By SABRINA SIMMS

NATCHEZ — Temple B’nai Israel will host a presentation of Mark Twain’s play “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

The event marks the first time the temple has ever hosted a theatrical play, and the proceeds will help raise money for a $3 million temple restoration project.

Tickets are $15 for regular admission and $10 each for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased at the Natchez Visitor Center or online at templebnaiisraelnatchez.org.

Nora Katz, the Institute of Southern Jewish Life director of heritage and interpretation, said the temple is exploring new ways to raise the funds needed to restore the temple.

“It’s really an experiment for us to see what can be done,” Katz said. “We’re exploring what is possible to see what we are capable of doing.”

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History issued a Community Heritage Grant at the beginning of last year to the temple for $107,000, which will only cover a portion of the project.

“The temple is actually in a relatively good state for a building its age,” Katz said. “It is untouched from what it would have looked like 113 years ago. But, the building is still 113 years old and needs a lot of love.”

Katz — who is the co-chair of the temple’s board of overseers and director of the play — said the board is working to add a wheelchair access ramp to the side of the building as the first phase of a multi-step renovation.

“We would really love for it to be open as a comfort space … community gathering space, performance space and as a museum,” Katz said. “We hope to add an elevator and fix the bathroom without altering the appearance of the interior space.”

Katz said the access ramp is expected to reach completion before fall of this year. No date has been set for other repairs until more funding is raised.

Saturday’s play features a dialogue between two cast members: Robert Atwell, a first-year musical theatre major at Belhaven University, as Adam and Rachel Glazer, an IJSL community member, as Eve.

“It’s sort of a meditation on love and relationships and marriage,” Katz said. “It’s about the life cycle of Adam and Eve and their discovery of the world around them,” Katz said, “their discovery of each other, their relationship with each other and eventually their relationship with their children.”

The presentation of “The Diaries of Adam and Eve” will be accompanied with an unveiling of a statue of Twain crafted by Ivan Schwartz, a well-known sculptor with StudioEIS in New York, Katz said.

“(Mark Twain’s) whole life has a relationship to the Mississippi River, and Natchez plays a big role in that relationship,” Katz said.

In an 1874 novel, “Life on the Mississippi,” Twain documented his ties to Natchez, calling it “the last of the beautiful hill-cities” along the Mississippi River.

Coincidentally, Katz said Schwartz donated the sculpture to the Historic Natchez Foundation prior to the selection of the play.

After the presentation, a wine and cheese reception will be offered. The reception is included with the cost of tickets.

Katz said although a large Jewish population currently does not exist in Natchez, she hopes people will support the Jewish presence and history by supporting the restoration of the temple.

“We encourage people to come and bring friends — bring a whole group of people,” Katz said. “It is sure to be an unforgettable experience.”