In her 2003 play, Eurydice, Sarah Ruhl puts a feminist twist on the Orpheus myth. This time the protagonist is Orpheus’s bride (the sprightly Lindsay Plake), who descends into the underworld after her death and seeks out her father (Bo Roberts), who is upright and walking around but unfortunately has lost his memory, after having dipped his feet in the River of Forgetfulness. Much to her chagrin, he has no idea who she is, so she sets about trying to awaken him by teaching him to spell her name. Since language is so deficient, Eurydice tries various tricks involving light and space to bring him back to consciousness, all the while trying to fend off the advances of The Lord of the Underworld (the villainous Gifford Irvine). Eurydice also spends quite a bit of time chatting and clowning with The Stones, not the rock band but a trio of scalawags (Marissa DuBois, Emily Asher Kellis, and Brandon Reed). It’s not until well into the 90-minute play, now in a revival at City Garage, that Orpheus (Johanna Paulino) comes looking once again for the bride he abandoned. Happy to see her, eager to rescue her, he plays his guitar and charms the bad people in Hades, only to love his own memory of Eurydice when he comes in contact with rainwater. As a result, he cannot read the letter his wife has left for him. And oh yes, he also takes a peek over his shoulder at her, despite having been warned that such a violation of the rules would be fatal. Director Frederique Michel, designer Charles A. Duncombe, and videographer Anthony Sannazzaro---and of course the gifted cast---work considerable stage magic with Ruhl’s slight, whimsical, but (at times) charming play. I came away feeling glad I had seen it.
