A performance of Eurydice
April 11-14, Ballantyne Auditorium
A classic Greek love story comes with a twist in Kirkwood Community College’s production of “Eurydice.” In this theatrical performance, the Orpheus myth is reimagined through the eyes of his wife, Eurydice, who must choose between her husband and her father.
When Eurydice dies on her wedding day, Orpheus goes on a rescue mission into the underworld to retrieve her. In the performance, playwright Sarah Ruhl reunites Eurydice with her father (a character Ruhl created), setting her up for a choice: to stay in Hades with him or to return to Earth with Orpheus.
“A luminous retelling of the Orpheus myth from his beloved wife’s point of view, is exhilarating because it frees the stage from the habitual,” said John Lahr of The New Yorker. “Watching it, we enter a singular, surreal world, as lush and limpid as a dream—an anxiety dream of love and loss—where both author and audience swim in the magical, sometimes menacing, and always thrilling flow of the unconscious.”
The play had its world premiere in 2003, then playing its off-Broadway premiere in New York in 2007. It’s been performed around the United States and in London.
Rick Anderson directs Kirkwood’s performance, with Shelly Ford designing the scenes and lighting, and Annee Noah designing the costumes.
Tickets for “Eurydice” are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students with current ID. Kirkwood students and employees are admitted free. Tickets are available from the Kirkwood Theatre box office in 336 Cedar Hall or by calling (319) 398-5899, ext. 4331.