomson an apple — “red on the outside, but white on the inside.” The recounting of the white man invading Haida lands, the reference to residential schools that comes out of nowhere, the Haida guides hearing the voices of long-dead relatives telling them to abandon the project, all add up to a stereotypical and clichéd treatment of First Nations. The one exception might be when Tomson recalls the irreverent treatment his Haida village afforded the rotting totem poles, including cutting them up for firewood.

One of the most interesting aspects of the story in Beyond Eden, and one that wasn’t developed sufficiently, is Wilson’s unhealthy obsession with the totem poles. He sacrifices everything else, even his family — wife Sal (Jennifer Lines) and son Jack (Andrew Kushnir) — in the pursuit of his goal. The familial drama is dealt with at a superficial level, save for one touching song between husband and wife near the beginning of the play. As the play progresses, the family angle is essentially dropped. I would have liked to see some poignant scenes between father and son, rather than enduring Kushnir’s false enthusiasm at Jack wanting to learn a few lines of Haida.

Actors speak into mics throughout the entire show, which is a mixed blessing. The upside is that you can hear everything, and there’s no annoying level changes between songs and dialogue as mikes are switched on and off. The downside, however, is that a sense of vocal intimacy is lost.

One of the production’s main objectives is to explore the beauty, mystery and spirituality of the Haida civilization and its artifacts. In this respect, the staging doesn’t disappoint. Through clever use of lighting and projected images, the audience sees several large totem poles filling the stage during the second act, poles that are eventually felled. However, apart from the staging, Beyond Eden doesn’t effectively communicate the beauty and spirit of the art. The show is too caught up in trying to be big and glitzy and, consequently, the sense of awe and wonder gets lost in the production numbers. One of the play’s most effective moments is one of its simplest, when a lone Haida woman beats a drum and sings a Haida melody. Beyond Eden could have benefited from a lighter touch in trying to communicate the soul of the Haida and their art.

Despite its shortcomings, Beyond Eden does provoke thought around the issue of what to do with a nation’s cultural artifacts. Should they be preserved so that future generations can enjoy them? Should they be left on native land to return to the earth as historic tradition dictates? Ruddell presents convincing arguments for both sides of the debate, then leaves it to the audience to decide.

Beyond Eden achieves its goal of being a big musical. The staging is fabulous, some of the costuming is elaborate, the songs are memorable but, at the end of the day, what it’s missing is some genuine