EURYDICE: On the day of her wedding, Eurydice falls victim to a tragic accident that sends her hurtling into a wonderland of an Underworld: ripped from her beloved Orpheus, the greatest musician in the world, Eurydice is reunited with her dead father in the Land of the Dead. Context:Eurydice has reconnected with her dead Father in the Underworld. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love. Please try again later. I was afraid. If I were to give a speech at your wedding I would start with one or two funny jokes and then I might offer some words of advice. I want you to be happy. I was working on a new philosophical system. Sarah Ruhl re-imagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Eurydice enters the underworld through an elevator, inside which it is raining. Thus the raining elevator manipulates light, space, and depth. EURYDICE: Dear Orpheus, Im sorry. Do you still have my melody? About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . 2004. Eurydice - Play. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual . . Judgments on the play are not unanimous. A weird and wonderful new play - an inexpressibly moving theatrical fable about love, loss and the pleasures and pains of memory." Orpheus also sends her a copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare by attaching it to a piece of string, and Eurydice's father reads to her from King Lear. - Variety, "Touching, inventive, invigoratingly compact and luminously liquid in its rhythms and design, Eurydice reframes the ancient myth of ill-fated love to focus not on the bereaved musician but on his dead bride - and on her struggle with love beyond the grave as both wife and daughter." How about that? Ruhl's script has been explicitly written so as to be a playground for the designer of the sets. 4 0 obj To my mind, the success of this play lies in the way it attracts and repels audiences by professing its own pretensions. It had very interesting arguments. The houses of your neighbors look dull and lacking in moonlight. He tells The Lord of the Underworld he has come to lead his wife to the world above. Everything in moderation. I'm working in the business world and it seems that, here, you can better see the far reaching consequences of your actions. Nevertheless, I appreciated the relative lightheartedness of this rendition that held it distinct from the tragic tone of the original tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, and its refreshing perspective shift to that of a . Important: This volume also includes Eurydice, Ruhl's reinvention of the tragic Greek . Paperback 19.99. When people compose letters in this play they neednt actually scribble themthey can speak directly to the audience. tags: artists , loneliness , love . Type: Dramedy. He had his music. When he sees Eurydice at the water pump again, he tells her about the letter. After she has left, The Nasty Interesting Man sees the letter her father sent. With Eurydice, Ruhl focused on condensing her already lyrical language into a music-friendly length. A monologue from Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice "Dear Orpheus," I write you letters. Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl; The Pavilion by Craig Wright . When the rainwater falls inside the elevator, the water washes away his memories of her, as water usually does for the dead. It only means one thing. This will help you to better understand the character, his or her situation, the intended audience reaction, and the context for the piece. Dear Eurydice, ORPHEUS: The story is familiar. Orpheus said the mind is a slide ruler. But I wanted to talk to him about my notions. At her father's insistence, she follows Orpheus. . Youre welcome. The second and the third take place only in the underworld. Instead, this Eurydice is a vibrant . The music is by Matthew Aucoin, who also has a new book about opera . Wrote her first play, The Dog Play, in Paula Vogel's class. Sarah Ruhl. Instead of reading them in a book. The turning point for Ruhl came in 1997, at a production of "Passion Play," her first full-length work, which Vogel had arranged at Trinity Repertory Company, in . They make a quarter turn and he makes a sweeping gesture. Because it makes youa larger part of the human community. it. EURYDICE: It involved hats.This is what it is to love an artist: The moon is always rising above your house. Love, Orpheus Inside his head there is always something more beautiful. The first takes place only in the world above. The elevator in which it is raining is the plays signature feat of engineering (Figure 1). "J]kC. He had. Demanding critics complain of mannered writing thats less mature, veering frequently into poetic preciousness (Rooney 2007). With this the play begins to unravelthe room of string that was their Utopia is become a cage. