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Orpheus and Eurydice

Grade 9-Roentgen
​A retelling of a tale from long ago, a myth about two star-crossed lovers: two lovers whose love for one
another reaches beyond any bounds. A story about hope and love. A tragedy.

Script Written by:

Lawrence Gabriel Fabula
Mickaela Aspuria
Cheyenne Raine Pamatmat
Preziah Jane Coronel

Casting:
Narrator: Hazel Ann Frane
Orpheus:​ ​Angelo Joseph Barbosa
Eurydice: Sophia Marrie Aguirre
Hades: Aaron David Thomas Amor
Persephone: Sophia Nicole Laurena
Charon: Julius Bisnar
Apollo: Jonathan Alistair Dimayuga
Calliope: Gemma Gabbauan
Orpheus (Young): Elijah Ramirez
Hymen: Sebastien Dela Cruz

Flow and Songs:

1.) The Choice​ ​(Part 1)​- The Poet presents his case to the King and Queen of the Underworld.
2.) The Beginning -​ Orpheus’ story begins with his Gift.
3.) Come Home with Me? - ​Orpheus and Eurydice meet.
4.) The Wedding​ - The star-crossed lovers prepare to get married.
5.) Tragedy Strikes​ - It wasn’t supposed to be this way.
6.) The Skies Weep​ - The song of sadness reaches the Gods, and they weep.
7.) Wait for Me! ​- Orpheus makes a decision.
8.) The Hounds of Hell ​- Orpheus journeys through the underworld.
9.) The Choice (Part 2)​ - The King and Queen answer him.
10.)Wait for Me! (Reprise)​ - The lovers prepare to make the journey back.
11.)Doubt Comes In ​- In the darkness, can you really trust yourself?
12.)The Fall​ - One of them doesn’t make it.
13.)The End​ - We raise our cups to those who try.
Moral:​ Trust in the people you love.

Narrator: ​And so Orpheus looked up to the king and queen of the Underworld, once more thinking of the
love he had lost. His will strengthened by his hope to be reunited with his lover, he opened his mouth,
raised up his voice, and started to sing.

Epic III
Original lyrics and tune from
The Original Broadway Cast of Hadestown

Orpheus
King of Shadows,
King of Shade,
Hades was king of the Underworld
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But he fell in love with a beautiful lady

Who walked up above in her mother’s green field

He fell in love with Persephone

Who was gathering flowers in the light of the sun
And I know how it was because
He was like me
A man in love with a woman

Singing la, la, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la ,la

You didn’t know how

You didn’t know why
But you knew that you wanted to take her home
You saw her alone there against the sky
It was like she was someone you’d always known

It was like you were holding the world when you held her
Like yours were the arms that the whole world was in
And there were no words for the way that you felt
So you opened your mouth
And you started to sing
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Chorus
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Orpheus
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Orpheus and Chorus

La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la,
La, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Orpheus
What has become of the heart of that man,
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Now that the man is King?

What has become of the heart of that man,
Now that he has everything?

Where is the treasure inside of your chest?

Where is your pleasure, where is your youth?
Where is the man with his arms outstretched?
For the woman he loves with nothing to lose

Singing la, la, la, la, la, la, la

Hades
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Orpheus
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Hades and Persephone

La, la, la, la, la, la

Narrator: ​Love is a powerful thing. It changes fate and history, yet it can be as bitter as wine. It inspires
both men and women to do the impossible for the people they love, yet it still drives them both mad. The
story today is a tragedy, a song of love from long ago. A tale of star-crossed lovers that would not be. A
song of love, courage, and determination. A tragedy... Today we tell the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Narrator: ​Orpheus was the son of a muse, Calliope, and a god, Apollo. Apollo, the God of Music, taught
Orpheus how to play an instrument.

Apollo: ​Son, I have something I wish to give you.

Orpheus (Young): ​Really? I wonder what that may be.

Apollo: ​(laughs) Are you forgetting who your father is? Surely you will be far from surprised.

Orpheus (Young): ​Of course not, dad, but will you give it to me now?

Apollo: ​An impatient one you are, but yes. This, my son, now belongs to you.

Orpheus (Young): ​Whoa, a lyre? Thanks, dad! I really appreciate it, but-

Apollo: ​Is there something wrong?

Orpheus (Young): ​No, no, not at all! It’s beautiful, actually. I just... don’t know how to play it.

Apollo: ​Nonsense! No son of mine should worry about not knowing how to play an instrument. Now,
listen and watch me carefully.

Orpheus (Young): ​Okay, dad.

Apollo: ​You hold the lyre by its longest arm with your left hand and use your right hand to strum like this.

(lyre music starts playing)

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Apollo: ​Do you think you can play it exactly as I did?

