Biblical tale gets a modern spin

Wilbury Theatre Group stages a premiere of ‘Cain + Abel’

Susie Schutt“I can’t kill what I love!” Cain yells as he stares straight into Abel’s eyes. This is just one of the many powerful moments in The Wilbury Theatre Group’s newest play, the premier of “Cain + Abel.”

A cast of five, led by director Susie Schutt, tackles this original work by playwright-in-residence Ben Jolivet. The play takes the well-known biblical tale of Cain and Abel and delivers the story in a modern-day setting. It adds more details to the struggle between Cain and Abel, the first children in a new and confusing world.

“I found much inspiration from authors like Gregory Maguire,” Jolivet remarked. Maguire is famous for penning “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” and “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.” Jolivet approached the piece focusing on questions such as: “How did they get that way? Why do people do bad things?”

“It’s this magical realism; it a realistic world that doesn’t have realistic things,” Jolivet continued. “It’s about brothers trying to connect and who can’t because of the world changing around them.”

Jolivet grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts, with a Catholic background. He said he found his identity within the theater, and said that this story is very much about Cain and Abel breaking away and finding their own identities. It’s similar to struggles that Jolivet faced trying to discover the world and what it means for him (and not unlike what many teens face).

Schutt and Jolivet have collaborated before on a few projects, but this was the first play of this magnitude. “She has a great natural instinct working with playwrights,” Jolivet observed. “She doesn’t demand changes to be made but instead asks inspiring questions about the text.” Schutt, who comes from a Jewish background, says the relationship has been great. “He uses such great language and writes like people talk,” she said.

Jolivet is meticulous. There is meaning even in the plus sign of the title, which looks similar to a cross and adheres to a more competitive connection between the two names.

Although the play is not meant to have much religious narrative, Schutt and Jolivet’s different religions have made for provocative conversation during the partnership. Schutt says the play appealed to her because of “its impact on human history. … It’s a different perspective. It turns its head and gives a more compelling story.”

As for the actors, Jeff Hodge (Cain) says that working with Jolivet is just as fun. “You want answers, but Ben is always withholding. He wants you to get there on your own.” The cast has been working on the play since August, however WTG featured a stage reading of the play last year.

“I’m always changing things here and there. I watch the rehearsals and fix a few things.” Jolivet explained. Earlier this week, he wrote an additional monologue for a character to give her more narrative. “It’s a joy to have that opportunity to rehearse something that can still be changed,” explained Roger Lemelin, who plays the Traveler.

More than anything, Jolivet wants audiences to leave the theater realizing they have seen more than simply the Biblical tale of an epic sibling rivalry.

Editor’s Note: “Cain + Abel” runs Oct. 22 – Nov. 1 at 393 Broad St., Providence. To buy tickets, call the box office at 401-400-7100 or contact info@thewilburygroup.org or go to their website at thewilburygroup.org.

SETH CHITWOOD is a graduate of R.I. College where he majored in Theater Performance and Film Studies. He is the creator of the LA Web Festival award-winning web series Family Problems and Lungs. More information at angelwoodpictures.com.