Eurydice: “I read a book today.”
Orpheus: “Did you?”
Eurydice: “Yes. It was very interesting… There were—stories—about people’s lives—how some come out well— others come out badly.”
Orpheus: “Do you love the book?”
Eurydice: “Yes—I think so… It can be interesting to see if other people—like dead people who wrote books—agree or disagree with what you think… Because it makes you—a larger part of the human community.”
The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice may seem familiar. Orpheus travels to the Underworld to save his wife. Hades releases her on one condition: Orpheus cannot turn around to look at Eurydice as they exit the Underworld. Unfortunately, Orpheus does fall to temptation. Out of fear she is not behind him, he turns around, thereby losing his wife forever.
Sarah Ruhl’s clever and funny play pulls upon the familiar story; however, as with many of her plays, she manages to turn everything on its head. Whereas the traditional myth focuses more on Orpheus, Ruhl tells the story from Eurydice’s perspective. The play explores the highs and lows of love. She explores temptation, as well as what stands in the way of our own happiness. At its center, this is a play not unlike what Eurydice describes in the scene above. This is a story about their lives—sometimes that can turn out well, and other times that can turn out very, very poorly. Perhaps that is just a part of the human condition, and that very realistic outlook sets the tone for Ruhl’s adaptation.
The play follows Eurydice (Sarah Price), who dies on the day of her wedding to Orpheus. She arrives in the Underworld with no memory of who she is. With the help of her Father (John Gregorio), she begins to connect the dots and recover her identity. When Orpheus (Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton) arrives to rescue her, he is presented with the very famous challenge of not looking back as he leads his wife back to the life they once shared. However, the real question is will Eurydice follow him? Will she choose to follow her love to the land of the living or remain in the Underworld with the man who seems familiar?
Directed by Writers Theatre artistic director Braden Abraham, the artistic team beautifully transforms the intimate space into the unsettling world of the dead. Scenic designer Courtney O’Neill’s dramatic, raked stage consumes the space—with a steep wooden hill at the center. Alone, the hill is striking in its own way—particularly with its size and proximity to the audience. However, once the Underworld is introduced and the hill becomes the barrier between the living and the dead, O’Neill’s work hits a new level—particularly as Eurydice descends.
In order to travel to the Underworld, Eurydice must take an elevator down. The elevator travels sluggishly down the hill on a long path. As if the slow speed is not enough, within the elevator, it’s raining—and Eurydice is forced to stand in the pouring rain until she gets to her destination. Lighting designer Marcus Doshi dims the space—leaving Eurydice almost in silhouette as she moves towards her unknown destination. The effect is stunning as the minimal light reflects off the dripping water. The audience’s proximity allows us to be in the moment with Eurydice—living in that confusion and feeling the dread as she enters the unknown, wondering what will come next.
The play itself is an emotional roller coaster—especially as Orpheus works so hard to rescue a wife who has lost all memory of him. Ruhl is careful to weave her own flare with the twists and turns of her script—one that brings comedy and light alongside the heartbreaking moments, and is brought to life by an all-star cast. Much of that joy lives within the beautiful relationship that unfolds between Eurydice and her father—the man who she had lost long ago but finds again in the Underworld. Price and Gregorio fill this relationship with emotional authenticity, providing the audience with a story that builds as the two become reacquainted.
One particularly striking moment comes a little later in the play. Father has been helping Eurydice regain her memory and he is making progress—especially once she remembers Orpheus. Because Father died many years earlier, he unfortunately misses Eurydice’s wedding. However, upon reuniting, they are able to share the moment he so desperately wanted to experience—walking his daughter down the aisle. When they reenact this moment in the Underworld, time feels as if it has stopped. The movement slows down, and Gregorio and Price simply share space, maintaining eye contact. Once again the audience’s proximity works to the production’s advantage—drawing us into this intimate moment, allowing us to experience the love and joy alongside the characters.
A thoughtful script and stellar cast make Eurydice a show to remember. Sarah Ruhl brings a whole new perspective to the myth, inviting the story into the conversations of today. We’ve seen Ruhl’s Eurydicestaged at two other local theaters recently—at the Artistic Home in 2021 and at Promethean Theatre in 2017. And of course, the touring musical Hadestown tells the same story but without Ruhl’s focus on Eurydice.
Eurydice runs through October 22 at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. Tickets are $45-$75 for performances Tuesday–Sunday. Running time is 90 minutes without intermission.
Lauren Katz is a Chicago-based director, educator, and arts administrator. She has been reviewing shows since moving to Chicago in 2016 and loves seeing the exciting range that the Chicago theater and arts scene has to offer.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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