Ruhl's 'Eurydice' an ancient myth entrancingly told
A raining elevator deposits a bewildered young bride into the afterlife.
A doting father builds for his daughter a room made out of string and pink helium balloons.
A petulant Hades menaces his subjects from atop a giant tricycle.
These are some of the images that make up the affecting "Eurydice," Sarah Ruhl's highly theatrical retelling of the Orpheus myth from the perspective of his doomed wife, Eurydice.
Eight years ago, Victory Gardens Theater ensemble member Sandy Shinner directed an early reading of Ruhl's quietly compelling meditation on love and loss, grief and acceptance and the persistence of memory. At that time, Victory Gardens lacked the technical resources for a full production. (A raining elevator descending into the underworld is a tall order for any company.)
These days, the theater has the resources to meet "Eurydice's" demands and Shinner and co-director Jessica Thebus, along with set designer Daniel Ostling, use them to wonderful effect in this lovely and delicate revival, whose bittersweet conclusion might not break your heart, but will most certainly bruise it.
On the day of her wedding, Eurydice (a luminous performance by the disarming Lee Stark, a 2007 Northwestern University graduate) meets an "interesting" man (played with a hint of malevolence and madness by the wide-eyed, silver-haired Beau O'Reilly). He claims he has a letter from Eurydice's dead father and promises to give it to her if she accompanies him to his sky-high skyscraper. She does, but takes a tumble and winds up in Hades, arriving via the aforementioned elevator.
She encounters a trio of cantankerous stones (Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Caitlin Hart and William J. Norris, wonderful curmudgeons all), inhabitants of Hades who serve as the play's Greek chorus. She also reunites with her adored father (the brilliant Joe D. Lauck in an eloquent, deeply felt performance). Teacher, protector and provider, he is the archetypal everydad whom his daughter cannot recall, having lost her memories crossing the River Lethe. Meanwhile, above ground, Eurydice's husband Orpheus (Jamie Abelson, the mythological Greek youth personified) tries desperately to find her and bring her home.
Ruhl's oddball poetry and visual puns (an ever-shrinking ladder, the oversize trike, the sandbox in which she invites us to play) have a certain appeal. And her message - that "some things should be left well enough alone" - is one that bears repeating.
Moreover, "Eurydice" feels more cohesive than "Passion Play" and "Dead Man's Cell Phone," both of which were produced within the last year at Goodman and Steppenwolf theaters, respectively. That said, Ruhl's calculated whimsy can be a bit precious for my taste, especially when it intrudes on the narrative. But for anyone who has lost a loved one - particularly the daughters of departed fathers - this tale has a power impossible to deny.
"Eurydice"
Facts: Location: Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago
Times: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays; through Nov. 9
Running time: Approximately 90 minutes; no intermission
Tickets: $20-$48
Parking: $6 with ticket stub in the Childrens' Memorial Hospital parking garage
Box office: (773) 871-3000 or victorygardens.org
Audience: For teens and older
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=1&type=video&item=212">Clip of Victory Garden's 'Eurydice'</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>