VSU Theatre and Dance Presents "Eurydice" Sept. 22-28

Valdosta State University Theatre and Dance will present Eurydice Sept. 22-28 on the Lab Theatre stage. Pictured, from left to right, are Sarah Mott (Big Stone), Autumn Denmark (Eurydice), Arnecia Webb (Little Stone), and Cassandra Stowe (Loud Stone).   Pictured are Vaughn Meccod (A Nasty Interesting Man/Child/Lord of the Underworld) and Autumn Denmark (Eurydice). Pictured, from left to right, are Brady Whitehouse (Eurydice's Father), Autumn Denmark (Eurydice), Cassandra Stowe (Loud Stone), Sarah Mott (Big Stone), Arnecia Webb (Little Stone).

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University Theatre and Dance will present Eurydice Sept. 22-28 on the Lab Theatre stage. Tickets are on sale now.

Written by Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice is a retelling of the tale of Orpheus from the perspective of Eurydice, his wife. The play is based on the classical myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and premiered in 2003 at the Madison Repertory Theatre in Wisconsin before enjoying a series of regional United States productions, a brief stint at Off-Broadway’s Second Stage Theatre, and a recent rise in popularity with college and university theatre programs.   

“On the day of her wedding, Eurydice falls victim to a tragic accident that sends her hurtling into a wonderland of an underworld,” according to a synopsis at StageAgent.com. “Ripped from her beloved Orpheus, the greatest musician in the world, Eurydice is reunited with her dead father in the land of the dead. Orpheus journeys to retrieve his bride, but Eurydice has begun to discover that the cost of living again can sometimes exceed the cost of staying dead. Full of dark humor, lyrical beauty, and wit, Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice transforms a traditional myth into a visceral, contemporary meditation on love worth grieving for.”

Ruhl’s play deviates from the original Orpheus and Eurydice storyline on several occasions. In her version of the tale, for example, Eurydice has to decide between returning to earth with Orpheus or staying in the underworld with her father, a character created by the playwright in memory of her own father, who died of bone cancer at a relatively young age.

“The play is, in some ways, a desire on my part to experience more conversations with him,” she said during an interview with the Madison Repertory Theatre newsletter at the time of her world premiere. “I think that theatre can connect our personal mythologies to stories that are bigger than us. That connection between bigness and smallness brings me back to theatre again and again.”

VSU’s production of Eurydice is directed by Dr. Melissa Rynn Porterfield, a lecturer in the Theatre and Dance Area. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, through Saturday, Sept. 24; 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, through Wednesday, Sept. 28.

Individual tickets for Eurydice are $17 for adults, $14 for senior citizens, $11 for children and non-VSU students, and free for all VSU students with a valid 1Card. Tickets for groups of 10 or more people at a single performance are $10 per person.

Tickets may be reserved by calling the VSU Theatre and Dance Box Office at (229) 333-5973 between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday or by visiting www.ticketreturn.com 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The VSU Theatre and Dance Box Office is located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Oak Street and Brookwood Drive, and may be reached by calling (229) 333-5973. The Lab Theatre is located on the second floor.

VSU Theatre and Dance is committed to fostering excellence within its theatre performance, theatre production, theatre management, musical theatre, and dance programs while also contributing to the lifelong learning and cultural development of the citizens of South Georgia, North Florida, and beyond. Its 2016-2017 performance season continues throughout the fall and spring semesters with Transcendance: The Annual Dance Concert, Into the Woods, Just So, Sylvia, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

On the Web:

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/communication-arts/box-office/season.php

http://stageagent.com/shows/play/1252/eurydice

Visit https://www.facebook.com/vstatenews/?ref=hl to view promotional photos and a list of the cast and crew for VSU’s production of Eurydice.