Billie Jane in Then, Eve at Orlando Fringe Credit: Courtesy Photo

Five years after winning the Orlando Fringe Critics Choice award for scripting Judas, performer-playwright Billie Jane is back with another unconventional seriocomic monologue from the perspective of a vilified Biblical figure. Turning this time to the Old Testament, Jane jumps into the flowing white dress of the titular First Woman, recounting her early days in the Garden of Eden laboriously naming 800,000 different species of beetles. In this version, there’s no snake tempting her toward the forbidden Tree of Knowledge, but rather an empathetic caterpillar that inspires her quest for personal metamorphosis.

Jane’s fourth wall-shattering script is sharp and sensitive, with a deeply personal “twist” that’s never been more timely. She performs the laugh-out-loud-funny early scenes with the fluid timing of a seasoned sketch comedian, but isn’t afraid to deliver a gasp-inducing gut punch, often within the same breath; I never imagined I’d be emotionally immolated by the idea of being deadnamed by a three-toed sloth.

Following her play’s award-winning debut at 2025’s FestN4, Jane has made blessedly few changes beyond trimming its frantic first few moments, a small but significant improvement that only solidifies Then, Eve‘s place among the most entertaining and affecting original scripts Orlando Fringe has seen … since Judas. 

The World of Billie Jane (Orlando, FL)
Renaissance Theatre
60 minutes; 18 and up
Tickets: $15

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This article appears in Orlando Fringe 2026.