The Diary of Adam & Eve: Maxine Klein, Director & Julia Amundson, Stage Manager
The Diary of Adam and Eve is a love story between the first two humans on Earth. Mark Twain based the character of Adam on himself and the character of Eve on his wife Livy, who died in 1904. The book was published in 1906. Minneapolis College Student Life and Theater Underground at Metropolitan State University got together to produce a production of Mark Twain’s story, adapted for the stage by Mark Bucci and directed by Obie Award Winner, Maxine Klein. The play opened Wednesday, Oct. 23 (7 p.m. through Oct. 25) and runs through Saturday, Oct. 26 (1 p.m. matinee).
The play stars Carissa Sommerfeld as Eve and Leonard Searcy as Adam. Neither actor appears to as yet to have grown comfortable in their roles, and with the play running only four days, neither may get a chance to do so. Sommerfied’s performance was energetic. Although sometimes her voice came across as whiny, it worked well in displaying her apprehensiveness about her relationship with Adam. Still, I’d like to hear greater confidence in her voice as Eve grows in self-confidence. Searcy also played his character with uneasiness about his relationship with Eve, which at times came across as rigid. This worked for much of the play, but too much rigidity interfered with the audience’s ability to experience Adam’s love and growth. Still, both actors maintained the light tone of the play and were fun to watch.
Adam and Eve wore fabrics that appeared to represent their closeness with nature. They both embraced and were embraced by nature itself, but did not understand their vast and fascinating new home. They had much to learn about themselves and each other. In fact, Adam appeared flummoxed by the new creature Eve, and more so by his children. One may wonder about his ability to love her. Eve appeared to struggle with moments of loneliness and uncertainty. She was sure of her love for Adam but uncertain of his love for her.
Animals, played by Alex Feia (Snake), Tarik Salihoglu (Tiger), Vaerna Mayer (Lamb), Jimmie Lee Bishop (Water Buffalo), and Madeline Jacobs (Wolf) were a delight to watch. Salihoglu clearly embraced his inner tiger.
The Diary of Adam and Eve is a lighthearted look at human emotional conflicts that have remained throughout the centuries: our struggles to understand and live peacefully with each other, with nature, and within the environments we create for ourselves.
The space where the play was being performed inside the Whitney Fine Arts Center is a little cramped for one using a mobility device, but the hour-long play is worth seeing if you want to shake off negative residue left over from midterms and laugh about the nature of being human.
Anya Savvy is a pen name for a Minneapolis College student who works as a reporter for City College News. To contact Anya, please email them at anya@citycollegenews.com.
