Review: Next Stage's EURYDICE Shows Sarah Ruhl in her Early Glory

Is memory a blessing, or a curse? What good is it mean to cherish someone's memory, when their absence looms so much larger?

These are questions for the ages, and the Ancient Greeks had answers that were as wise as they were honest: the dead, they would tell you, must drink of the river Lethe, Forgetfulness, when they pass over from the land of the living to Hades. In their myths of the "undiscovered country," all of their great heroes drink to forget, and do so gladly.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl, confronted with her beloved father's death, must have wrestled hard with how to honor his passing, without losing herself in the process. Her play, Eurydice-in Jay D. Brock's production at Next Stop Theatre-is in some ways a witty take on the old Orpheus myth, but the wit is clearly in service of something more personal and contemporary.

For those who are unfamiliar with the old tale Ruhl plays with, here goes: Orpheus, an immortal singer and musician, who has the power to sooth savage beasts, marries Eurydice; but on their wedding day she is bitten by a poisonous snake and taKen Down to Hades. Distraught, Orpheus demands an audience with the King of the Underworld and lobbies successfully for Eurydice's return. The condition? That he always look forward as he makes his way back to the land of the living. He manages to keep his promise, but just as he and Eurydice are about to emerge back to the land of the living he looks back-and loses Eurydice forever. (Trust me, you don't want to know what happens to him next).

Ruhl understands that the "looking back" in the original myth speaks to the power of memory, and the fatal complications that can come from looking back in time to those lost. But she cleverly wraps her "memory play" in a re-telling of the myth that finally gives Eurydice her due. In the retelling, Orpheus is a classic lunk, nothing in his head but music and unable to hold even the briefest of conversations with his bride-to-be, who in modern times would qualify as a Classical Lit major. Emily Kester and Kiernan McGowan give us a glimpse of one of those couples who, even without the snake business, are about to embark on a marriage that is doomed out of sheer incompatibility. McGowan's cluelessness contrasts nicely with Kester's restless intellect.

Meanwhile, in Hades, Eurydice's Father (the quietly moving Michael Kramer) stands out from The Shadows by remaining in touch with her daughter's fortunes above ground. Kramer's performance is the keystone of this production, and a reminder of what was really at stake for Ruhl when she set out to write this play.

Given the oil-and-water nature of her match with Orpheus, it's no wonder Eurydice desperately needs a break from the wedding festivities; and with the arrival of a certain Nasty Interesting Man (Ruhl's name for the guy) her fate is sealed. As the Interesting Man, Alex Zavistovich is all sleaze and veiled threats, not unlike a certain orange-haired presidential candidate we can't get off of our TV these days. What makes him so interesting? He holds a letter from Eurydice's long-dead father, one of many that he has apparently written to her ever since his passing.

The trip to the Underworld that follows has potential, which Ruhl mines well, for a touching father-daughter reunion. But this being Ruhl, Hades is also populated by Wizard-of-Oz-like characters, a team of Stones that roam the stage and attempt to keep the dead in line. Enter the Lord of the Underworld himself riding in on a souped-up bike, a not-so-subtle homage to Eddie in Rocky Horror Picture Show. The effect of the Stones and the Hades-as-Rocker motif will charm many, but I found it distracting. Perhaps it was because Kramer and Kester's chemistry was so effective in their scenes together, but I thought the funny stuff was unnecessary. Ruhl is better at striking the balance between whimsy and sobriety in other plays, this being an early work of hers.

The reunion ends tragically, as it must-the Father and Eurydice meeting a fate not unlike a certain ill-fated couple in Shakespeare, but in this case it is the family bond that drives the action. J. D. Madsen's set is at its most effective for this final sequence, with its dull gray and its whirlpool-like ramps leading downward to a pool whose significance is not revealed until the climax of the action.

Kenny Neal has created some truly eerie effects, both with the pre-show and with the mid-show effects that heighten our sense of the land of the dead being a very different place indeed. And KrisTina Martin decks out the cast in a wide variety of styles, from the preppy chic of the Married Couple to the discreet tweed of the Father to the fantastical rags for her Stones and Zavistovich's suits, all of which should be off-the-rack for Halloween revelers.

Brock's production captures Ruhl's spirit in all its messiness; it's an evening well spent, give or take a few of the playwright's quirks.

Production Photo: - Michael Kramer (left) and Emily Kester (right) as Father and Eurydice. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.

Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission

Performances are October 27-November 20 at the Next Stop Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon Virginia. Tickets can be ordered by calling Ovation Tix at (866)-811-4111, or online at:

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/34310

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