Eurydice is not a piece deeply rooted in time or place; the original text alludes to 1940s costumes, but that’s about it. Because of this, we can really play with when and where our production would take place. Director Caitlin Durkin had Alice in Wonderland on the mind, and that has stuck for me since day one of rehearsal. As English class has been teaching us for generations, the journey Alice goes on when she falls down the rabbit hole is symbolic of her tumbling into adulthood and getting a preview of the challenges she may face in the adult world. Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl shows us a young woman falling down a rabbit hole to autonomy and self discovery.

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice has almost nothing to do with Eurydice herself. Eurydice dies by snake bite at her and Orpheus’s wedding. Orpheus travels to the underworld to save her, facing challenges along the way which he concurs by playing his music. When he gets to Hades and Persephone (King and Queen of the underworld), they tell Orpheus that he can take Eurydice back to earth, but he has to climb back out of the underworld without looking back to see if she’s behind him. He inevitably does look behind him and Eurydice is sent back to the underworld forever. Eventually, Orpheus is torn limb from limb by Dyonisis’s harem and joins Eurydice in the underworld where they live a f*cked-up sort of happily ever after. 

Eurydice is simply the object of Orpheus’s affection that spurs his journey to the underworld. We learn nothing about her besides the fact that Orpheus loves her. She has no father, no interest in philosophy and no say in her destiny. Sarah Ruhl (playwright) saw the character of Eurydice as a conduit to explore her grief after her own father’s passing. If you aren’t reading the play, you won’t see the dedication that reads “This play is for my father.” In scene 3, Eurydice says “A wedding is for daughters and fathers” As a dramaturg, I’m always looking for a plays ‘thesis statement’, and this is it for me. This play is for daughters and fathers. 

Harley Winzenried (Eurydice) said something during a rehearsal that really impacted my view on the piece. When asked what Eurydice’s biggest want/need was, she said “I think [she needs] to be known.”  Orpheus doesn’t know her. The Nasty Interesting Man doesn’t know her. The stones don’t know her. The only one who truly knows is her Father, and throughout the piece, he helps her know herself.  

-Liv Fassanella, Dramaturg