'In the Garden' Has Room To Grow
By Melody Udell in Arts & Entertainment on May 5, 2014 6:00PM
'In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story' at the Lookingglass Theatre.
Most of us recall the theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest when we think of famed British naturalist Charles Darwin. But in a world premiere play at the Lookingglass Theatre, playwright Sara Gmitter asks us to associate Darwin with something else: love.
In the Garden: A Darwinian Love Story chronicles Darwin’s relationship with Emma, his staunchly pious, fiercely intelligent Christian wife with whom he fathered six children. This poses a fair share of marital problems as Darwin becomes increasingly agnostic while researching his opus, The Origin of Species. Emma, on the other hand, wants desperately to believe in her husband’s salvation. Their diametrically opposed dogmas—his, evolution, hers, creation—lead to some expected squabbles and heart-to-hearts.
In the first act, which could stand to be pared down by a few minutes, we see the various stages of the Darwins’ courtship through youth, friendship and, finally, marriage. We get the best sense of what kind of husband and father Darwin—played by Andrew White in top form—will become when he’s debating whether or not to propose to Emma (Rebecca Spence). He very methodically presents a pros and cons list when broaching the subject to his father, who is anxious to see Darwin focus his career and settle down. But when Darwin asks what he should do about proposing to a very pious woman while he continues to question and doubt, his father responds simply: “Don’t tell her.” After all, he says, “what kind of house is made entirely of windows?” Darwin responds in kind: “A greenhouse.”
Of course, Darwin can’t hold in his secret, but Emma still agrees to marry him as long as he isn’t giving up on God entirely. Darwin promises he’s still searching for his spirituality, but he isn’t very convincing. Fortunately, the Darwins still seem to have a happy marriage—it isn’t until the second act when something actually seems at stake.
Darwin’s book is causing an unintended theological debate between evolutionists and creationists, and Darwin is caught at the center. Despite his protestations for keeping biology separate from the Bible, the subject can’t be avoided. Just as Emma starts to realize that her husband may never be the Christian she wants him to be, their 10-year-old daughter, Annie, falls ill, leaving both of them questioning their faith—or lack of.
In the Garden benefits from refreshingly simple staging. Other than Spence and White and the young actors playing their childhood versions (Caroline Heffernan and John Francis Babbo, respectively), there are only two others in the cast who play a multitude of roles, from family butler to sister-in-law to Thomas Henry Huxley (Cindy Gold and Austin Tichenor). Collette Pollard’s stage design makes interesting use of a multipurpose set that doubles as both a garden-like exterior and a sitting parlor—vines creep around desk legs and dirt is piled up under the family piano.
Admittedly, Darwin’s theory of evolution may not make for the most scintillating night of theater—and neither does his love life. But In the Garden is a sweet, albeit lengthy, look at a historical character with an interesting (and rarely discussed) personal side. And really, if two people can stay in love despite such fundamental differences, there just may be hope for the rest of us.
The show runs through Sunday, June 15 at the Lookingglass Theatre, Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave., 312-337-0665 or online.