Rosebud Theatre’s Adam and Eve: a love story and comedy

By Laureen F. Guenther Times Contributor

The comedy Mark Twain’s The Diaries of Adam and Eve opens at Rosebud Theatre on Sept. 7.
Heather Pattengale of Rosebud plays Eve, and Bruce Davies from Toronto performs the role of Adam.
In the story, “the world is newly-created, and in it are placed one woman and one man, both of whom think themselves ‘the main part of the experiment,’” Pattengale said. “She is curious about the creature with no hips who doesn’t seem to do anything. He wishes the creature with the long hair would not talk so much.
“They learn to overlook each other’s shortcomings and work together to create a life, discovering all they can about the world around them. In the end, they realize that companionship is the most wonderful discovery of all.”
The show is both comedy and love story.
“The humour comes from jostling for position, the disagreements and misunderstandings, and the pure bewilderment that is typically experienced at the beginning of any new relationship.”
Pattengale played the role of Eve in this production once before, when she chose to produce and perform it as her Final Project at Rosebud School of the Arts.
At that time, she was a newlywed herself.
“Being about two years into my own marriage at the time, the hilarious foibles of the first man and woman resonated with me,” she said.
That production was Marc Bucci’s The Diary of Adam and Eve, a dramatization based on stories by Mark Twain. For this 2018 production, Pattengale and Rosebud Theatre’s artistic director Morris Ertman have revised the script further, creating additional scenes, including additional elements from Twain’s original stories, and modernizing some of Twain’s concepts about men and women.
But the play retains the flavour of Twain’s wry perspective on human interaction.
“It wouldn’t be Mark Twain without his insightful observations about human nature, relationships, grief, purpose and love,” Pattengale said. “For all its laughter, the story comes to rest in a profound, thoughtful place.
“I find this story funny because there is so much about it that is true. Men and women can be at times ridiculous, puzzling, stubborn and sincere, and Adam and Eve are no exception.”
Adam and Eve runs Sept. 7 to Oct. 20, in Rosebud’s Opera House. Get tickets at 1-800-267-7553 or rosebudtheatre.com.