Stage 212 presents online performance of ‘The Virtual Diaries of Adam and Eve’ on Valentine’s Day

While Valentine’s Day may look a little different this year because of COVID-19, Stage 212 in La Salle is giving the public a chance to see a free, truly unique performance about the world’s original sweethearts.

“The Virtual Diaries of Adam and Eve” is a 40-minute production that will be available at no cost to be viewed.

The performance will be presented via YouTube from 6 to 10 p.m. Feb. 14 and can be viewed by clicking the link that will be posted on Stage 212′s website.

The show stars Zomnyet Webster as Eve, Brady Hughes as Adam and Joe Ennenbach as God, was directed by Scot Smigel and was filmed and edited by Reid Tomasson.

“The Virtual Diaries of Adam and Eve” is a unique love story that was adapted by Kevin P. Kern and Dan W. Davis from Mark Twain’s stories “Eve’s Diary” and “Extracts from Adam’s Diary.”

Smigel said the pandemic has brought new challenges to the production, but the group was able to update the concept for the current world.

“Generally when you would do the Mark Twain version you would do it on a stage, and the actors would all be together,” Smigel said. “With the virtual diaries, it’s more like a video blog. We went through and recorded each actor individually and then edited them together.”

The show is prerecorded in order to keep the actors and the production staff safe amid the pandemic.

The actors in the show had to overcome the challenge of never being in the same room as each other. This can be very difficult to not be able to play off of the other actors facial expressions and energy.

“I’ve directed a number of shows and musicals, and this is really the first video that I have directed,” Smigel said. “It was a whole new experience for me. I found with stage productions your gestures and your facial expressions have to be much bigger, but in a video it can be more subtle because you appear to be so much closer to the action.”

Despite the challenges brought up by this type of performance, the production and the actors had a lot of fun creating it for the public to see.

Smigel stated that Stage 212 hasn’t been able to do a live performance since February 2020 because of safety precautions, and everyone involved has been chomping at the bit to exercise their creative minds.

“We decided to put this video together and offer it for free; anybody can sit down and see it,” Smigel said. “When the pandemic is all over we, of course, still want to come back and do theater for the public, but in the meantime this is what we can do for you.”

The show is produced by special arrangement with Eldridge Publishing Company.