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Searching for Eden: the diaries of adam & eve

  • James Still
  • Full Length Play, Comedy, Drama, Present Day, Biblical
  • 1M, 1F
  • ISBN: SL2

"Searching for Eden is one in a million when it comes to romantic comedies. The characters may be well-known, but this side of the story is modern and well told."

The NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis

  • Full Length Play
  • Comedy, Drama
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: Present Day, Biblical
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, College Theatre / Student
As one critic wrote about Searching for Eden: "In the beginning -- and throughout the play -- there was laughter. And the audience found it good."

More than a hundred years after Mark Twain wrote his own short stories about Adam and Eve, James Still combines those stories for Act One of Searching for Eden, and then imagines Adam and Eve in the present day for Act Two to create this completely original and contemporary play about the world's first love story.

Act One takes place at the dawn of time in the Garden of Eden. In the imaginations of Still and Twain, the Garden of Eden is a place where the battle of the sexes begins, where language is deliciously invented, and where loneliness and heartbreak are poignantly discovered. After intermission, we jump forward to the present day -- but Adam and Eve have only aged into their 40s and are dealing with middle age and the distractions of high-power careers. Adam has surprised Eve with this trip back to Eden (a last-minute vacation package Adam found on the Internet) as an anniversary gift. The "first couple" returns to present-day Eden (now an upscale resort simply called "E") in an attempt to recapture the primal passions of their youth.

While Act One is about childhood, discovery, and new love -- Act Two is about middle age, rediscovery and trying to make old love new again. At its heart, Searching for Eden is about the pleasures and terrors of knowing one person -- and being known by that person -- for a long, long time. 

REVIEWS:

"An engaging blend of wit and whimsy... in its regional premiere at Stages Repertory Theater... favorable buzz generated the largest advance sale in the Houston theater's history, prompting Stages to extend the comedy's run by more than a month even before opening night."

 Variety

"Searching for Eden is one in a million when it comes to romantic comedies. The characters may be well-known, but this side of the story is modern and well-told."

 The NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis

"Eden is a paradise of a play, a captivating romantic comedy that captures the wit and warmth of Mark Twain's timeless paeans to love and marriage and updates them for today... Eden succeeds on all fronts. Still has delivered a show that is funny from beginning to end. His script retains the warmth, wit and charm of Twain's stories while offering a fresh and contemporary look at love and relationship."

 Indianapolis Star

  • Casting: 1M, 1F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Man (Star Vehicle), Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle)

Name Price
Searching for Eden: the diaries of adam & eve Script Order Now

As one critic wrote about Searching for Eden: eIn the beginningeand throughout the playethere was laughter. And the audience found it good.e More than a hundred years after Mark Twain wrote his own short stories about Adam and Eve, James Still combines those stories for Act One of Searching for Eden, and then imagines Adam and Eve in the present day for Act Two to create this completely original and contemporary play about the worldes first love story. Act One takes place at the dawn of time in the Garden of Eden. In the imaginations of Still and Twain, the Garden of Eden is a place where the battle of the sexes begins, where language is deliciously invented, and where loneliness and heartbreak are poignantly discovered. After intermission, we jump forward to the present dayebut Adam and Eve have only aged into their 40s and are dealing with middle age and the distractions of high-power careers. Adam has surprised Eve with this trip back to Eden (a last-minute vacation package Adam found on the Internet) as an anniversary gift. The efirst couplee returns to present-day Eden (now an upscale resort simply called eEe) in an attempt to recapture the primal passions of their youth. While Act One is about childhood, discovery, and new loveeAct Two is about middle age, rediscovery and trying to make old love new again. At its heart, Searching for Eden is about the pleasures and terrors of knowing one personeand being known by that personefor a long, long time. Unit set. Approximate running time: 2 hours.

$19.95