In ancient Greece, devotees of Dionysus would engage in transcendent rituals of music, dance, eroticism, and intoxication guided by the spirit of the mythic musician, Orpheus. With these rites, the Orphic Cults experienced divinity and built a community based on love and harmony. But, in time, they became decadent and exploitive, more about becoming inebriated and enriching a priestly elite than enlightenment.
Some things never change.
A DJ booth hangs above a concert stage dominated by a giant wicker idol of Dionysus. A voice echoes: "The name's Aristeus - you can call me AT/ Gonna tell you a story from antiquity". Thus begins DJ/storyteller/rapper AT 's prologue to this contemporary retelling of the classic Orpheus myth set in the Bacchanal of our age: the underground dance party.
In a series of tableaus, AT introduces us to the characters of the show. He tells us that Orpheus ("O") is the world's greatest musician. At his birth, The Fates foretold that O would change the world. Although that didn't happen, concert promoter/sorcerer Erebus has made him famous.
AT says the Dionysian Cult of the Full Moon was once dedicated to Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect. But now it revolves around the drinking of "Elixir of Love", a hallucinogenic potion that evokes delusions of enlightenment and spiritual connection with others. Elixir is sold at great profit by Erebus and his leather-clad goth female votives, The Maenads .
As the crowd roars, Orpheus delivers a spectacular performance, driving the crowd into a frenzy. Erebus interrupts to urge the crowd to buy Elixir, all while making sarcastic asides to AT ("Another Twenty Dollars").
The proceedings are interrupted by the arrival of Eurydice ("E") and her acolytes who have come to protest that the stage has been built on a holy oak grove belonging to her mother, the earth goddess Gaia . E says that Gaians seek the "The Healer", the prophesied One who will unite their ancient feminine earth-worship with the modern world of men. Orpheus is clearly smitten with her.
Erebus wants the Gaians ejected, but AT convinces him to let them in as "chicks are good for business." Maybe to impress Eurydice, Orpheus challenges all comers to a contest of musical skills. He flashily outperforms them all. But then Eurydice sings a pure and unadorned melody. Changing tactics, Orpheus sings in harmony. Despite herself, Eurydice is impressed. They leave together.
After the show, Erebus is not happy. He worries to AT what effect Eurydice might have on Orpheus as she is the daughter of Gaia, rival to Dionysus.
Away from the others Eurydice rejects O's romantic overtures, believing he is a distraction from her sacred quest. He doesn't believe in quests - he believes in love. Whatever makes you feel good is good and all that counts is the moment.
To Eurydice, the Elixir-taking Dionysians are self-indulgent and deluded. The measure of love is what you are willing to sacrifice for it. She tells Orpheus the Healer offers a greater love: "Just beyond the surface of your skin/A River of Light/Love awaits for you to let it in/The River of Light."
E's vision resonates with O and he finishes the song singing in harmony with her. Despite herself, she is drawn to him. For a moment, it looks as though they will kiss, then E turns and hurries off in confusion.
Erebus, who has been watching by video-cam, fumes. He sees Eurydice as a threat. He wistfully recalls his early days with Orpheus: "No one loved you better than I."
At a temple in the oak grove, Eurydice's mother, Gaia, appears as a giant face in the trees. E confesses she is torn between her quest and her attraction to Orpheus and isn't sure what to do. Gaia demands E focus on her quest. She says men have "put nature into crisis" and desecrate the water and the air. Someday, the Healer will come and speak the One Language that will join the ancient ways with the new. Only then, "the Healing will begin." But, by the end of the song, Eurydice has decided: she chooses Orpheus.
Meanwhile, Erebus plies AT with Elixir, and convinces him that Eurydice is attracted to him. When Eurydice walks by looking for Orpheus, Erebus goads AT goes to pursue her. As AT goes after E, Erebus begins an ominous chant. AT clumsily attempts to seduce Eurydice, who runs to an altar in the oak grove to escape him. The altar opens, revealing the dreaded Furies : undead, sleepless monsters from the Underworld. Invoked by Erebus' rite, they seize Eurydice and carry her off. The portal closes behind them.
