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‘Eurydice’ @ Alliance Theatre
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. Grade: A-
Eurydice’s father writes his daughter a letter on the occasion of her marriage to Orpheus. “Cultivate the arts of dancing and small talk,” he says mischievously. And then he pretends to escort her down the aisle, nodding to guests, looking solemn, amused, happy, sad — at times almost choking up with emotion.
As it turns out, this proud papa is dead.
But unlike most denizens of the underworld in Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice,” his memory hasn’t been washed away by the River of Forgetfulness. His affection for his daughter is indelible — and in Ruhl’s dreamy, hypnotic telling of the classic Greek myth, it’s the unconditional force that elevates the lovers’ dead-end tale to a heightened state of tenderness.
Dedicated to her own late father, Ruhl’s splendidly realized meditation on love, death and memory has washed up on the Alliance Theatre’s Hertz Stage like a lost fragment of time. If the afterlife is half as magical as director Richard Garner’s “Alice in Wonderland”-style playscape of dripping elevators and letters falling from the sky, it will be welcome diversion from the quotidian.
A tad precious and featuring a couple of supporting players whose performances eclipse the work of the dewy Orpheus and Eurydice, this production feels a little uncertain of its mood and tone. But the lovely, haunting work comes pretty close to theatrical triumph. Plus, it’s a perfect coda to Garner’s recent take on Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” at Georgia Shakespeare, his home theater.
Ruhl’s contemporary spin on the ancient story may seem deceptively subtle, but the poetry is in fact as intricately structured as Eurydice’s multi-layered wedding skirt. (Costume design is by Miranda Hoffman). Melinda Helfrich’s Eurydice is pure and naive, a little too much in love with the handsome Orpheus (Justin Adams) — as he is with her. Their inability to connect is accentuated by Eurydice’s vapidness and Orpheus’ slight impatience. The opening scene drags, but Helfrich’s performance eventually reveals its awkward beauty.
The comedy gets a lot more interesting (to use our heroine’s favorite word) the minute Eurydice wanders off from her wedding party and bumps into A Nasty Interesting Man (Andrew Benator). The mysterious interloper lives in a high-rise bachelor pad, flashes his teeth like a hungry wolf and has the creepy detachment of Peter Sellers — with just a smidgen of Austin Powers.
Arriving in a netherworld populated by a chorus of stones, Eurydice can’t recall her lover’s name — and mistakes her dad for a bellhop. In a sweet sequence, the father (magnificently played by Chris Kayser) uses a ball of string to map out a sort of hotel bedroom for his complaining daughter. (Kat Conley’s set is an industrial warehouse-style space with a floor edged in stone to signify the river.)
In one of the most delightful turns, Benator appears again as the Lord of the Underworld, a lisping man-child who drives a red tricyle and wears red knickers. This quintessential court jester is a relief from the excruciating sadness of the lovers’ fate.
As delicate as a lyre strung with human hair, “Eurydice” makes gorgeous, newly minted music from a familiar classic. Humming with ideas, laced with poetic images and a graceful movement vocabulary, it’s a play that invites us to ponder the numbered days of our existence, and the endless sleep that awaits us.
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By Jay
March 21, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this
A stunning evening of theatre. In college I was always eager to see what plays would be performed next and what might bring revelation - it was all so new then. Richard Garner’s production makes me feel like I am seeing theatre for the first time and i loved it! Great to see the play in the intimate Hertz too at The Alliance. Praise to the Alliance and Georgia Shakespeare for doing this wonderful co-production. Don’t miss it.