Schools

A Modern Spin on Greek Mythology at Governors State University’s Center for Performing Arts


University Park, IL –(ENEWSPF)—March 1, 2016. Young love ended much too soon. Letters used for communication instead of speaking. A father-daughter relationship restored despite “the rules of the Underworld.” Characters called Stones. What more could you ask for in a good Greek tragedy?

Immerse yourself in another-worldly experience on April 2 at 7:30 p.m. and April 3 at 2 p.m. when Governors State University’s Theatre and Performance Studies department stages Sarah Ruhl’s “Eurydice” at Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are just $18 and $13 for students with valid I.D. The play is directed by Lydia Milman-Schmidt, who is making her debut at GSU.

A retelling of the myth of Orpheus through a feminine lens: Eurydice’s point of view. Eurydice marries Orpheus, a musician who plays the most beautiful music on earth. On their wedding day, Eurydice tragically dies and enters the Underworld where she is reunited with her father.  Orpheus grieves for Eurydice and despite his trouble communicating with words, he writes her letters. Following the traditional myth, the Lord of the Underworld agrees to let Eurydice go with Orpheus under one condition: Orpheus must walk back to the world of the living without looking back. Will he? And will she go back?

Sarah Ruhl has said of the play, “The play is really dedicated to my father, who died when I was twenty and he was fifty-five…I wanted to write something where I would be allowed to have a few more conversations with him. A myth exploring the underworld and the connection between the dead and the living was a way to negotiate that terrain.”

This is the seventh production by the new Theatre & Performance Studies (T.A.P.S.) program, approved by the Illinois Board of Higher Education as a Bachelor’s Degree in 2014; the only such degree combining the two disciplines at a public state university in Illinois. Previous performances included Anne Sexton’s “Transformations”, musical theatre (“A…My Name is Alice”), a docudrama (“Still Life”), a classic drama (Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”), a dark comedy (“Kimberly Akimbo”) and science fiction (“Fahrenheit 451”).

The cast consists of GSU students and community members, both theatre veterans and newcomers:

Eurydice – Kayla Liggins, Chicago

Orpheus – Brandon Willard, Tinley Park

Man – Nick Hyer, Naperville

Father – Jason Buhalis, Chicago

Big Stone – Lois Nemeth, Merillville

Little Stone – Genesis Michaela, Country Club Hills

Loud Stone – Hope Lang, Monee

How to Buy Tickets

Online: CenterTickets.net
By Phone: 708.235.2222
In Person at the Box Office: 1 University Parkway, University Park, IL
Box Office Hours: Mon-Fri 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 2 hours prior to performances. Thursdays the Box office is open until 6p.m.
Download the Center’s APP: goo.gl/nqy4ul

A portion of GSU’s arts programming is supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

About Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl was born in 1974 in Wilmette. Illinois. She originally planned to be a poet or an actor but fell in love with playwriting while studying with the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Paula Vogel at Brown University. Eurydice is considered to be her breakout play onto the national scene. At the age of 31, Ruhl was a 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Clean House. Since then, she has won a number of awards, including the prestigious MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2006.

Governors State University serves more than 5,500 undergraduate and graduate students with 64 degree and 24 certificate programs that prepare them for success in business, industry, healthcare, the arts and education. As a state university, GSU is committed to providing high-quality, accessible, and responsible higher education opportunities. GSU is located 40 miles south of Chicago in University Park, IL and offers the most affordable undergraduate tuition and fees in the state. GSU is committed to embracing diversity and academic excellence.

Source: http://www.govst.edu


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