AT rushes to tell Orpheus, who is devastated. Erebus says that the Furies were carrying out the wishes of the Fates. Orpheus' destiny is to bring Elixir to the world and Eurydice was a distraction. He must move on.
But O cannot live without his soulmate. He will attempt a journey strictly forbidden to mortals: he will go to the Underworld to bring her back. He plays a deep, resonant note on his electric lyre again and again. The ground shakes and the portal reopens. Descending, he sings, "I will follow you..."
At the river Styx, Orpheus meets Charon, the blind boatman who ferries dead souls across. Charon refuses him passage. But hearing the rhythm of Orpheus' music, Charon recalls his long-ago mortal life and family. Grateful, he ferries O to the other side.
Next, Orpheus encounters Cerberus, the giant, fire-breathing, three-headed dog. O gives him melody and is allowed to pass. But the merciless Furies block his way. O gives them harmony and they fall asleep.
At last, Orpheus reaches Hades , king of the Underworld and his queen, Persephone , surrounded by masked handmaidens. Hades angrily demands he go back. When O refuses to leave without Eurydice, Hades declares that he will be sent to the part of the Underworld reserved for suicides - and he will never see Eurydice again.
A handmaiden casts off her mask. It is Eurydice. She pleads with Hades to let Orpheus go, to no avail. Hades tells them that for their insolence they will both be sent to the worst region of Hades reserved for those who challenge the gods.
But instead of despairing, the O and E are grateful to be reunited. In "If I Knew Then...", they recall the pain they've endured to be together. Would they have made different choices if they'd known what they were going to face? They conclude that to have each other, they'd still have done the same, and kiss for the first time.
Moved by the lover's devotion, devious Persephone suggests a Faustian bargain to her husband: Orpheus may return with Eurydice, but he will lose his ability to make music. The cruel irony appeals to Hades, who adds a sardonic wrinkle: If O looks back before the threshold of the world, his music will be restored. But he will lose E forever. Taunts Hades, "Your love may overpower death, but can it overpower your ambition?"
The spiteful souls of the dead whisper that Hades' deal is a trick to make Orpheus lose his music. Suddenly, Eurydice realizes the true meaning of Gaia's words: a Healer has come to save the world - it is Orpheus. His music is the One Language that will bring humanity back in balance with nature. O crosses into the living world. E comes to the threshold, stops on purpose , and calls out his name. He turns, in horror, to see the Furies taking her back. She calls out, "You are the Healer the wounded world is waiting for/Return with your music and make it whole once more."
Back at the Cult of the Full Moon, AT has taken over Orpheus' role, singing a deflated "Elixir of Love." He is overjoyed when O returns to the Cult. O tells them they don't need Elixirs or priests’Äîthey must cast aside their self-indulgence and heal the world. In doing so, they themselves will be healed.
Erebus literally pulls the plug on their celebration. He mockingly refers to a "River of Lies" and says the Truth is that people want illusions. He orders the Maenads to kill Orpheus. They surround him and perform a spectacular martial arts dance with flaming swords. AT tries to help Orpheus, but O is stabbed in the back as he pushes AT out of harm's way.
AT and the crowd angrily confront Erebus, who conjures up the Furies to help. But they have been transformed by Orpheus' music. Instead of attacking AT and O, they carry off Erebus and the Maenads to the Underworld. AT rushes to the stricken Orpheus. O says, "Don't let it be forgotten that we once had a dream/ For one brief shining moment it was more/But every time that music plays we can be redeemed/And 'Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect' can be restored."
Orpheus sees the spectral face of Eurydice and reaches toward it. As AT gazes down at him they both reprise, "I Will Follow You." O dies in AT's arms. The cult members wrap his body in colorful fabrics and gently carry it to the giant wicker idol of Dionysus. They set it afire.
AT returns to rapper/storyteller guise and says that the Cult is now dedicated to the memory of Orpheus and Eurydice. Their spirits have been bound together by the Fates, sailing forever on the River of Light. The lovers float high above the theater in Charon's boat. Below, images of Gaia and Dionysus hang side by side. As the cast reprises "River of Light", O's lyre ascends to the heavens and becomes the constellation Lyra.
THE END