The Pomona College Department of Theatre and Dance and Claremont-based professional theatre company Ophelia’s Jump will start the summer play season with Eurydice, Sarah Ruhl’s retelling of the Orpheus myth. Performances will be held Friday through Sunday, May 23-25, and Friday through Sunday, May 30 to June 1, in Seaver Theatre.

In this play, the Orpheus story is told from the perspective of Eurydice, his wife. Under the affectionate tutelage of her father, Eurydice regains her memories of earthly love—but has to choose between her husband and her father, with both choices involving loss. Doug Oliphant is the director.

The New York Times wrote, “Eurydice is ultimately about the painful choice that comes with the passing of joys and pleasures: whether to remember, in sadness, or to forget, and achieve a calm but emptier equilibrium.”

Tickets are $25 for general admission and $22 for students and seniors, and may be purchased online at www.opheliasjump.org. Performances are Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 4 p.m. Pomona College’s Seaver Theatre is located at 300 E. Bonita Ave., Claremont.

Eurydice is the first of four plays jointly produced by Pomona College and Ophelia’s Jump. In this partnership, Ophelia’s Jump provides internships, with students participating as performers and technicians, as well as master classes and workshops for Claremont Colleges’ students and area residents. Actor, director and teacher Beatrice Casagran and actor and improv comedian Caitlin Lopez founded Ophelia’s Jump.

Other plays to be performed this season include A Midsummer Elizabethan Festival: Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor (July 17-27, Sontag Greek Theatre); Macbeth (July 18-26, Sontag Greek Theatre); and Moises Kaufman’s 33 Variations (September 5-14, Allen Theatre).

CEF celebrates local business with mixer

The Claremont Educational Foundation will host a mixer on Thursday, May 29 to celebrate local businesses that have helped the Claremont schools through giving. The event, which runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and is co-hosted by the Claremont Chamber, will take place at Pomona College’s Seaver House, 305 N. College Ave., Claremont.

Guests can enjoy appetizers compliments of The Custom Butcher in Upland, and beer and wine from Dale Bros. Brewery, Claremont Craft Ales and the Packing House Wine Merchants.

There is no charge for admission, however, RSVP is requested by May 22 to info@claremonteducationalfoundation.org or by calling (909) 399-1709.