STORY BY KAREN BOSSICK

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SPOT

It features an underworld that resembles the world of “Alice in Wonderland.” A chorus of clowns who  that comment on the action taking place around them but are unable to intervene. And a River Styx resembling a raining elevator where a life of forgetfulness begins.

Welcome to The Spot’s “Eurydice,” a contemporary reimagining of the classic myth of Ovid and Virgil’s “Orpheus and Eurydice.”

The play will take the stage Aug. 16 through 26 at The Spot in Ketchum.

“‘Eurydice’ is a retelling of the classic myth reimagined through the eyes of its heroine. But with nautical-steampunk vibes, an original score by Grant Carey, intricately devised physical theater from Kevin Wade and nautical steampunk costumes by Alison Higdon, this piece is anything but classical,” said Director Yanna Lantz.

The play was written by Sarah Ruhl, recipient of the 2016 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. Her plays “In the Next Room” and “The Clean House” were Pulitzer Prize finalists, with the latter also receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. And her play Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” staged by Company of Fools, addressed the disconnect people are experiencing in the digital age.

The New York Times called “Eurydice” one of The 25 Best American Plays since “Angels in America.” The play, produced Off-Broadway in 2007, explores the use and understanding of language, something Ruhl enjoyed doing with her father as a youngster.

In fact, she wrote the play as a way to have a few more conversations with her father following his death from cancer. And she includes some of the words he taught her, such as “peripatetic,” as Eurydice is reunited with her dead father.

“We are always interested in looking at familiar stories in new ways, and that is exactly what Ruhl’s ‘Eurydice’ does,” said Kevin Wade, who plays Big Stone. “We see the myth retold through the eyes of Eurydice, rather than from Orpheus’s perspective. Though the language is heightened and poetic, this particular revision of the myth completely humanizes the characters for me. I think our audiences will see pieces of their own story reflected on stage as the journey with us on this quirky, hilarious, energetic contemplation of love, loss and memory."

The play touches on the themes of love, relationships and the hereafter.

It revolves around two young lovers—Eurydice and Orpheus—who are head over heels in love. But  Eurydice encounters a “Nasty Interesting Man” on her wedding day and meets an untimely death, plunging into the underworld.

Orpheus is trying hard to find his wife through his steampunk-flavored music.

Eurydice, who has been cleansed in the River of Forgetfulness, is returned to a childlike state of ignorant bliss where she struggles to remember her lost love.

“It’s a double-edge sword because it keeps the characters facing forward and not looking back. But it also washes away all opportunity or reason to look back,” said Lantz. “Ruhl’s underworld is not a place where life has ended but rather an environment where life continues even though it is made numb by forgetfulness. Whimsical and surreal, the Underworld is a place where emotion is heightened and fleeting.

The play features Natalie Battistone as Eurydice, Matt Gorby as her father, Peter Burke as Orpheus and Brett Moellenberg as the Nasty Interesting Man.

Keegan Webber designed the special water effects; Grant Carey, the original sound design. Kevin Wade choreographed the movement and Samuel Mollner, the lighting which, he said, is a major step up from what’s been done technically at the Spot before.

Peter Burke give the world portrayed in the set a three-dimensional feel while playing with minimalism and the idea that less can be more.

“The set is a character all its own,” he said. “Each piece has an acute purpose and functionality as dictated by Sarah Ruhl in the script, and I wanted to honor that while leaving the space as open as possible for actor exploration and audience comfort."

Matt Gorby noted that he is used to a proscenium or theatre-in-the-round.

“Here we have theatre-in-the-tube, where the audience is as much in the play as they fully surround it,” he said. "The play is written not by a playwright but by a poet. The stories of love and loss, of pain and despair, of triumph and tragedy are often told in the text, but with Eurydice, it’s told through the silences between the language. The rhythm of the play is a wild syncopation.” 

The Spot has wanted to do “Eurydice” for several years, said Natalie Battistone.

“It’s an evocative piece of theater that audience members will respond to on several levels,” she said. “The abstract nature of Sarah Ruhl's setting demands a design that is both imaginative and functional. Although the play is a contemporary drama, the heightened, poetic language allows actors the challenge of performing in a stylized piece of theater.

“Additionally, Ruhl leaves lots of room for creative physical discoveries through dance and movement. There's a pleasant simplicity with this piece that we have been waiting to share for a while...a change of pace in many ways from recent productions."

The 90-minute play, suitable for all ages, will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 18 and Tuesday through Sunday, Aug. 21-26. A matinee will be offered at 2 p.m. Aug. 19.

Tickets are $23, available at www.spotsunvalley.com/eurydicesv.  Tickets for those under 30 are $13 (ID’s required).

AUDITIONS COMING UP:

The Spot is looking for non-union actors for roles in its 2018-2019 season, and it’s looking to build a performer database for various work-shopped projects, staged readings and its new Studio Series.

Five-minute auditions will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at The Spot, 220 Lewis St., No. 2, in Ketchum’s light industrial district. Those taking part are asked to prepare a contemporary monologue and/or a Shakespearean monologue no longer than 1.5 minutes. Attendees are also asked to provide a copy of a headshot and resume. Those who wish to sing may do so a cappella or provide their own accompaniment.

To reserve a spot, contact spotsunvalley@gmail.com.