Liberty High School will host student performances of the play “Eurydice” by Sarah Ruhl, an artful adaptation of the tragic love story from Greek mythology, set loosely in the 1950s.
“This is a more modernized, artistic adaptation of that original story,” said Danielle Dickstein, the play’s director and a teacher at the school.
Performances are set for 7 p.m. on Nov. 14, 15 and 16, as well as a 2 p.m. matinee show on Nov. 16. Tickets cost $10 in advance, up to an hour before each performance, or $12 at the door. Attendees can also purchase a $15 ticket that allows for priority seating. To buy tickets online, visit: libertylionsprideplayers.com/tickets.
The high school production features a minimalist set and prolonged silences, which Dickstein said heightens the poignant sense of heartbreak the audience will feel as a man attempts to rescue his beloved from the clutches of the Underworld.
“In an artistic way, we are showing that this story exists a little bit in all of us,” Dickstein said, “the woes of a love story, miscommunication, things like that.”
The show has a cast of 29 students, and 39 students contributed to the technical elements of the production. Dickstein said student-led lighting design will be particularly impactful in creating the right mood because of the minimalist set, and student-led sound design did a great job of finding copyright-free material that conveys the feeling of Greek mythology and the 1950s.
“It’s a huge collaboration,” Dickstein said. “Theater teaches incredible skills in collaboration and communication, working under pressure, and having to pivot and be flexible.”
In addition to developing traditional theatrical skills, actors must learn to sit in silence and stillness while embodying specific emotions, which forced them to learn to be present and to ground themselves, Dickstein said.
“Working in silence can feel so vulnerable,” she said, “so you learn to trust the people you’re working with.”
The play’s original cast of seven was expanded, including casting different actors to embody main characters at different points in their lives, Dickstein said, and adding a traditional Greek chorus.
“This is loosely based in the 1950s but also extremely artistic and suggestive,” Dickstein said, “and we ran with that.”
Magical elements in Ruhl’s “Eurydice” are designed to embody the feeling of hearing a legend that has been told many times and in many ways. Dickstein said ensemble cast members can be seen moving items on stage, which reflects the nature of setting a scene when telling an oral story.
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“Because it is not your typical show based in realism, the audience is really going to have to just buy into it and trust the process,” Dickstein said. “As long as our actors and our tech does what it needs to do, the audience should easily be able to to jump in.”
Students have been receptive to what the show represents, Dickstein said, and were particularly receptive to the play after enjoying a performance of the Broadway musical “Hadestown” on a school trip to New York. The musical, which won a Tony Award, was also inspired by the Greek myth of Eurydice and her lover Orpheus.
Ruhl’s “Eurydice” is not recommended for anyone under the age of 13, Dickstein said, because they are not likely to be able to grasp the serious themes of death and intense love. No prior knowledge of Greek mythology is required, as the old myth and new story will be printed in the program.
