Sarah Ruhl's EURYDICE Plays South Coast Rep, 9/23-10/14

Think of it as a spoken-word love song: lyrical, with depth, longing and humor. The song unfolds onstage at South Coast Repertory in Sarah Ruhl's play Eurydice, which runs Sept. 23-Oct. 14.

"This is a highly poetic play, a feast for the eye, the imagination and the heart,” said SCR Artistic Director Marc Masterson. “This play is Sarah Ruhl’s quest to connect with love and immortality and to the people we leave behind. Her style is fresh, funny and very moving.”

Ruhl said the play is dedicated to her father, who died when she was 20.

“Eurydice is a transparently personal play,” Ruhl said. “I wanted to write something where I would be allowed to have a few more conversations with him [her father].”

Onstage at SCR, a lithe Carmela Corbett and a lanky Alex Knox are cast as the young lovers. In her retelling of the Orpheus tale, Ruhl takes us into the story through Eurydice's perspective. By adding the character of Eurydice’s father, played by Timothy Landfield, Ruhl finally has her chance at father-daughter conversations through the playwright’s unique brand of storytelling.

In addition to Corbett, Knox and Landfield, the cast includes Tim Cummings as A Nasty Interesting Man/Lord of the Underworld, Patrick Kerr as Little Stone, Michael Manuel as Big Stone and Bahni Turpin as Loud Stone.

Masterson sees many levels to Ruhl’s love story: the love between two young people; the love between father and daughter; the love that passes between the living and the dead; and the memories we have of those whom we have lost. The play builds up to the choice that Eurydice must make between the two loves of her life.

SCR’s production portrays the Underworld as a water-infused landscape, where Eurydice arrives with her memory washed away.

The creative team for Eurydice includes Gerard Howland, scenic design; Soojin Lee, costume design; Anne Militello, lighting design; Bruno Louchouarn, sound design; John Crawford, projection design; and Jennifer Ellen Butler, stage manager.

Tickets range from $20-70. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, fulltime educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. Tickets may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin Sept. 23 and continue through Oct. 14. Ticket prices range from $20 to $70. Low-priced preview performances run Sept. 23-27.

Special Events:

Inside the Season: Saturday, Oct. 6, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Conducted by members of the literary staff, these lively two-hour sessions feature in-depth interviews with cast members and artisans from SCR's production staff, revealing secrets and offering insights into SCR’s production of Eurydice. Audience questions and comments are encouraged, and participants are invited onstage to explore the set. Argyros Stage. Tickets are $12 per session and may be purchased in advance or at the door.

Post-Show Discussion: Tuesday, Oct. 2, and Wednesday, Oct. 3: Discuss the play with members of the Eurydice cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory’s literary team. Argyros Stage.

South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theater Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available on Park Center Drive, off Anton Blvd.

Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. SCR is committed to theatre that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its wide array of education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new-play development program, which includes the nation’s largest commissioning program for emerging and established writers and composers. Each year, it showcases some of country’s best new plays in the Pacific Playwrights Festival, which attracts theatre professionals from across the country. Of SCR’s more than 460 productions, one-quarter have been world premieres, whose subsequent stagings achieved enormous success throughout America and around the world. Two SCR-developed works have won Pulitzer Prizes, and another eight were named Pulitzer finalists. In addition, SCR works have won several OBIE Awards and scores of major new-play awards. Located in Costa Mesa, California, SCR’s Folino Theater Center is home to the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio. Today, SCR produces 13 shows and eight public readings each season.

 

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