Kristina Saldana knows the play she
is directing for The Empty Space might
cause a stir in Bakersfield, but she is
hoping for the best. Written by Paul
Rudnick, “The Most Fabulous Story
Ever Told,” is a creative retelling of the
story of Adam and Eve with one major
difference: “Eve” is now “Steve.”

Adam (Roscoe Myrick) meets Steve
(Corey Skaggs) in the garden shortly after
inexplicably popping up there himself.
When Adam is given the chance
to see life outside the garden, the world
as they know it is turned upside down.
Adam and Steve then meet lesbians
Jane (Sarah Purdy) and Mabel (Alyssa
Bonanno). The four live through thousands
of years, as does their love.

Saldana, who has directed a few
plays before, pitched her idea to direct
“The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told”
to The Empty Space this past February
and started rehearsals in June, but she
had wanted to direct the play for a few
years.

“I browse through plays a lot for The
Empty Space pitch days,” Saldana said.
“I just happened to stumble across the
script a few years ago. The title caught
my attention. It was a lucky chance that
I read it and liked it. I like the ultimate
theme of it, which is love.”

In conservative Bakersfield, the cast
and crew know the play could be controversial.

“I think Bakersfield in general will
be hesitant to see it. I think they’ll be
shocked, but everything here is done for
a reason, not to shock,” Saldana said.
“People should see the play because it
has a really good message and the deep
down message needs to be heard.”

Bonanno makes it clear that the play
is not meant to offend, despite the fact
that it’s a parody of the Bible.

“It shows a different story but in a
light-hearted way,” Bonanno said. “I
don’t think it’s insulting or demeaning
other perspectives. It’s not done in a
mean or taunting way.”

Controversy aside, the cast and crew
are excited for what they believe will be
a great production. The
script drew many of the
actors to the play and
they immediately knew
this was something different.
Bonanno said
she read the script in
one sitting and was
completely taken by the
story. Myrick was also
moved by the script and
saw this role as a new
challenge.

“The character is
something I’m not familiar
with, so I thought
it’d be a challenge,” said
Myrick. “Adam is somebody who is always
enthused with everything he sees.
He’s very innocent and wide-eyed. He’s
far different than anyone I’ve played.
I’ve never seen someone so enthusiastic.
I usually play angry or reserved
characters. He’s really unique.”

The cast and director agree that the rehearsals
have been going great, despite
one of their leads being out of town for
some time in the beginning.

“This has probably been one of the
easiest rehearsal processes,” Saldana
said. “No one has dropped, everyone is
excited. It’s made my job a lot easier.”

“The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told”
opens Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. at The Empty
Space and can be seen each weekend
until Sept. 26.