Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

The Book of Genesis gets a new whirl in the York Theatre Company's latest original piece, a cheerful, sweet but ultimately forgettable retelling of the story of Adam and Eve, this time with puns, sass and songs to punch up the already whacked-out Bible tale. And if one keeps recalling the 1960s Sheldon/Bock musical The Apple Tree (revived in 2006 with Kristin Chenoweth in the leading role) during the proceedings, you won't likely be the first.

The model is followed rather closely with some concessions: God-divvied up here as both a He (Adam Kantor) and a She (Sasha Sloan)-creates the chiseled Adam (Jose Llana) who is to be looked after by two angels (Jennifer Blood and Nehal Joshi) as he explores the Garden of Eden. Enter Eve (Krystal Joy Brown), a creation straight from Adam's rib (which leads one of the angels to suggest her name become “Manrib”), and the biblical tale's chief offender as she wrestles with whether to take a bite of the forbidden fruit that will damn her eternal soul. Adam and Eve quickly fall in love and when God separates the two, leaving Adam stranded in Eden while Eve physically languishes in non-paradise, their bond and will becomes tested, except this time with lots of self-referential humor and soaring ballads.

Herein lies the identity crisis of Falling For Eve. Is it a mocking musical comedy or an semi-earnest tuner“ The tone switches so often between the two, it's hard to say with certainty, and while the production is bright and fast-moving, this back-and-forth that occurs strands the show in a sort of limbo. Writer Joe DiPietro (now best known for his Tony-winning book of Memphis-sad but true) throws some clever lines out there and composers Bret Simmons and David Howard know their way around a melody, but the two aspects are disharmonious. It's as if a Jackie Mason show suddenly got hijacked by Deena Jones & the Dreams. And one song (“Good Things Are A Comin”) is so close to Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire” in design, he might want to consider asking for royalties.

The cast is pleasant enough, the standout being Broadway vet Jose Llana (shown to quite optimal skin levels), whose light touch and deft comic timing adds considerable charm. And designer Beowulf Boritt has some fun with Eden (the fruit tree is seemingly modeled after a warped 70s version of IKEA), though-like the show itself-maybe could have afforded to be a tad quirkier. As a result, you can happen to like this Eve, but chances are you won't be falling for her.