I’ve never claimed to be overly cultured. I’m a rock musician. That’s kind of like being a lighting tech at the opera. Sure, there is some art involved, but you are more likely to be hanging out behind the theatre smoking a joint than you are to be sipping wine in reception after the performance.
Nevertheless, my friend, Christina, had tickets to see Searching for Eden: the Diaries of Adam and Eve at Stage Theatre on Friday and I graciously accepted. And, I had a really good time.
The play was based on Mark Twain’s short story of the same name. I like Twain a lot, but had not read this.
The cast of two (Adam and Eve – duh!) performed all of Act I in the original Garden set at the dawn of time from the beginning of the existence of Eve through the famous bite of the ol’ apple. Act II was set in modern time with a middle-aged Adam and Eve re-visiting the Garden, now a modern resort spa called simply “E.”
The actors were excellent and very funny. There was a rapid-fire dialogue like something out of a Woody Allen movie. This is probably more play-like than I realize, but, again, I’m not culture boy.
My only quibble was with the ending.
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There was a touching moment when Adam, now a marriage counselor full of the life Eve had at the begging, gave Eve, now an all-business Hollywood producer, a diary in which she could write down everything for their anniversary. Where the play felt like the end found her writing her first lines of dialogue from the play into her diary while Adam sung in the shower, “Don’t go sitting under the apple tree with anyone else but me,” and Eve laughing.
However, they decided to bring back an aged Adam to talk about the death of his wife, no doubt in an attempt to contrast how happy he was to be alone at the beginning before she existed and how alone he felt now at the end.
It felt a little preachy and, to be honest, it didn’t make a lot of sense. I mean, if they could live THIS long, why have her die now?
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Anyway, that was a VERY minor critique. Overall, it was very entertaining and enjoyable experience. I will definitely go back to Stages and see another play. The intimate setting made it all the better.