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“Everyone changes. Change is so necessary, yet so painful. It’s the condition of human life. There will be transformation, and you will grow old.”- Mary Zimmerman.

Basing her play on Roman poet Ovid’s masterwork Metamorphoses, the story of Eros and Psyche in Lucius Apuleius’ Metamorphoses and Rainer Maria Rilke’s classic poem Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes (1904), Zimmerman theatricalizes the stories using language and images familiar to the 21st century to reach back to tales as old as civilization

A brief synopsis of the stories featured in Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses:

Cosmogony: A woman, a scientist and the god Zeus discuss and speculate on the creation of the universe.

Midas: After doing a good deed and being granted any wish he desires by the gods, the greedy Midas asks that everything he touches turns to gold. But his wish quickly becomes a curse, and he sets off on an impossible journey to find a pool of water that could potentially reverse his fate.

Alcyone and Ceyx: When King Ceyx embarks on a sea voyage that Queen Alcyone begs him to forgo, he dies in a shipwreck. Overcome with grief, Alcyone goes to the shore and sleeps in the shallow pools — a mournful act that moves the gods to show empathy and transform the couple’s future.

Erysichthon: Erysichthon scorns the gods and holds nothing sacred, so he has no problem chopping down a tree that belongs to Ceres. In an act of retribution, Ceres commands the spirit Hunger to give Erysichthon an insatiable appetite that yields disastrous and devastating results.

Orpheus and Eurydice: On her way to marry Orpheus, Eurydice steps on a snake and dies. Distraught, Orpheus travels to the underworld and begs Hades to free her. Hades agrees on one condition: Orpheus must not look back at Eurydice until they reach the living world — a test he may be unable to endure.

Narcissus interlude: Narcissus, is so enthralled by his own reflection in the water that he freezes.

Pomona and Vertumnus: In the love story of Pomona and Vertumnus we see Pomona, a wood nymph who is so passionate about gardening that she ignores her suitors. So the shy, smitten Vertumnus disguises himself in different ways just to be near her. To win her affection, Vertumnus tells her the story of Myrrha, which helps Pomona see through his ruse and open her heart.

Myrrha: Myrrha habitually refuses her suitors, so Aphrodite curses her with an intense love for her father. With the help of a nursemaid, Myrrha succeeds in luring her blindfolded father, who tries to drown his daughter in rage when the truth is revealed.

Phaeton (Apollo’s son): Phaeton is a spoiled brat who spends his time whining to his Therapist about his life, his many demands and his adventures setting the world on fire.

Eros and Psyche: On a mission for Aphrodite, Eros sets out to punish Psyche for her great beauty. But in a twist of fate, Eros falls madly in love with Psyche instead. Lies from Psyche’s sisters and her own disobedience cause suffering until the gods intervene and help the lovers’ story end happily.

Baucis and Philemon: Zeus and his son Hermes dress as beggars and come to earth to discover what human beings are like, but no one welcomes them except for Baucis and Philemon. Because of the elderly couple’s kindness, the gods grant their wish to die at the same moment and spare their grief. Turning them into a tree forever intertwined in their love for each other. 

Midas: At last, we return to Midas at the end of his journey having found the pool around our tree of love to help him reverse the curse placed on him.