Theater Review
Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).
The Journals of Adam&Eve.
The Worlds First Couple.
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Robert M. Massimi.
The Journals of Adam & Eve is a two character comedy written by Ed Weinberger now playing at the Loreto Theater at the Sheen Center. The two actors. Hal Linden as Adam (The Gathering) and Marilu Henner (Taxi) as Eve read the entire show from a lectern. Based in four different scenes that change as the stage goes dark, (the set is nothing more than where they speak from and different projections for each scene).
The direction in this play deals more with the delivery of each actor. In Amy Anders Corcoran's vision, we get some very funny moments; other times the actors fumble their lines a bite, at certain moments the play gets slow, very slow. In the plays very basic lighting (Travis Seminara), the two actors are front and center of the action. In a very comedic way, Weinberger explains the story of Adam and Eve. Adam is very lax in his daily work, he is put on earth by God to name all the animals that have been put on earth. After naming three animals, he is under to much pressure and asks God for a helper; enter Eve.
The parable of Adam to Eve has been transposed to modern times: Adam wants to eat and lounge around; Eve is all business and has names for all the animals within a week or so. Where Adam is steadfast to God, Eve is always questioning his logic and reasoning.She cannot understand why she can't eat from the Tree of Knowledge but can eat from the Tree of Life. Eve has an assiduousness about herself, she also is pragmatic, snarky and is always certain of her beliefs.
More like a sitcom mentality, Linden is a buffoon, and she is knowledgeable. He informs her that" God is in charge and then me ". That does not sit too well with Eve, especially when he refers to her as "it". When she is in a playful or argumentative mood, she will question Adam to the point of frustration. Adam many times has no answers, just blind faith in God. When Adam has all 12 ribs on each side, Eve says that he has been had, that God didn't take anything. When he wants to build a room just for him to be alone, she cannot understand why. Adam has been brought into a modern man at times and so has Eve, and that's what makes the play so amusing; it brings to mind the play "Defending The Cave Man" back in the 90's on Broadway.
As the laughs continue, the show has some relevant points: Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge and then talking Adam into doing the same. Banished from The Garden of Eden, the two have twins -Cain and Able. After a tragic death of Able, they have another child later in life. The two would separate and then get back together.
Weinberger was clever in the way he brings up the humanness about these two Biblical characters.He snores; she's losing her looks, they both get on each others nerves. After living apart, the comedy of the two missing each other and for what reasons is raucous! How Eve plays on Adam's insecurities throughout is wonderful to watch. Adam's view of the world, how he lectures Eve about things when he is usually wrong is worth the price of admission! The sexual innuendo's never tire of being funny as well.
Hal Linden and Marilu Henner both do an admirable job in this play. The style as well as the writing are unique indeed. The play has a warmth to it and a pleasantness about it. The one hour twenty intermission-less minutes for the most part goes by quickly.Even with a strong lull in it (about one hour into it), "The Journal of Adam & Eve" is worth seeing!
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