Maya Hawke in “Eurydice”
Photo by HanJie Chow
More than two decades after its professional premiere, Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice,” a dreamy, elliptical retelling of the Orpheus myth from the heroine’s point of view, has returned to the New York stage in a moody, intimate Off-Broadway revival at Signature Theatre. Director Les Waters, who helmed the original Off-Broadway production at Second Stage, reunites with the text, which mixes Greek tragedy, memory play, and surreal family drama.
Since 2003, Ruhl has become one of the most admired and distinctive voices in contemporary American playwriting, with a résumé that includes “In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)” and “Dead Man’s Cell Phone.” Revisiting “Eurydice,” which is still strange, lyrical, and as confounding as ever, feels like both a nostalgic callback and a reaffirmation of her aesthetic.
At the center is Maya Hawke (of “Stranger Things” fame), making an assured and luminous stage debut in the title role. She’s joined by Brian d’Arcy James as her deceased father, who greets her in the underworld with quiet heartbreak; Caleb Eberhardt as Orpheus, portrayed here less as a tragic hero than an awkward, obsessive boyfriend; and T. Ryder Smith as the Lord of the Underworld, an eerie figure who rides a tricycle and speaks with childlike menace.
Visually, the production leans into the play’s abstract imagery, including rainfall in elevators, letters from the dead, and a trio of Stones that speak in riddles. Waters maintains a contemplative pace that honors the poetry of the language, though it occasionally verges on stasis. Even so, moments of emotional resonance break through the haze, particularly in scenes between Eurydice and her father, which offer a moving portrait of grief and longing.
While “Eurydice” remains a challenging work that is enigmatic to the point of alienation, this revival is often haunting. Like a memory half-recalled, it lingers.
“Eurydice” runs at Signature Theatre through June 22, signaturetheatre.org.
Original ‘Hamilton’ cast to perform at Tony Awards
The original Broadway cast of “Hamilton” (including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jonathan Groff, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo, Daveed Diggs, and Christopher Jackson) will perform at the Tony Awards on Sunday night to mark the musical’s 10th anniversary.
In addition, every Broadway musical that has been nominated for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival will perform, including the new musicals “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Dead Outlaw,” “Death Becomes Her,” “Maybe Happy Ending,” and “Operation Mincemeat” and the musical revivals “Floyd Collins,” “Gypsy,” “Sunset Boulevard,” and “Pirates! The Penzance Musical.” The broadcast will also include performances from the new musicals “Just In Time” and “Real Women Have Curves.” There will also be a performance by the Tony Award-winning Broadway Inspirational Voices choir. “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony Award in 2016 for “The Color Purple,” will host the broadcast, while Darren Criss and Renée Elise Goldsberry will host a live pre-show that can be streamed for free on Pluto TV.
‘Beetlejuice’ to return to Broadway
In 2019, the Broadway musical adaptation of the 1988 horror-comedy film “Beetlejuice” opened to mixed-to-negative reviews at the Winter Garden Theatre and seemed as if it would close quickly and be forgotten. Instead, it gained a fervent social media following and became an unlikely hit. After the pandemic, it played an encore run at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre and received a three-year national tour – and now it is set to return to Broadway again, playing a 13-week run at the Palace Theatre in the fall. The production (directed by Alex Timbers with lots of bells and whistles) is a flashy and freewheeling visual treat, embracing the kooky sight gags of the film and occasionally replicating them, including a giant sandworm and Harry the Hunter (i.e. the guy with the shrunken head).
