Eden (Steve Carter play)

Eden is a 1976 play by American playwright Steve Carter. Set in the 1920s, it is the first of Carter's Caribbean trilogy. Eden explores intra-racial conflicts between recent immigrants from the Caribbean and the African-American population.^[1] The West Coast premiere of this critically acclaimed play received five Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards.^[2]

Eden
Written by	Steve Carter
Date premiered	March 3, 1976
Place premiered	St. Mark's Playhouse New York City
Original language	English
Series	The Caribbean Trilogy: Eden Nevis Mountain Dew Dame Lorraine
Subject	A recent Caribbean immigrant discovers that his daughter has fallen in love with an uneducated African-American man from the rural South.
Genre	Drama
Setting	1920s; San Juan Hill section of New York City

Characters

Joseph Barton

The main character of the play. A recent Caribbean immigrant to the United States and follower of Marcus Garvey.

Annetta Barton

Joseph's daughter. She falls in love with Eustace Baylor, an African-American from the South, which causes the central conflict within the story.

Eustace Baylor

An African American from the rural South than falls in love with Annette.

Solomon Barton

One of Joseph's sons.

Nimrod Barton

One of Joseph's sons.

Plot synopsis

Set in the San Juan Hill section of New York City in 1927, Joseph Barton, a recent Caribbean immigrant and follower of Marcus Garvey discovers to his horror that his daughter is keeping company with an uneducated African American man from the rural South.

Origins of the play

Eden is loosely based on the story of the playwright's parents. Horace Carter, Sr., a native of Virginia, and his wife, Carmen, who was born in New York of Caribbean descent, lived in New York City at the time of their son's birth.^[3][4]

Original off-Broadway production

• Directed by Edmund Cambridge
• Produced by Negro Ensemble Company (NEC)
• Executive Director: Robert Hooks
• Artistic Director: Douglas Turner Ward
• Managing Director: Frederick Garrett
• Set Designer: Pamela S. Peniston
• Costume Designer: Edna Watson
• Lighting Designer: Sandra L. Ross
• Production Stage Manager: Clinton Turner Davis
• Opened: March 3, 1976 at St. Mark's Playhouse (transferred to Theatre De Lys on May 14, 1976)^[5]

Cast

• Graham Brown - Joseph Barton
• Shirley Brown — Annetta Barton
• Barbara Montgomery - Aunt Lizzie
• Ethel Ayler - Florie
• Samm-Art Williams - Eustace Baylor
• Laurence Fishburne - Solomon Barton
• Nate Farrell — Nimrod Barton
• Ramona King — Agnes

Replacements

• James Warden, Jr. - Solomon Barton,

Los Angeles production (West Coast premiere)

• Directed by Edmund Cambridge
• Produced by Los Angeles Actors Theatre
• Opened: December 2002 at Los Angeles Actors Theatre^[1][2][6]

Cast

• Carl Lumbly - Joseph Barton
• Cheryl Francis - Annetta Barton
• Harold Sylvester - Eustace Baylor
• Marilyn Coleman
• Ralph Carter
• J Marshall Evans
• Larry B. Scott

Feature film project

In 1985, Carter wrote the screenplay A Time Called Eden, based on his play. It was set to go into production the following year, however, to date, the project remains unproduced.^[4][7]

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1976 Outer Critics Circle Award
• 1976 Audelco Award
• 1980 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award - Direction (Edmund Cambridge)^[2]
• 1980 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award - Lead Performance (Carl Lumbly)^[2]
• 1980 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award - Playwrighting (steve carter)^[2]
• 1980 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award - Production (Los Angeles Theatre Center)^[2]
• 1980 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award - Supporting Performance (Marilyn Coleman)^[2]

Notes

In 2008, Barbara Montgomery from the original cast, staged a reading of Eden with the Negro Ensemble Company as part of The NEC Classic Playreading Series.^[8]

References

1. Christon, Lawrence (1980-11-30). "Stage News: BLACK VS. BLACK IN 'EDEN'". Los Angeles Times. p. R63. Archived from the original on April 16, 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-06. Even during the best of not-so-recent times for black theater, plays tended to focus on black characters in a white world and didn't as a rule deal with prejudices among blacks themselves. But "Eden", a play by Steve Carter which will have its West Coast premiere at the Los Angeles Actors Theater.
2. "1980-1989 Awards". United States: Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
3. "Fifteenth Census of the United States (1930) [database on-line], New York (Manhattan Burrough) (Ward 7), New York County, New York, Enumeration District: 31-383, Page: 19A, Line: 48-50, household of Horace Carter". United States: The Generations Network. 1930-04-30. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
4. Arkatov, Janice (1989-06-02). "Steve Carter's `Eden': Intimate Portrait of Family Racism". Los Angeles Times. p. Calendar 6. Retrieved 2009-12-06.
5. "Eden". New York City: Lortel Archives: The Internet Off-Broadway Database. Archived from the original on 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
6. Sullivan, Dan (2002-12-10). "'eden' focuses on west indian family". Los Angeles Times. p. 16, Part VI. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2009-12-06. Given the choice between the play that never warms up and the play that keeps boiling over, I'll take the latter. Particularly when it's as well-acted as Steve Carter's "Eden" at the Los Angeles Actors Theater.
7. Carter, Steve (1986). Plays by Steve Carter (First ed.). New York City: Broadway Play Publishing, Inc. p. v. ISBN 0-88145-043-X.
8. "The NEC Classic Playreading Series". New York City: Negro Ensemble Company. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-25.

External links

• ​Eden​ at the Internet Off-Broadway Database