# 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. The West Coast premiere of this critically acclaimed play received five Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards.

## 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.

## 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)

### 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

### 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.

## Awards and nominations
### Awards

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