Farewell to Eden

Farewell to Eden and Hello to the real world!

Farewell to Eden is a brilliantly written, and directed show. Mahonri Stewart, as the playwright, tells a beautiful story of a family living in the 1840's in England. The families happiness is at stake as they have just lost their father. Georgiana, Catherine, and Thomas are siblings who quarrel yet laugh together. Conflict arises as issues of embezzlement, love, and religion come forward. Two missionaries, Brigham Young and John Taylor begin to teach the families friends about a book they call The Book of Mormon. This young family is weary of these two persuasive men and come to personal convictions and conclusions on their own.

While this plays central focus is not that of religion, it does add a level of symbolic intrigue that carrys this work. Ronnie Stringfellow, the productions director said that she encouraged each actor to think about what their characters forbidden fruit was that caused them to leave their "personal Eden." I found this to be most interesting as I watched each character's personal journey.

 This play is about choices, pride, and guilt. The play will continue to perform at the Echo theatre for another week. Certainly, for anyone who would like to enhance their study of theatre with religion, this would be a show for you to see!