“I don’t think I want to be an instrument.”

Eurydice loves her boyfriend Orpheus, a handsome musician who tends to get lost in his art. But their love cannot last. Eurydice dies on her wedding day and is reunited with her father in the underworld. They build a simple life together, one filled with books and memories.

Stirred by love, Orpheus descends to the underworld. Eurydice must choose whether to leave with him, silently following in his footsteps, or stay in the land of shadows where she has her own voice.

Megan Edwards hits all the right notes as Eurydice. Using carriage and girl-next-door sweetness, she grounds Ruhl’s lyrical tragedy in real, relatable moments. Her love is gentle, her frustration hesitant. Edwards particularly nails the giddy uncertainty of young intellect (“I was working on a new philosophical system. It involved hats.”), along with the loneliness of having no one take you seriously.

Director Chris Medina sets the play at the last cusp of the 1950s, where “Moon River” gives way to the sexual revolution. His two-tone set, spare but charming, evokes the make-do thrift of the era, with just a splash of wild creativity.

The Greek chorus of three Stones, mostly played for comic relief, takes a stirring pivot near the end, joining the cacophony of men who (consciously or not) have been yelling at Eurydice all her life. How beautifully cruel, then, that the only possible escape should doom her to eternal silence.

She had so much more to say.

Additional Notes:
Justin Anderson’s slimeball comes across as slightly anachronistic (they bred a different type of slimeball back then), but his hyper-beta aggression is tragically resonant today. Just listening to him makes you want to take a shower.

When choosing a seat, keep in mind that the action thrusts far downstage into the center aisle.

“Eurydice” includes dreams deferred and the first blooms of sexual maturity.

Funky Little Theater Co.
2109 Templeton Gap Rd
Box Office: (719) 425-9509

Playing October 20 – November 4, 2017
Admission: $19 general; $15 Thursdays
Running Time: 75 minutes