Just weeks after Renaissance Theaterworks opened its production of an ancient Greek tragedy, the Milwaukee Rep offers an acclaimed modern retelling of an ancient Greek myth, as Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice takes the stage of the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater on Oct. 31.
San Francisco-based director Jonathan Moscone will helm Ruhl's update on the story of Orpheus' descent into the underworld. Moscone, who serves as artistic director of California Shakespeare Theatre, will be marking his first time working with the Rep.
Eurydice, a stylish, fresh look at the eternal dance of life, love and death, follows the title character as she travels beyond the veil of life following her untimely death on her wedding night. Eurydice was to be wed to Orpheus, the father of songs, who must now travel to the underworld to retrieve her.
Orpheus has received a special place in the Greek pantheon over the centuries, having been the subject of numerous writings. Seventeenth-century British poet John Milton was particularly fond of him. True to his musical nature, Orpheus has inspired a number of operas as well, including works by Haydn, Beethoven, Liszt and Philip Glass.
Midway through the 20th century, Tennessee Williams added some sophisticated laughs to his well-received dramatic update. Fifty years later, Ruhl's script infuses hip, contemporary humor into the story, adding even more freshness to this modern adaptation.
Rep Resident Acting Company member Lanise Antoine Shelley portrays Eurydice in her journey to the underworld. Shelley has excelled in contemporary roles before, most recently putting in a powerful performance as a survivor of a brutal African war in the Rep's 2005 production of Sonja Linden's I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda. The cast also includes notable guest actors, including New York-based Davis Duffield as Orpheus, William Dick as Eurydice's father and the talented local actor Wayne T. Carr as Man and Underworld.
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The Rep has pulled together a stellar production team for Eurydice, including Tony Award-winning lighting designer Chris Akerlind and set designer Todd Rosenthal, who recently won a Tony Award for his work on August: Osage County. Rosenthal's output for the American Players Theatre's recent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream added an iconic, dreamlike quality. Look for similar work in this production, which Artistic Director Joseph Hanreddy is describing as "exhilarating, imaginative, no-holds-barred theater."
The Milwaukee Rep's production of Eurydice runs through Nov. 23 at the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater.