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects . He drops the letter, filled with platitudes for his daughter on her wedding day, into an imaginary mail slot. While she is at her wedding, getting a drink of water from a water pump, Eurydice meets The Nasty Interesting Man. our global village, blah blah blah. The lord of the underworld tells him that he may take Eurydice back, but only if he does not turn around to look at her. He looks at his imaginary daughter; he looks straight ahead; he acknowledges the guests at the wedding; he gets choked up; he looks at his daughter and smiles an embarrassed smile for getting choked up. The houses of your neighbors look dull and lacking in moonlight. Because he is a young prince and his robes are too heavy on him. He picks it up. If Orpheus walks out of the underworld, says The Lord of the Underworld, Eurydice will follow him. Scene: Second Movement, Scene 16 Setting: The String Room in the Underworld. Gods and Dolls: Sarah Ruhl Reimagines the Orpheus Myth, The New Yorker, July 2, 2007. http://tinyurl.com/q7stnks, accessed July 24, 2015 She admits that Eurydice is a transparently personal play. Orpheus said the mind is a slide ruler. He would get a funny look on his face and I would say what are you thinking about and he would always be thinking about music. Monologues from shows associated with Sarah Ruhl Start: Dear Orpheus, I'm sorry.. Eurydice. Text for monologue \"EURYDICE\" by --Sarah Ruhl below :))Orpheus never liked words. Pretty good. EURYDICE: It is easy to imagine an elevator that transports people from the upper to the lower world, from life to death; likewise rain connects sky to earth. Character: Eurydice Gender: Female Age: Teenager/Young Adult. He demands his wife, and the Lord of the Underworld states the condition of her return: Start walking home. However, unlike in the myth, both Orpheus and Eurydice are human. Orpheus journeys to retrieve his bride, but Eurydice has begun to discover that the cost of living again can sometimes exceed the cost of staying dead. ORPHEUS: Do not fail to notice that his face flushes pink like a brides when you kiss him. EURYDICE, by Sarah Ruhl This play is a fresh take on the ancient myth of Orpheus, the beautiful singer who braves the terrors of the underworld to rescue Eurydice, the girl he loves. Eurydice, named one of the 25 best American plays of the past 25 years in 2018 by . That's true. With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, the play is a fresh . The play received several award nominations, including the 2008 Drama League Award, Distinguished Production of a Play, and the 2008 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Set Design of a Play, (Scott Bradley). Start: Orpheus never liked words. It only means one thing.Or maybe two or three things. For contemporary American playwright Sarah Ruhl, Eurydice is foremost a daughter who learns the hard way that all relationships are constructed of words that cannot always withstand the insistent tensions and demands of parents and spouses. 2006. The Stones are happy now that Eurydice is dead again. It only means one thing.". A Comic Impudence Softens a Tale of Loss, The New York Times, October 3, 2006. http://tinyurl.com/pffmqm4, accessed July 24, 2015 . EURYDICE: Dear Orpheus, I'm sorry. In Ruhl's adaptation, Eurydice (Kayla Carter) is tricked into dying by a Nasty, Interesting Man (Michael Manocchio) on the night of her wedding to musical Orpheus (Topher Embrey). - The New Yorker, "Exquisitely staged by Les Waters and an inventive design team [] Ruhl's wild flights of imagination, some deeply affecting passages and beautiful imagery provide transporting pleasures. Once there, he will sing a note so powerful, it will open the gate to the underworld. The houses of your neighbors look dull and lacking in moonlight. He is happy when he sees Eurydice. The Lord of the Underworld, who is played by the same actor who plays The Nasty Interesting Man and has the same sexual aggressiveness, demands Eurydice marry him now that she has returned to the underworld. Don't try to find me again. And, for the most part, there is a pleasant atmosphere and you can work and socialize, much like at home. Monologue: "He's taken an interest. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Words can mean anything. :NC#sWLZ1M,Z@P(uZxf+G?Q []$j"xTrC/o"+WVAd32(lNB$gT The Nasty Interesting Man lures her to his penthouse and attempts to seduce her. Start planning your production with a cost estimate you can save and share with your team. You either hear it or you dont. Scripts and rental materials are not included in this estimate. That's a secret. Walking behind him, she speeds up and calls out his name. Like a room of string, drawn and tense, pretense will collapse upon exposure. Communication is thus vertical and unidirectional. Don't try to find me again. I Hate you! Eurydice and Orpheus should be played as though they are a little too young and a little too in love. