It's the world's first love story and the world's first love triangle. Adam meets Eve in Mercury Players Theatre's To say the least. The team is used to odd material, however. They previously collaborated on Temp Slave and Walmartopia, which moved from Madison to enjoy a four-month off-Broadway run in 2007. Their Garden of Eden comedy is an expansion of one of a trio of short musicals presented last January as part of Blasphemy at the Bartell. Adam is portrayed as a fundamentalist. Eve has connected eyebrows and is barely removed from a tribe of Bonobo chimps. Conflict is introduced to the garden when a Darwinian fish with legs is able to first walk onto shore. Funny, yes, but hopefully more. "In rewriting this show from a one-act, we wanted to look more at what Adam's motivation and arc would be," says Capellaro. "He really believes he's receiving instructions from God." Meanwhile, materialist Eve is compelled by Adam's description of deity. "She's disturbed that she can't speak to God. I think there's a lot to explore there spiritually. Eve sings this beautiful song, for example, called 'Say Something,' where she's attempting to sing to a God that she can't talk to."
More than parodying faith, the musical's intended theme is dominance.
"I feel that is a foundation that can point to any number of evils in the world," Capellaro says, "that we have dominance over species, that we have dominance over the environment, in male-female relationships."
If the show is successful, are there any plans to tour it? "I don't know," says Capellaro. "I'm trying to live like Eve, right now, really live in the moment."