Theatre Fairfield’s Eurydice: What You Should Know
Sarah Ruhl is an award winning American playwright who is interested in the feminist cause, as much of her body of work is rooted in feminist issues. Eurydice is a perfect example of this, as Ruhl investigated the classic Orpheus and Eurydice myth in its ancient origins as well as its more contemporary interpretations—to tell Eurydice’s version of the classic myth. A myth, or a traditional story or legend, explains history, phenomena, and the supernatural. The Eurydice and Orpheus story is a Greek myth. Greek mythology specifically is a collection of stories and epics involving gods, goddesses, demigods, and other heroes and creatures.
The Classic Greek Myth is About Orpheus
The classical Orpheus myth, from which Ruhl drew her inspiration for Eurydice, names Orpheus the most talented musician in the world, who possesses god-like qualities. He is the son of Calliope, a muse and goddess of literature, science, and the arts who presides over eloquence and poetry. His father is Apollo, the god of music, poetry, art, prophecy, truth, archery, healing, and more. Some versions cite Oeagrus, a king of Thrace, who had no god-like ability, as Orpheus’s father. Apollo gave Orpheus his first lyre, on which he played music that enchanted all who heard it.
Orpheus’s first love was music, something that Ruhl maintains in her version of the story. His beautiful lyre playing as well as his singing voice often attracted large crowds. One day, in one of the crowds his music garnered, he spotted Eurydice, described as a nymph or maiden who personified nature. Eurydice and Orpheus were soon married. Happiness soon turned to grief when Eurydice died as a result of a snake bite on her wedding day. Dismayed by her death, Orpheus charmed Hades, god of the Underworld, into making a deal to bring Eurydice back into the world of the living. Eurydice could follow Orpheus through the Underworld and back up to Earth, if he followed one rule: he could not turn to look back at her. Overjoyed that he would be reunited with his love, Orpheus took to the Underworld, where he soon heard Eurydice’s footsteps behind him. Upon hearing her steps, Orpheus wanted to turn around, but he controlled his impulses. It was not until the pair reached the threshold of Earth that Orpheus looked back at Eurydice, only to catch a glimpse of her before she disappeared, this time permanently. Heartbroken, Orpheus wandered around Greece until his death, when Orpheus went to be reunited with Eurydice in the Underworld.
Sarah Ruhl’s Play Re-tells the Story from Eurydice’s Point-of-View
Sarah Ruhl rejects Eurydice’s role as prop or vehicle in Orpheus’s story, both in the original Greek myth as well as subsequent interpretations that have been told and retold throughout centuries. Our production tells the story from Eurydice’s perspective, exploring her relationships both on Earth and in the Underworld, putting her in control and making her own decisions. Throughout the play, Eurydice is exploring the different relationships with the men in her life-- Orpheus and her father--exploring two different expressions of love, familial and romantic. She finds her own identity independent of the men. Orpheus comes to the Underworld to bring her back to Earth, but it is ultimately Eurydice’s decision to either stay there with her father or return to Earth with her husband.
Our Production
It is important to know that this play is not based in realism. Realism in theatre is a movement that began in the 19th century that attempts to create the illusion of reality on the stage through the dialogue, setting, costumes, etc. This is a new version that, like the ancient story, has elements of fantasy. When watching our production, the audience has to suspend their belief more than they would for a realism play, as most of the play takes place in the Underworld. For instance, there are three very funny gatekeepers of the Underworld known as the Stones: Big Stone, Little Stone, and Loud Stone. They work for the Lord of the Underworld, who appears in three different guises: a human (Nasty Interesting Person) trying to seduce Eurydice while on Earth; an obnoxious Child who rides a tricycle; and finally as a taller, larger, and more intimidating creature who tries to force her to marry him.
Music plays a major role in our production; composer Michael Ciavaglia wrote an original score which he performs with two other musicians. And our Orpheus is also a musician; rather than playing a lyre, he charms the Stones and the Lord (as well as our audiences!) by playing his flute and singing. There is also simultaneous staging; at the same time, you will see characters who are still alive and on earth and characters who are dead and live in the Underworld. Note how lighting and character positions on stage play major parts in keeping the story clear. The magic of theatre!
Throughout the play there is a reference to “the River.” Upon entering the Underworld, the dead would travel through the River Lethe and forget their Earthly existence, as Eurydice does in the play. She forgets all that is known to her and has to relearn while rediscovering herself in the Underworld. Eurydice, as well as everyone who travels into the Underworld has to pass through the River Lethe, or the River of Forgetfulness in Greek mythology. Being dipped in the River is threatened several times throughout the play, particularly from the Stones and the Lord of the Underworld. Being dipped a second time is a permanent death. Eurydice and the Father both ultimately dip themselves in the River, which in our production, is a series of buckets laid out like a maze that are actually filled with water. The actors actually pour water on themselves, to anoint themselves before the characters die their second deaths.
Ruhl dedicated this play to her father, whom she lost when she was 20 years old. While the classic myth focuses on Orpheus and his relationship with Eurydice, Ruhl’s play tells the story of a different relationship, Eurydice and her father. When we first meet the Father, he is already dead in the Underworld, trying to communicate with his daughter on Earth. When Eurydice reunites with him in the Underworld, they are both “dead” yet spend much of their time telling stories and rekindling the tender relationship they enjoyed on earth.
