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Steven Carter’s Eden at Yale Rep

Long-forgotten Play

By: - Feb 04, 2025

Steven Carter’s Eden, a long-forgotten play, combines elements of a thwarted romance (Romeo & Juliet), kitchen sink (family) drama, and political drama, as well as an autocratic father and intra-racial prejudice.  Does that sound like too much for one play to deal with, even if it is two-plus hours?

The play was first produced in 1976, receiving positive off-Broadway reviews and award nominations. It was part of Carter’s The Caribbean Trilogy; the other plays were Nevis Mountain Dew and Dame Lorraine. Carter died in 2020, and his plays have been seldom produced.

Eden is set near where Lincoln Center is today in New York City in 1927; it is based loosely on Carter’s parents.

The thwarted romance is between Eustace Baylor, a young man who recently arrived from the south to live with his aunt after his mother’s death, and Annetta, the second daughter in the Barton family. Her father does not approve of Eustace. An immigrant from the West Indies, Mr. Joseph Barton, firmly believes that West Indian blacks are superior to those from the South, who he considers uneducated and lazy. This also brings us to the political elements in the play. Mr. Barton is a fervent follower of Marcus Garvey. Gavey, from Jamaica, was a political activist who advocated black nationalism, black separation, and a return to Africa. (In fact, he, at times, worked with the KKK due to a shared belief in racial separation and racial purity). At the time of the play, Garvey is in jail for mail fraud; upon release, he is deported to Jamaica.

The family drama revolves around Mr. Barton, a man you will love to despise. He rules his family with a rope used for beating his four children (and possibly his wife) for anything he views as an infraction. Annetta and her older sister, Agnes, were born in the West Indies, but the two boys – Nimrod and Solomon – were born in NYC. He is educating the boys to believe in Garvey’s philosophy.

Act One is all about the family dynamics, Mr. Barton’s iron fist and philosophy, and Annetta and Eustace’s attraction. Annetta is referred to as Cinderella because she does all the cooking, cleaning, and household chores; her mother works three jobs, and her sister Agnes attends secretarial school. Mr. Barton believes she can be a private secretary and earn money to support the family. It is unclear if Mr. Barton works; at the beginning of the play, he is returning from the hospital due to a foot injury.

When Eustace takes the initiative to knock on the door and tell Mr. Barton his feelings for Anetta, the result is not what he expects. Besides the insults hurled at him, after he leaves, Mr. Barton severely beats/whips Annetta, who is 18. He also announces that he has decided she will marry an older West Indian shopkeeper in the neighborhood.

As the play progresses, Eustace’s aunt (Lizzie) and Annetta’s mother (Florie) help the two meet on the roof of the apartment building. Lizzie does so because she had a happy marriage based on a deep love and Florie because she was pushed into an arranged marriage.  Without giving too much away, the young lovers follow their instincts with unsurprising consequences. The play ends with Annetta realizing she has absorbed many of her father’s beliefs.

While the play tries to do too much and, at times, seems melodramatic, the production is fine. You can depend on Yale’s creative approaches to the set, lighting, and other elements. The play begins with projections by Ein Kim of the neighborhood and apartment buildings; the projections are also used between scenes. George Zhou’s scenic design gives us a realistic apartment kitchen and dining room, plus the hallway that connects to Lizzie’s apartment. While I thought the costume that Florie wore was beautiful, I wondered if it was too upscale for the character. The other costumes seem more appropriate for the family’s economic status. This is clearly not a tenement, and neither family is poor.

Director Brandon J. Dirden has realistically staged the play, drawing fine performances from the cast. Russell G. Jones does not try to evoke sympathy for the cruel and tyrannical Mr. Joseph Barton. You may get a hint of what leads to his views, and Jones also makes it clear that his actions are based on love and a desire for what is best for his family (and him). Christina Acosta Robinson is a dignified Florrie. She does not seem as defeated as you might expect; any resentment is well hidden.

Annetta is played by Lauren F. Walker as a young woman who wants attention and love; something she has gotten little of in her lifetime. The attention has gone to the smarter Agnes and the two boys. Chaundre Hall-Broomfield plays Eustace as well-intentioned but immature and unaware of the situation’s dynamics.

What surprised me about this play was the excessive use of swear words and sexual content. I was surprised that Mr. Barton tolerated that language in his home.

The play’s title references the Garden of Eden, the idyllic spot that Garvey thought could be created in a united Africa.

Eden runs through Saturday, Feb. 8. Tickets are available at YaleRep.org.

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