Jenny Waxman (book and lyrics) and Ben Page (music, with additional music by Ada Westfall) consider the myth of Lilith, the Creation of Adam and Eve, and the present-day male-female and female-female dynamics from a post-modern feminist perspective in Leaving Eden – a pop-style musical playing at the Pershing Square Signature Center in this year’s New York Musical Festival (NYMF). Directed by Susanna Wolk, the narrative moves back and forth between the Garden of Eden and a contemporary metropolitan apartment, interweaving the stories of the Ancient Adam, Lilith, and Eve with three of their Modern namesakes, and interspersing references to, and iconography from, the canonical Book of Genesis, the apocryphal tales, and the philosophy of duality with a new vision of what it all means.I'm not sure what's with the article's dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls (the correct dates are third century B.C.E. to first century C.E.). Also, specialists date the redaction of the Babylonian Talmud a couple of centuries later than in the article. But the musical sounds thoughtful and entertaining.
Lilith has received much attention in various artistic media. For past posts on the ancient and modern traditions about her, start here and follow the many links.
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