It is amazingly difficult to be more tragic than Greek tragedy. The myth of Orpheus is the perfect example of quintessential Ancient Greek pessimism. Say what you will about the ancient Greeks, they knew how to pull at the heartstrings. Losing the love of your life once is bad, but twice is just devastating. Based on the tragic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is the play by Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice. Helped along by an amazing cast and a spectacular set design, the Western Michigan University performance at York Arena Theater is both infinitely funnier and devastatingly more tragic than the original myth.
George Frederick Watts's Orpheus and Eurydice
The humor comes in two forms; the new spin on the classic Greek chorus and the unfettered interpretation of the Lord of the Underworld. The energetic Chorus of Stones is a permanent fixture in the underworld and serves as translator while helping transition the less-than-living to their new home. The three stones, identified as Loud Stone (Katy Copeland), Little Stone (Shannon Hill) and Big Stone (Ben Maters), are all dressed head-to-toe in grubby, soot-stained mining gear, which helps to remind us of the setting on the bare stage, including the Stones’ headlamps, which are perfectly suited to their use in the lighting design. The chorus pulls the show together, injecting the play with a powerful energetic feel and acts as a distorted emotional mirror: cheering at the failure and misery of the protagonists and jeering their successes.
The most thrilling performance of the play comes from Zack Apman, who portrays the Nasty Interesting Man and the Lord of the Underworld. Between his outrageous dance moves, perfectly disturbing evil cackle and daring journey on a tricycle, he brings much needed character to the play. He provides an unlikely mix of power-hungry, devastatingly lonely and slightly malicious, the synergy of which becomes ridiculously hilarious. Foreshadowed in the opening, however, it is the interplay between the protagonists, and not The Lord of the Underworld, that causes their truly tragic downfall. Orpheus (Michael Lopetrone), ever the musician in his gilded burnt-amber headphones, thinks of nothing but music while Eurydice (Rachel Napoleon) is fixated on him and disheartened that the artist does not reciprocate her devotion. The cute and pantomime-filled romance between Orpheus and Eurydice culminates in their short-lived marriage. The Nasty Interesting Man lures Eurydice away from her wedding party and towards her wake. After Eurydice’s untimely death, the real action of the play starts.
The Chorus of Stones, Eurydice, her loving, supportive and dead father (Joel Hoard), and a spectacular lighting array populate the underworld half of the stage. In contrast, the other half is barren and shows the continued suffering of a heart-broken Orpheus. The two halves of the stage alternate, switching the action of the play from the underworld to Orpheus. The underworld scene depicts a touching reunion between father and daughter and a growing familial bond; the other scene shows Orpheus slowly losing touch with reality. Michael’s portrayal of Orpheus’ growing detachment and the intense pain of his loss comes across amazingly as he shouts at the stage floor, begging his dead wife to hear his cries of undying love. As this pathos-inducing display is playing out, the father and daughter are sharing memories of life and family, displaying sweet sentimentality and a compellingly-performed father-daughter connection.
The relationships that have built up over the play’s course are used heart-wrenchingly well to heap tragedy upon tragedy at the end of the play. Overall, the acting is compelling, the twist on the old myth breathes new life and depth into the story and the lighting and sound design is more than effective, adding an element of spectacle to an otherwise bare stage.
