Metamorphoses (Mary Zimmerman, 1996) adapted from the classic Ovid poem and includes the story of Eros and Psyche from Lucius Apuleius’ novel Metamorphoses (also called The Golden Ass); as the playwright told Bill Moyers in an interview, “because I love it so much I just had to put it in.” The play was nominated for three Tony awards in 2002 from the production at the Circle in the Square Theater and earned Zimmerman a Tony for Best Direction of a Play.

To metamorphose is to change/undergo transformation by enchantment. Written to be staged as a series of vignettes, Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses juxtaposes the ancient and the contemporary in both language and image to reflect the variety and persistence of narrative in the face of inevitable change. Following the myths of Midas, Orpheus and Eurydice, and others, it bears witness to the power of love, redemption, and forgiveness. Zimmerman explores links between myth, theatre and therapy. As one character in the play states, “Myth is a public dream!”