Orpheus (Young): ​Uh,​ ​I’ll try, but no promises.

(lyre music starts playing again)

Apollo: ​Son, I must say that I am impressed. You are a natural, and your music rivals that of mine.

Orpheus (Young):​ Like father, like son I guess.

Narrator: ​When Orpheus, a young child played, the magic of his music was undeniable to any who
witnessed it.​ ​No one and nothing could resist him, be they friend or foe, alive or dead, God or mortal, they
were all enamored by the grace of his music. Realizing this, his mother, the muse Calliope taught him
how to write verses for singing.

Orpheus (Young):​ La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Calliope: ​Son, may I ask what tune that is?

Orpheus (Young): ​Oh, uh, it’s nothing. Just something I came up with.

Calliope: ​Have more confidence.​ ​It was far from nothing. Come, I shall teach you how to write lyrical
verses.

Orpheus (Young): ​But mom, why must I learn how to write such things?

Calliope: ​Think of it as completing the package. You can play the lyre and you can sing. What better way
to tie it up together than with songwriting?

Orpheus (Young): ​(scratches head) Well, it seems I can’t argue with that, so how do we start?

Calliope: ​Unlike what most believe, you begin with neither the words nor the melody. You start by having
a clear idea of what it is you want to sing.

Orpheus (Young): ​That’s it?

Calliope: ​No, don’t be foolish. A bit more eloquence would be nice. Nonetheless, with your gift in music,
I’m sure there will be many girls chasing after you.

Orpheus (Young): ​That sounds annoying.

Calliope: ​(sigh)​ ​Perhaps so, but the time will come when there will be a girl who you will be chasing after.

Orpheus (Young): ​And that sounds tiring, but okay, mom. Whatever you say.

Narrator: ​As Orpheus grew, his talents grew as well. One day, he eventually met the love of his life. Her
name was Eurydice. He, struck with her grace and beauty, knew at that very moment that she would
become his wife. He wondered how he would do this. Would he take it slowly, though surely? Or-

Come Home with Me

Original Tune and Lyrics from
The Original Broadway Cast of Hadestown

Orpheus
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Come home with me?

Eurydice

Who are you?

Orpheus
I’m Orpheus~

Eurydice
Eurydice.

Orpheus and Chorus

Your name is like a melody

Eurydice
A singer! Is that what you are?

Orpheus
I also play the lyre.

Eurydice
A liar, and a player, too!
I’ve met too many men like you.

Orpheus
Oh no, I’m not like that!
I'm not like other men,
I’ll make you see and prove it to you
I may sound crazy

Eurydice
What?

Orpheus
But it’s true

Eurydice
What?

Orpheus
So will you be my wife?
You fix what’s wrong in me,
You complete me, make me whole
It brings my heart back into tune
Back into time
And all the flowers will bloom

When you become my wife.

Eurydice
Why would I become your wife?

Orpheus
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Because I’ll make you feel alive

Narrator: ​And thus they went, the poet and the songbird, hand in hand. Their love for one another was
clear, undoubtedly. The way Orpheus smiled at Eurydice, and the way that Eurydice smiled back
reminded the world of the love which they all sought for.

Apollo: ​It's your big day, son. You are finally getting married.

Orpheus: ​Dad, it's nothing. Do I look good?

Apollo: ​(laugh) Son, I doubt she would ever think otherwise. Be it the hottest summers or the coldest
winters. That girl, Eurydice's her name, isn't it?

Orpheus: ​Yeah, and?

Apollo: ​She'll never leave you behind, even I know that.

Narrator: ​The door opened, surprising the father and son. It was Hymen, one of the Gods of marriage.

Hymen: ​Apollo, Orpheus.

Apollo: ​Hymen. What is your purpose here?

Hymen:​ I am here to deliver a message. Orpheus, you and Eurydice may have burning love at the
moment, but that will not last, for even the mightiest of trees can fall, and the greatest of loves can turn
bitter.

Orpheus: ​You aren't suggesting-

Hymen: ​*Booming laugh* I​ am not suggesting anything, Orpheus, son of Apollo. All I am merely saying is
a tip. A bit of advice, if you will.

Apollo: ​Pay no mind to him, son.

Orpheus: ​Father, but-

Apollo: ​Pay him no mind. I doubt that Eurydice will ever look at another man the same way she looks at
you, Orpheus.

Orpheus: ​I guess so.

