Cappies Review: 'Eurydice' At H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program

By Delia Hunt of John R. Lewis High School

What do you get when you tell a story of love, death, and heartbreak on a playground set composed of swings, a slide and a tricycle?

A good laugh and a good cry, that's what. H-B Woodlawn's student-directed black box production of "Eurydice" tugs on heartstrings of young and old, using set design, lights, sound and actor positioning to tell a common story in a not-so-common way.

Written by Sarah Ruhl in 2003, "Eurydice" is a contemporary take on the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice. Instead of focusing on Orpheus and his journey to reunite with his lost love, though, it highlights the play's namesake, Eurydice, and her experience in the Underworld, particularly her relationship with her father. As her father re-teaches her the language of the living, she starts to regain her memories of the Overworld and is caught between following her husband back to their lives above or staying with her father down under.

As a show that switches between the Over- and Underworld frequently, set design is essential for a fluid and comprehensive show. Designer Niko Bauman and Student Technical Director Ned Gabbay did a commendable job, attaching a royal blue playground slide to the steely structure of a building in the Overworld. This slide was only used once, when Eurydice died, and her death and travel to the Underworld was clear because of this.

Additionally, the "playground bullies" of the Underworld, Big Stone, Little Stone, and Loud Stone, played flamboyantly by Allyna Flom, Sasha Nair and Zoe Salen, respectively, each had their own swing that matched the color of their costumes. This allowed them to fade seamlessly into the background when not meant to dominate the scene but rather support it with their background presence.

Other notable technical aspects of this retelling were the sound and lighting design. One of the themes of the play was adventure and travel, represented by a river to the Underworld. To show Eurydice entering this river, Jordan Funk created an uber-realistic sound effect that mimicked water droplets falling off of a turned-off shower head, building suspense and intensity in the scene.

Lighting Designer Daniel Gates and assistant Kevin Nguyen assigned different colors to the backgrounds of the Over- and Underworlds, making the difference between the two even more clear.

These scene changes were aided heavily by the acting as well. Eurydice, played by Olivia Van Hoey, becomes more innocent in the Underworld, forgetting her past and acting more as a child. Eurydice's father, played by Josie Parry, is overjoyed to have his daughter with him once again, but is torn between sending her back to her husband or keeping her with him. Parry showed this inner turmoil in her facial expressions; the pain in her eyes felt real.

In a show with heavy and dark themes, the comedic characters brought a much-needed lightness to the performance. Dakota Cupples never failed to bring the laughter with their portrayal of Interesting Man/Lord of the Underworld. The Lord of the Underworld entered the black box on a tricycle, and Cupples's vocalization of "vroom, vroom, vroom" earned uproarious guffaws from all in the audience.

None of this would have been possible, however, without the amazing direction of H-B Woodlawn senior Katrina Nelson. Her blocking and casting choices were ingenious, and the addition of her own childhood memories connected the Greek tale to the present day.

H-B Woodlawn's intimate production of "Eurydice" took the audience by the hand on a journey through the Underworld as they taught us about "the ultimate satisfaction in life — to love, accept, honor and help others."