The old story goes like this: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Girl dies on her wedding day. Boy travels to the underworld to save her. A deal is struck. The girl will only be saved if the boy leaves the underworld and does not look back at the girl.
But he does. And he loses her forever.
The tale has been passed down from generation to generation, century to century. Several adaptations of “Orpheus & Eurydice” with changes were made, but the basics remain the same.
Running from Wednesday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 26, Winthrop’s “Eurydice” revisited the tale 9of “Orpheus & Eurydice” but in a different light.
Rather than focusing on the perspective of Orpheus, the show, written by playwright Sarah Ruhl, presented Eurydice’s view of the tragic love story.
The production proved popular as almost all of the showings were sold out.
For Aspen Beeman, a freshman performing arts major and actress in the titular role, this wasn’t their first time being a part of “Eurydice.” As a senior in high school, Beeman took a different role in the production and gaining the role of Eurydice surprised them.
“It was really nice because I actually got the chance to direct “Eurydice” last year. I wasn’t expecting it (the role of Eurydice) and it was really nice because I got to experience the whole other side of it in a completely different way since Chris Brown, the director, was choosing to put it in the 80s. So it definitely was a different experience,” Beeman said,
They continued, saying, “The main difference between directing Eurydice and being in it, is when I directed it, I took a different approach and I set it closer to the 50s, which is closer to many of the previous productions and it (Winthrop’s production) being set in the 80s was definitely a change. So that was really exciting. Another thing, being a director, you don’t necessarily get to connect with these characters on such a personal level as you do as an actor, so it was really nice being able to explore who Eurydice was to me as an actor versus as a director”
Noah Lake, a sophomore performing arts major and actor for the “Nasty Interesting Man”, also had some familiarity with the play “Eurydice.”
“I actually did a project on this play during my freshman year and then we found out that the director was doing it this coming year, so that was exciting,” said Lake.
Whereas the distinctions between the characters of Eurydice and Orpheus and their classic counterparts are clear, Lake’s role was meant to be mysterious and unknown.
“It is revealed later on that I am the Lord of the Underworld or Hades. I sort of pose as different people. In the beginning, I pose as the mysterious man, then halfway through the show, I pose as a child. So my character is spending all his time messing around with the other characters,” Lake said.
According to Lake, playing this character really challenged him as he had never done a similar role before.
For Isaac Nicolau, a junior theatre performance major who played Orpheus, being a part of the show was, “a lot of fun. The environment we were working in for all of us actors was super positive and great and going to rehearsal every day was such a joy.”
“It’s one of those productions that you are never going to forget, especially being in it. I just want to thank everybody who saw it and I want to thank all my cast members because they are so great. I couldn’t have done it without them,” Nicolau said.
The experience was also special for the audience, as seen through two audience members, Hailey Melton, a freshman English major and Isa Garcia D’Suze, a sophomore history major.
“I absolutely loved it and if I had more money, I would have gone and saw it again,” Melton said.
The idea of a different retelling intrigued D’Suze.
“I really like how Eurydice and her father’s relationship is really sweet, it felt very natural and I think they were really organic and developed. Also, I like the special effects, there was smoke, confetti and at a certain moment, a puppet of Eurydice fell, because she is supposed to die. So she fell and I screamed,” D’Suze said.
D’Suze and Melton both agreed that they plan to come back to see another show.
“I have not (seen other Winthrop productions), but I’m going to start now that I’ve been to one because I didn’t think of going to one until I saw ‘Eurydice,’” Melton said.