Narrator: ​And so the two put Hymen’s statement to the back of their minds, looking only towards the
bright future that seemed so close. The ceremony began, people danced and had fun. It was a truly joyful
affair. With the arrival of dusk, the festivities ended, leaving the lovers to enjoy themselves for the
moment. However, it was not meant to last. Eurydice’s beauty had enamored someone else, a shepherd
named Aristaeus, who is hiding in shrubbery, plotted to kill Orpheus and take the bride all for himself. As
Aristaeus made his move, Orpheus, realizing what was happening, took Eurydice’s hand and ran.
However, tragedy struck when Eurydice suddenly felt faint and slipped from her husband’s grasp.
Noticing his wife’s unnaturally pale complexion, he looked back for Aristaeus yet could not find him.
Retracing his footsteps, he realized that Eurydice had stepped on a viper’s nest, and a viper had lashed
out, killing her.
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Narrator: ​Eurydice’s death ​broke​ Orpheus. Instead of the joyful, happy, and beautiful melodies he once
sang, he only sang a song of pain, a song of suffering; of mourning and of longing.​ ​The Gods, upon
hearing this song, wept. Apollo decided to help Orpheus get his lover back. The rest of the Gods gave
him their protection for his journey to Hades.

Apollo: ​Son?

Orpheus:​ Go away.

Apollo: ​Son…

Orpheus: ​Please, father, just… go.

Apollo: ​Sending me out before hearing my message? How rude, son.

Orpheus: ​Father, just… please… I just want silence.

Apollo: ​And if I told you that there is a way to get your lover back?

Orpheus: ​What?

Apollo: ​There is a way to get Eurydice back.

Orpheus: ​She’s dead!

Apollo: ​And there is a God of the Dead.

Orpheus: ​Father, you can’t be suggesting what you are sayi-

Apollo: ​Do you want to see your lover again?

Orpheus: ​I-

Apollo: ​Do you want to see Eurydice again?

Orpheus:​ Yes, father.

Apollo: ​Very well. Listen to what I am about to say. The road to hell is not an easy one. If you wish to
reclaim your wife, you will need to enter it. Once you do, however, the trials you face could best you. If
you do manage to get past them, you will need to convince Hades and his wife, Persephone, the King
and Queen of the Underworld, and Hades is known to have a heart of stone.

Orpheus: ​I’ll do it.

Apollo: ​Son, do not take this decision lightly. You will be descending to the depths of the underworld. Do
you really care for Eurydice this much? Just how willing are you to do this?

Orpheus: ​With all my heart.

Apollo: ​With all your heart? Well, that’s a start.

Wait for Me
Original Tune and Lyrics From
The Original Broadway Cast of Hadestown
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Apollo
How to get to the land far down
You have to take the long way ‘`round
Through Tenaurum under cover of night
Laying low, staying out of sight
Ain’t no moonlight, ain’t no map
Just look ahead and keep on track
Just keep on walking and don’t look back
`Till you get to the bottomlands

Orpheus
Wait for me, I’m coming!
Wait, I’m coming with you!
Wait for me, I’m coming too,
I'm coming too!

Apollo
You really are one of a kind
It being so brave of you to walk
A road that no one, no one
Ever dared to walk before
So who do you think you are?
You’re all alone, with no one else,
And all you’ve got is your own two legs
On the way to save your muse!

Orpheus
Wait for me, I’m coming!

Chorus
I'm coming!

Orpheus
Wait I’m coming with you

Chorus
I'm coming!

Orpheus and Chorus

Wait for me, I'm coming too

Chorus
I’m coming too

Orpheus
I’m coming, wait for me!
I hear the souls repeating
The song of love I’m singing,
It sounds like drumming!
And I am not alone!
I hear the rocks and stones
Echoing my song!
I’m coming!
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Chorus
Coming!

All
Coming!

Narrator:​ Orpheus now set out in search of Eurydice, his songbird, his one true love. Entering the caves
of Tenaurum, he felt no fear, only grim determination. The only feeling he felt was the beat of his heart as
it longed for the other one that made it whole. And so, the poet pressed forward.

Orpheus: ​Charon.

Charon: ​Orpheus, son of Apollo. Come in, there is no need for payment.

Orpheus: ​If I might ask, Charon, why?

Charon: ​The Gods have shown you unusual favor, Orpheus.

Narrator: ​And so they crossed the Styx in silence. On the opposite bank of the River Styx lies the hound
of hell, Cerberus- the fearsome beast with three heads. Orpheus did not fear. He looked ahead at the
beast and sang.

Orpheus: ​La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Narrator: ​The beast’s eyes began to droop.

Orpheus: ​La, la, la, la, la, la, la

La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la

Narrator: ​And thus he went, charming everyone he came across. Sisyphus, being cursed forever to roll a
stone up a hill, ceased his pointless efforts and sat on his rock, contemplatively. Tantalus, a king now
forced to be forever seeking water which he will never drink, did not thirst for it. Even the Furies, dreaded
goddesses of vengeance, eternally seeking revenge against those who have dealt harm to others, began
to weep upon hearing his song of love and longing. And then he reached Hades and Persephone.

