A romp in the Garden of Eden

Externals apart, the battle of the sexes hasn’t changed much since Mark Twain wrote his “Extracts From Adam’s Diary” in 1893 (published in 1904, with “Eve’s Diary” following in 1906). This fracas enlivens “The Adam and Eve Show.” Writer-director Ron Petronicolos’ peek at history’s first couple is a howling riff on Genesis, Twain and OutKast, often at once.

After a blast from Orlando Quintana and Dave Michael Beaudrie’s winking sound design, the curtains part to reveal Tosha Petronicolos’ Astroturf Eden set. Adam (Ashten Beach) and Eve (Heather Finley), wearing fig-leaf bikinis by costume designer Kathryn Jones, begin their journal entries.

Man resists, woman persists, a King Tut-hatted serpent (Maurice A. Smith) proffers an apple. There are prehistoric slackers Steve (Beaudrie), Bobby (Dylan Mooney), Tyler (Mark Hampton) and John (Josh Allen); and the Lilith figure, Little Suzy (Sheila Daley), whose posterior drives Homo sapiens wild. The climax: a lip-sync challenge for Eve’s hand, with Little Suzy for the loser.

Beach and Finley are wonderful -- Tim Holt and Bonita Granville meet SCTV -- and their live-wire cast mates trip-hop through the garden with gusto. I won’t soon forget the bling-bling bedecked Beaudrie leading the pack attack on “Hey Ya,” shaking the Space Theatre like a Niagara Falls Polaroid picture.

Some frat-house flab could be trimmed from script and shtick. The interval is superfluous; the light cues need their groove tightened. Nonetheless, “The Adam and Eve Show” is an endearing hoot and an ideal date item, complete with complimentary sangria shooters.

*

‘The Adam and Eve Show’

Where: Space Theatre, 665 N. Heliotrope Drive, Hollywood

When: Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.

Ends: April 17

Price: $15

Contact: (323) 839-7738

Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes