The profoundly tentative lines between life and death and love and memory were explored in “Eurydice,” the final installment of Wellesley College’s 2009-2010 Upstage Series. Directed by Elizabeth Stone ’10, the production recounts the Greek myth of the beautiful Eurydice (Emily Hall ’10), who wanders in the underworld while her husband, Orpheus (Callie Kovacs ’13), attempts to save her.
Those who expected a straightforward adaptation with draped tunics and loose gowns were instead given a more modern and imaginative retelling. The play, originally an off-Broadway production written by the contemporary American playwright Sarah Ruhl, took the widely recognizable story of lost love further than the original version of the well-known myth.
Not only were the costumes in “Eurydice” very modern, but the play also dove deeper and showed the pain and sadness that comes with looking back and remembering. Once lured into the underworld, Eurydice is forced to forget as she is told again and again by the Lord of the Underworld (Kat Chen ’12) and the chorus of stones (Adrian Bates ’13, Hilary Gross ’13, and Kristiana Graves ’13). Yet the tense recollections still linger deep inside her, waiting to be conjured up.
As Eurydice, Hall suitably evoked the empathy required for the audience to identify with such misfortunes. When she naively walks into the path of her own demise, it recalls personal mistakes that, in hindsight, were obviously bad decisions.
The tragedy of the story is obvious but the humor in the gullibility of the characters failed to forcefully translate to the audience. When Eurydice forgets what a book is and kicks it because she is under the impression it can respond and talk, the audience was unsure whether to laugh or to pity her deplorable situation.
There were also certain moments where the audience was not sure what to feel. Even though Orpheus is meant to be bashful and self-conscious in his love for Eurydice, this endearing aspect of their relationship was lost in the fundamental lack of chemistry between the two leads. The interactions between Eurydice and the Lord of the Underworld, while he is disguised as a homeless man, came across more as awkward than unnerving. If one were to judge their encounter by today’s standards, he would simply be considered “sketch” rather than seriously threatening.
With no set changes, the ingenuity of the production surprised with the props already found on stage. Rain came pouring down like crystallized confetti every time someone made a first appearance in the underworld.
The score further enhanced the mystical elements of the story. When those raindrops fell, the sparkle and mystery were simultaneously exaggerated by the sound of glasses softly clinking and the terror thunder.
Where the story really came to life was the production’s use of Schneider’s avant-garde stage, especially as the story got progressively darker. When Orpheus longed to contact Eurydice, he appeared in different balconies usually used to seat more people in other productions. The artful choice rendered their sorrow more heartbreaking because the distance is fully and literally realized. Eurydice feels a world apart from Orpheus, but really she is just down below the stage.
In this version of the Greek myth, Eurydice is enticed into the underworld to learn more about her dead father (Alex Ostolaza ’13) as opposed to simply stepping on a snake or being lured in for her beauty.
As it turns out, only her father is able to provide the jolt of memory to recall the life she is determined to return to. As “Eurydice” bewitchingly illustrated, the care and devotion between loved ones transcends the barrier between life and death.
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