ESU to Present Eurydice, February 24 – March 1

Posted by: admin on February 16, 2015, No Comments

Sitting on the stage of the Smith-McFarland Theatre of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, six students, who make up the cast of Eurydice, spoke of their struggles and successes as they prepare for the play, which will debut on February 24.

“This play has been one of the most exhausting, most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had,” Rebecca Roeber, a junior majoring in theatre from East Stroudsburg, Pa., who plays Loud Stone, said with tears running down her face. “The kind of support you feel working with a cast like this on a show like this one is indescribable. Director Susan O’ Hearn, professor of theatre, chose this play because while she was reading it she saw the “the magic that comes from an ordinary story.”

“This play shows that love and loss live side by side and nothing lasts forever,” she said. “I hope the audience appreciates and understands these characters and what makes them so relatable.”

As the student actors accepted the challenge of their characters, they all admitted their emotions were trigged by the story line of the play.

In Eurydice, playwright Sarah Ruhl, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship, follows the title character in her journey through the underworld where she reunites with her deceased father and struggles to remember Orpheus, her lost love.

“When people see the show, they will see the meaning of life,” said Luis Feliciano, a sophomore majoring in theatre from Philadelphia, Pa., who plays Big Stone.

The play has a strong focus on living and dying, remembering and forgetting— something that human beings sometimes struggle with, according to O’Hearn.

“It really reminded me to appreciate all the relationships I have and love everyone in my life a little harder,” Ayuana Rosario, a freshman theatre major from Hersey, Pa., who plays Little Stone, said.

Katie Reardon, a junior majoring in English from Rockaway, N.J., who plays Eurydice, echoed Rosario’s thoughts.

“This show is magical- it’s inspired me as a performer and person,” she said. “I hope everyone who sees this shows feels inspired to love every person they meet.”

Jamil Joseph, a junior majoring in theatre from Bushkill, Pa., who plays Orpheus, hopes a lot of people will see this “heartfelt, therapeutic play.

Curtain time for the production is 8 p.m. February 24-28 and 2 p.m., March 1. All performances are in the Smith-McFarland Theatre of the university’s Fine and Performing Arts Center, Normal and Marguerite streets, East Stroudsburg.

General admission for the production is $12; $10 for senior citizens and faculty and staff with ID; $7 for students with ID; and $5 for youth. The production is suitable for ages 12 and above.

Tickets may be purchased in advance online with a credit card at esu.edu/theatretickets. Remaining seats will be available at the box office beginning one hour before the performance. Only cash and checks are accepted at the box office.

Yoshinori Tanokura, associate professor of theatre, designed the sets and costumes for the production. Guest designer Aaron Porter created the lighting for the piece.

For box office reservations or more information about the production, please email esuarts@esu.edu or call 570-422-3483, x4.

“We hope everyone can experience the power of this show,” said Andrew Scoggin, who plays Eurydice’s father and is a freshman majoring in theatre from Ottsville, Pa. “I hope it will affect them like it affected all of us.”