Hell is other people…on roller skates. Or at least that is what the University of Southern Maine’s Department of Theatre’s upcoming production of Eurydice tells us.
Opening on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., Eurydice is Sarah Ruhl’s 21st century re-visioning of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. In the re-vision, the happy couple have just said “I do” when a mysterious letter lures Eurydice away from her wedding and into the clutches of Hades and the Underworld. She becomes torn between her intense love for her husband and the comforting memories of her dearly beloved dead father. In the end, Eurydice’s choice is more than a matter of life and death — it’s hell or earth.
The play is a unique production that contains a bit of roller skating, invisible trains and a whimsical love triangle. “Eurydice is a love story,” says the play’s director, Meghan Brodie. “But it is also about childhood and nostalgia, longing for an idyllic past that perhaps never existed.”
Apart from being directed by USM faculty, the production team for Eurydice is made up entirely of theatre students. “We are producing this play as an actor’s lab-style project,” Brodie said. “This is the first-ever production in the actor’s lab series, which is meant to not only highlight the art of the actor but also to emphasize the actor’s processes.”
Eurydice is also a completely green production, meaning that nothing new has been purchased for the production and nothing used will be thrown out once Eurydice has its final curtain call.
The theatre department’s presentation of Eurydice will be performed at the Russell Hall auditorium on the USM Gorham campus beginning Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. You may also catch showings on Feb. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. There is also a showing Feb. 4 at 2 p.m. The final showing will be Feb. 5 at 5 p.m.
Can’t wait to see the show! Break a leg!
Wow- what an excellent play! So glad we could be there!!