American Repertory Theatre (ART) will present the world premiere of Rinde Eckert's Orpheus X, directed by Robert Woodruff and designed by acclaimed video artist Denise Marika, on March 25 at Zero Arrow Theatre in Cambridge, MA. The music-theatre piece is a contemporary retelling of the Orpheus and Euydice legend, in which Orpheus risks death to rescue Eurydice from the underworld.
Eckert previously collaborated with Woodruff on the successful Highway Ulysses, which received the 2003 Elliot Norton Award for best production. David Zinn designed sets and costumes; Christopher Akerlind designed lighting; and David Remedios designed sound.
Eckert–a composer, writer, director, singer, actor, and movement artist–conceives and writes both the music and libretto for his productions. His works, including the Obie Award-winning And God Created Whales, have toured nationally and in Europe. Eckert received the Marc Blitzstein Memorial Award in 2005 from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which is given every five years to a lyricist/librettist/composer.
Performances of Orpheus X will run through April 23, for more information visit www.amrep.org.