The fall of Adam and Eve has furnished raw material for countless works of art but one rarely as fantastical as Bryan Reynolds' unpredictable play. A dizzying mix of metaphors, it begins with Satan (Chris Marshall) in command of an armed and loyal jihad of fallen angels; they are determined to take down God by either recruiting Adam (Ryan Welsh) and Eve (Kendra Smith) to their cause, or destroying them. Act I depicts the first couple gamboling in the Garden, notwithstanding Eve's uneasy sense that there's more to existence than affectionate kisses and playful body rubs. The end of innocence comes after Satan personally tempts her to bite the apple, then fucks her wildly — leaving them both wowed by their unexpected erotic rapport. Their intercourse marks the beginning of Eve's total transformation; whereas Adam develops the doldrums, and worse. By play's end, Eve is one gal you surely wouldn't want to mix it up with. Part-parable, part–comic strip fable, part–action drama, the play speaks powerfully to the unseen forces and symbols that dominate our lives. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Eden sequences drag, layered as they are with so much saccharine that one's soon rooting for the Devil to break it up. As the prime mover of the action, Marshall's performance is one of understated mastery. As his wife/daughter Sin, Sage Howard sizzles. Robert Cohen directs. Hayworth Theatre, 2511 Wilshire Blvd., L.A.; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; through June 27. (323) 960-7721.

Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Starts: May 22. Continues through June 27, 2009

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