Orpheus & Community: ​La, la, la, la, la, la, la!

Narrator: ​Hades and Persephone, after hearing the poet’s song, looked at one another.

Persephone: ​He is in love, Hades.

Hades: ​I saw.

Persephone: ​I pity him.

Hades: ​Why so?

Persephone: ​He has the kind of love for her that you and I have.

Hades: ​But nothing comes upon wishing on stars, Seph. You and I know that.
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Persephone: ​Then there will be a test. A trial to prove his trust and love. If he looks back at her on the
return above-

Hades: ​Then she shall never return.

Narrator:​ ​And so, the poor boy asked the King.

Orpheus: ​Can we go?

Hades: ​You are free to take Eurydice home.

Orpheus: ​Thank you, Lord Hades.

Hades: ​On one condition.

Orpheus: ​What is it, my Lord?

Hades: ​On the return to the world above, you may not look at her. She will be behind you, following you.
Only when both of you are within the grasp of the sunlight will you be able to look behind. Otherwise, she
will stay here in Hades, never to return again.

Narrator: ​Here is the catch, here is the condition, here is the test. To not look behind you and not doubt,
to look forward believing that the people you love are behind you all the way; to not have to look behind
you knowing that your lover is behind you.

Wait for Me (Reprise)

Set to the tune of “Wait for Me (Reprise)”
Original tune and lyrics by The Original Broadway Cast of Hadestown

Persephone
You’ve got a lonesome road to walk
It ain’t along the path with light
And it ain’t along the garden grass
You’ve walked a hundred times before

Hades
I’ll tell you where the real road lies:
Between you ears, behind your eyes
That is the path to paradise
Likewise, the road to ruin

Orpheus and Eurydice

Wait for me, I'm coming
Wait, I'm coming with you
Wait for me, I'm coming too
Wait for me, I'm coming
Wait, I'm coming with you
Wait for me, I'm coming

Chorus, Hades, Persephone

Show the way!

Eurydice
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I’m coming, wait for me!

I hear the souls repeating
The song of love we’re singing,
It sounds like drumming!
And we are not alone!
I hear the rocks and stones
Echoing our song!

I'm coming!

Orpheus
Coming!

Chorus
Coming!

Narrator: ​So on they went, the two lovers passing down the same path that one of their numbers had
already gone down before, now once more together. Orpheus leading the way, Eurydice behind him, the
pair now heading towards the surface and the sunlight. However, Orpheus began to doubt. He couldn’t
hear Eurydice. He didn’t know if she was really there behind him, following him. He began to doubt the
Gods, believing that they had lied to him, that they had tricked him. He began to doubt himself if it was his
hearing failing him, if it was his mind playing tricks on him. He began to doubt Eurydice, if she was really
following him. Soon, he had reached the surface, and as the sunlight fell on his face, he turned around.

Orpheus​: Eurydice.

Eurydice: ​Orpheus.

Orpheus: ​You were behind me.

Eurydice: ​I was.

Orpheus: ​Eurydice?

Eurydice: ​Farewell.

Narrator: ​Eurydice was a shade, needing to enter the sunlight to become a real person. As Orpheus had
turned around before this happened, she was whisked back to Hades. Orpheus was heartbroken,
inconsolable. He attempted to return to Hades, but mortals could not return to the underworld twice while
still alive. Realizing that he had thrown away his last chance to be with his love, he wept. He and his lyre,
previously singing songs of love and joy, now sang songs of sadness, of mourning, of pity. He begged for
death so that he and Eurydice would be reunited forever. The Maenads, urged by their patron Dionysus
killed him for preferring the worship of his father, Apollo. His lyre would be taken by the Muses and used
as a constellation in the stars, while his head would be kept among the living people to sing forever,
enchanting everyone with the music and songs which he was so renowned for.

We Raise Our Cups

Original Tune and Lyrics from the Original Broadway Cast of Hadestown

Persephone
Pour the wine and raise a cup
Drink up, brothers, you know how
And spill a drop for Orpheus
Wherever he is now
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Persephone and Eurydice

Some birds sing when the sun shines bright
Our praise is not for them
But the one who sings in the dead of night
We raise our cups to them

Wherever he is wandering
Alone upon the earth
Let all our singing follow him
And bring him comfort

Some flowers bloom when the green grass grows

Our praise is not for them
But the one who blooms in the bitter snow
We raise our cups to him

We raise our cups and drink it up

Persephone
We raise it high and drink it dry

All
To Orpheus and all of us
Goodnight, brothers, goodnight

Narrator​: And thus ends the tale, the ​tragedy​ of Orpheus and Eurydice.

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