by Patrick Coy-Bjork
The Macalester Theater Department’s Spring Production is now performing! The play, Eurydice, is written by Sarah Ruhl. The play is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus & Eurydice, but as Ruhl herself puts it, the show “reimagines the classic myth not through Orpheus’s infamous pilgrimage to retrieve his bride, but through the eyes of its heroine.” The titular Eurydice, performed by Zoey Yandell ‘24, loses most of her memory upon arriving to the Underworld, having been dipped in the river of oblivion: the Lethe. She begins learning the ways of this strange world while re-learning about her own forgotten self. Meanwhile, Orpheus (Caroline Bivens ‘27) attempts to send correspondence to Eurydice from the world of the living before eventually journeying to the Underworld themself.
In addition to shifting the focus onto Eurydice’s perspective, there are other very unique aspects to this telling of the myth. For example, in this version of the story, Eurydice’s deceased father (Yeqi Sun ‘27) is centrally important to the show’s narrative. He guides and cares for her upon her arrival to the land of the dead, in spite of Eurydice’s lost memory and the strangeness of the Underworld restricting her from understanding what he meant to her when they were both alive. As dramaturg Audrey Lester ‘26 explains, the show was “written after the death of playwright Sarah Ruhl’s father,” and so it “builds on a Classical Greek myth about the refusal to accept death to explore themes of memory and grief.”
The production also features a Greek chorus of stones, which director Randy Reyes describes as “bearing witness, making commentary, warning, scolding, manipulating, and supporting the action of the play.” Another interesting aspect is the representation of the character presumably meant to be Hades (referred to only as “The Lord of the Underworld”) played by Ian Machalek ‘27. The character resembles a stereotypical toddler in both appearance (donning a propeller cap and riding a tricycle) and rambunctious, bad-tempered behavior.
On that note, the costuming (by Costume Shop Manager MaryBeth Gagner and Bea Mellsop ‘24) and props (Rene’e Gonzales ‘24) were done beautifully. Their vibrancy creates a fascinating juxtaposition with the gray, yet gorgeous and complex set resembling a Greek amphitheater designed by THDA Technical Director Tom Barrett. The lighting (Kathy Maxwell, Yuheng (Kitty) Jiang ’24) and sound (Lucas Martin ‘24) were also brilliantly done, helping to smoothly transport the audience to the bizarre, abstract world of the play. One technical aspect in particular I enjoyed was the use of an old-school overhead projector to display the characters’ act of writing letters. With this, the audience gets to see the actors displaying their own handwriting while composing the letters live before our eyes!
I had the pleasure of attending the Saturday evening performance this past weekend and greatly enjoyed it! I am currently writing my English Literature capstone on Hadestown, which is another theatrical adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and so I really valued being able to experience a different take on how this story can be adapted. Congratulations to everyone involved with the production for their terrific work!
Eurydice will continue to be performed this weekend on April 5th, 6th, and 7th. Get your tickets here!