**** Orpheus and Eurydice- characters from Greek Mythology, have been written about for eons. These two lovers, very much in love, but when she dies and goes to “the Underworld ( aka Hell), it is his mission to find her and be reunited with the love of his life. Over the years, we have seen plays that look at this story from different angles and the play now on the stage at Writer’s
Theatre, “Eurydice”, written by Sarah Ruhl has a whole new look, and perhaps meaning, in the twists and turns she has created.Keenly directed by Braden Abraham on a unique stage/set designed by Courtney O’Neill, we are witness to some strange and yet simple staging. It is the story and the characters that must put all the pieces together, and this is done in a way that grabs you and holds your attention for the entire 90 minutes ( no intermission). Ruhl has made some minor changes to the story, but they have a deep impact on the story. The use of current music ( with some Beatle’s tunes mixed in) truly helps make it modern and will allow younger audience members to “get into it”. The main theme of the story is love and loss as well as grief, but there are times when love and adoration take over.
I will not do anything to spoil this enchanting 90 minutes of poetic theater for you, but will tell you that the cast of players is sheer perfection. In the role of Orpheus , you will see the brilliance of Kenneth La’Ron Hamilton. As his love, Eurydice, the amazing Sarah Price. I found her to be captivating and in the scenes with her father ( deftly handled by John Greorio) and the Lord of the Underworld ( played to perfection by Larry Yando), we see the warmth of this character. Price is “priceless” as she leaves the world to enter the Underworld and her meeting with her father. The love they share is powerful. 
The three stones ( the Greek Chorus as Ruhl sees them) are dynamic. John Lister is Big Stone, Elizabeth Ledo as Little Stone and Susaan Jamshidi as Loud Stone. They sit in their folding lounge chairs advising our characters as to the do’s and don’ts of the world of the dead, great touch.
On the tech side, the costumes (Danielle Nieves) are not of any actual period, so the characters can seem timeless. The lighting (Marcus Doshi) and sound (Jeffrey Levin) were right on with music that adds a great deal to the story. Rae Watson’s props work well with the ease of the storytelling as directed by Abraham and all in all, the myth that we have heard about, read about, and seen in past productions, takes a turn that you would not expect..it worked for me!
“Eurydice” will continue at Writer’s Theatre located at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe thru October 22nd with performances as follows:
Wednesdays 3:00pm & 7:30pmThursdays 7:30pm
Fridays 7:30pm
Saturdays 3:00pm & 7:30pm
Sundays 2:00pm (on 10/15 there will be an added 6 p.m.)
Show Type: Drama
Box Office: 847-242-6000
Street parking and the train station for back up- all FREE
To find special engagements like Open Captioning, visit www.writerstheatre.org/accessibility
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Eurydice”
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