The Creation of the World and Other Business
THE STORY: Dividing his play into “three questions on the human dilemma,” the author begins with a charming and gently humorous retelling of Adam and Eve (and God) in the Garden of Eden. After their expulsion from paradise, Eve gives birth to Cain, watched over by a scheming Lucifer—who seeks to share the power of a God now angered by the errant ways of his creations. In the concluding portion of the play, with mounting dramatic intensity, Cain kills his brother, Abel, and is sent out as a wanderer, as the final dilemma is explored: “When every man wants justice, why does he go on creating injustice?” Throughout the action, which alternates scenes of sprightly humor with absorbing confrontations between God and Lucifer and God and his fallible creations, the striking pertinence of the play becomes ever more clear. It is a parable for our time, and all time, rich with philosophic insights and alive with vivid theatricality.
An important and remarkable play by a master dramatist which, with eloquence and compassionate humor, goes to the very roots of human guilt and responsibility: the Biblical struggle between God and Lucifer, with Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel as their pawns.
“…the sparkle, intellectual bite and stimulating impact that a new dissertation on an ageless subject should have.” —Variety.
“…Miller is reaching for new insights into the human dilemma…” —Cue Magazine.
“…imagination and an unexpected vein of humor…” —New York Post.
