A Greek Myth Takes New Form

A GREEK MYTH TAKES A NEW FORM

 

Victory Gardens, the 2001 Tony winning Chicago Theater, opened its 2008/09 season last night  (October 13, 2008) with an interesting take on the Orpheus Myth.  Eurydice, by Sarah Ruhl, is definitely not your college professor's version of the Greek Myth nor is it even a kissing cousin to Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending. It does share a couple of characteristics with Williams' play; Ruhl's Eurydice is set in an indeterminate, but more recent, time than ancient Greece and passion and obsession are thematic drivers in both vehicles. Beyond these commonalities, Eurydice is far more erudite than William's play and certainly not as complicated to follow. 

Before continuing, in the interest of transparency and disclosure, I should point out that I used to be on the board of Victory Gardens. It remains one of my favorite theater companies in Chicago because of the quality of its productions, the talented, creative mind of Dennis Zacek, the theater's artistic director for more than 30 of the theater's 35 year history, and the unique ensemble of playwrights; new and experienced, nurtured and cared for by the theater. One thing you can usually rely on at Victory Gardens is that the play you will see will as often challenge your intellect as it will entertain you or draw upon your deepest emotions. Eurydice does challenge your intellect, perhaps more than it entertains or draws upon deep emotions. 

The script and direction by Sandy Shinner and Jessica Thebus move you fluidly (forgive me River Styx) through the 80 minutes of the production. An intermission would have definitely destroyed the flow (again a river analogy) of the storyline. The cast, for the most part, gave strong, capable performances. Perhaps the weakest link was Lee Stark in the role of Eurydice who clearly has potential but needs, in this writer's opinion, to find the center of her character to give meaning to what is the essential theme of the play: Obsession. It was difficult to understand Orpheus' obsession with Eurydice, so great an obsession that he had to find her, no matter that she was beyond his reach in the Underworld. It was hard to relate to the bond between Eurydice and her father whose obsession with his daughter was the one thing that seemingly kept him alive, kept his memories intact, even after his death. And what of the king of the Underworld (the Nasty Interesting Man in Ruhl's play) who is so taken with Eurydice the first time he sees her that he has to have her all to himself, no matter what he has to do to get her. Somehow Stark's interpretation of her role doesn't justify the intensity of emotion, the degree of obsession that is the core of the relationship between Eurydice and the three men in her life…in this play.

Beau O'Reilly makes a most intriguing king of the Underworld, his unmistakable lechery was well conceived (and played) serving as counterpoint to Orpheus the innocent musician who, it would appear, was cast as much for his blond innocent looks and athletic ability as for his acting talent. O'Reilly virtually leers at you and his is one the better performances in the show. The same can be said for Joe Lauck's portrayal of the father. When I read the program I discovered that Lauck had not been plying his trade in theater for years, but had returned to theater after a long stint in the business world. You would never know it from watching him. His portrayal exuded warmth, gentleness and genuine love for his daughter and…he's also a pretty good dancer!

But it is the story that carries this play. Sarah Ruhl has received a slew of awards for prior works, including being a Pulitzer Prize nominee and a recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" award. She is an articulate and intelligent writer whose plays tend to tackle subjects from a different angle, provoking as many questions as they provide answers. Eurydice is no different. In exploring the implications of obsessive love and what happens when that love is no longer possible, the play borrows a bit from Romeo and Juliet, a bit from the musicals of the 1940s and a bit from Waiting for Godot. This is a play that is more interesting than entertaining, certainly an auspicious beginning to the Victory Gardens season and will, for many I'm sure, be the centerpiece of thematic debate over drinks after the show.

Eurydice runs through November 9, 2008 at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.

 

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