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost life. Community. Musician marries the love of his life; on their wedding day, she dies. Maria Dizzia as a contemporary Eurydice who descends in an elevator to the underworld in Sarah Ruhl's new play, "Eurydice," which opened last night at the Second Stage Theater. Her research focuses on the Roman historians and Tacitus in particular. Surely not--surely not the sky and the stars too. In this moment, Eurydice has just entered the underworld where she is met by three stones and her father, whom she doesn't I'm looking for new monologue material for theater auditions. Maybe you could also get me another ringa gold one--to put over the string one. It can fit around anything. He cant see you. He makes a gesture of giving the sea to Eurydice. He forgets to eat when hes cranky. This time, he is in the elevator that rains on the inside. But he is always going away from you. When he sees it is addressed to her, he puts it into the breast pocket of his shirt. The Vagina Monologues and The Apology "I bet everyone reading this has had difficulty expressing an internal reality. a water-pump, A Nasty Interesting Man/The Lord of the Underworld. He has also retained all of his memories. You would be lonely for music. Samuel French, 2008. The Stones try unsuccessfully to stop them, because the dead are not allowed to remember their past or speak in human language. Orpheus and Eurydice's walk out of the underworld is the plot of the Greek myth that inspires this play. . InEurydice, Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Let's go in the water. Nottage, however, learned she needed to open her play up to embrace the form; prose expanded to . It is a dangerous moment for any playwright to allude to Shakespeare and so overtly; one runs the risk of trivializing the moment with a line so familiar to the audience as to deflate the scene. Since language is so deficient, Ruhl deploys light, space, distance, and depth to hone the banal into razor-sharp instruments capable of exposing emotional vulnerabilities most audience members would rather not admit existed. Ruhl gives Eurydice more agency as she . She can be reached at vepagan@ufl.edu. Sarah Ruhl and Matthew Aucoin's "Eurydice" aims to break down this Orphean monopoly on the story and explore it from the opposing viewpoint of his dead wife. Then she dips herself in the river. [14] It ran at American Players Theatre (Spring Green, Wisconsin) under the direction of Tyne Rafaeli in June to October 2016. She pinches the letter from his pocket but then falls to her death. In case I come upon a broken instrument. Show:EurydicePlaywright: Sarah RuhlStyle: ContemporaryGenre:DramedyLength:1-2 minutes, Character: EurydiceGender: FemaleAge: Teenager/Young Adult, Scene: Second Movement, Scene 16Setting:The String Room in the Underworld. Set in the 1880s at the dawn of the age of . Tilly's melancholy is of an exquisite quality. Keep quiet about politics, but vote for the right man. [7] Charles Isherwood, reviewing for The New York Times, called it a "weird and wonderful new play."[8]. To my Husbands Next Wife: Be gentle. Ive always hated you! Her awards include a MacArthur Fellowship, and her book of essays 100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. But as she catches up to him, she calls out his name, and he turns to look at her, causing her to die a second death. Inside his head there is always something more beautiful.Orpheus said the mind is a slide ruler. He successfully enters the underworld. Eurydice. help you understand the book. ORPHEUS: Text for monologue "EURYDICE" by --Sarah Ruhl below :))Orpheus never liked words. Continue to give yourself to others because that's the ultimate satisfaction in life--to love, accept, honor and help others. Sarah Ruhl's plays include the Pulitzer Prize finalists In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) and The Clean House, as well as How to transcend a happy marriage, For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday, Passion Play, Dean Man's Cell Phone, Eurydice, Melancholy Play, and Late: a cowboy song. Studied English literature with the intention of becoming a poet. Eurydice's father cannot attend their wedding, as he has already died and gone to the underworld. A wonderful way to sample our latest publications, too! I hope he finds you. He teaches her to read. EURYDICE: Dear Orpheus, I'm sorry. In Eurydice Ruhl does more than challenge the classical; she demands responsibility for the failures of language and for the pretense those failures necessitate. Will you remember my melody under the water? Known also for her work on gardens, she is co-editor of Disciples of Flora: Gardens in History and Culture, forthcoming with Cambridge Scholars Press. Draft: February, 2007. Just kidding. I don't know what came over me. Or maybe two or three things. It can fit around anything. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Quotes and a Free Quiz on What do you DO?! This is only an estimate. The play was adapted by Ruhl for the libretto of an opera by the same name, with music composed by Matthew Aucoin, and directed by Mary Zimmerman. by Sarah Ruhl. EURYDICE: With contemporary characters, ingenious plot twists, and breathtaking visual effects, the play is a fresh look at a timeless love story. I too fought off tears, not always successfully, although I also gagged on lines intolerably cloying. I want you to be happy. Here--clap it out. I dont know what came over me. , The Clean House, and Eurydice. Gradually, he teaches her how to speak again. The Stones command that she keep walking, but she wants to go back to the Father. Like most of the dead, she has dipped herself in the river and lost her memories. sarah ruhl, Eurydice. In silence the third scene passes. Shut up! . In Movement Two, Eurydice meets her father in the underworld. If anyone finds out, they might dip me in the River again. Also, I am one of the few dead people who still remembers how to read and write. Sarah Ruhl's plays include In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, The Clean House, Passion Play, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Melancholy Play, For Peter Pan on her 70th Birthday, The Oldest Boy, Stage Kiss, Dear Elizabeth, Eurydice, How to Transcend a Happy Marriage, Orlando, Late . I have eleven other ones in my head, making for a total of twelve. I'm going to make each strand of your hair into an instrument. 1994. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR MELODY! I am going to write out instructions for your next wife. She's impulsive, energetic, curious and quick to react. Yes! However, when Big Stone directs us to pretend for a moment that you understand the language of stones, the line suggests that some people may not understand all that the playwright is trying to convey. Directed by Les Waters, Associate Artistic Director, the cast featured Maria Dizzia as Eurydice and Daniel Talbott as Orpheus. He had his music. I mean--Yes. The elevator is dark inside, but back-lit so as to bring the rain into full relief. A female comedic monologue from the play Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl. "Doubt" by John Patrick Shanley. At last one does. The play consists of three movements, divided into numerous scenes: 7 in the first movement, 20 in the second movement, and 3 in the third movement. She wants to speak but when she opens her mouth, only white noise comes out. (She looks at her father, embarrassed for revealing too much.). Rooms are also not allowed in the underworld, but Eurydice's father creates one for her out of pieces of string. A Comic Impudence Softens a Tale of Loss", "Theater Review. some rusty exposed pipes, Page 1 of 14 In 2009, I saw it performed at the Hippodrome State Theater in Gainesville, Florida, under the direction of Lauren Caldwell. ORPHEUS: You may also be asked to read sides. As you walk, keep your eyes facing front. EURYDICE: He wrote that libretto; thanks to Ruhl's lucidity, "Eurydice," first heard in February 2020 at Los Angeles Opera, is a clearer, stronger work. She claps. If the Lord of the Underworld finds out, he will be dipped again. Her Father Id better tie a string around your finger to remind you. Melancholy but playful, Ruhl's reimagining tells the myth from the doomed heroine's point of view, creating what Aucoin calls an . Meanwhile, Orpheus makes a plan to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. Tonight, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City plays host to a new iteration: Eurydice, based on a 2003 play by Sarah Ruhl. She escapes him, her letter in her hand. When hes sad, kiss his forehead and I will thank you. Eurydice is lost to death forever. - San Francisco Chronicle, RELATED ARTICLES ON BREAKING CHARACTEREnglish and American Sign Language Share the Stage in Production of Eurydice, An Ode to Sarah Ruhl's EURYDICEby Andrew RejanOctober 18, 2016. It has been staged at: Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, MarchApril 2008;[9] the Wilma Theater (Philadelphia), May 2008 (with original live music by Toby Twining;[10]) ACT Theatre in Seattle, SeptemberOctober 2008;[11] in October/November 2008 at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater;[12] at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland in 2009;[13] in Theatre Ink's 20102011 season;[citation needed] by the Custom Made Theatre Co. in San Francisco in 2013;[citation needed] and at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre, Hayward, California, in May/June 2013. Image: 2007 Second Stage Theater Production (Joan Marcus), Rhapsodically beautiful. She may not be able to construct a play that conveys her every intentionespecially since the major premise is the incapacity of language. As for me, this is what it's like being dead: The atmosphere smells. This estimator is only for non-equity/amateur productions. Your wife just might be on the road behind you. Meanwhile, in the land of the living, Orpheus writes a letter to Eurydice, which her father delivers and reads to her. Eurydice. Shes gone (Ruhl 2006, 391). [16], The play was presented in London at the Young Vic Theatre in May 2010, after a tour starting at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth, on February 25, 2010, and finally playing at the Young Vic's Maria Studio, starting in previews April 29. Dying too young on her wedding day, Eurydice must journey to the underworld, where she reunites with her father and struggles to remember her lost love.