Any student of the classics would, one supposes, recall the tale of Orpheus and his bride Eurydice. There have been at least three operas, a ballet or two and numerous plays on the subject, but most dwell on Orpheus and his great loss and his subsequent visit to the underworld to reclaim his loved one. It’s the stuff of classic legends.

   But what happens if you look at the story from a different angle or through the eyes of a different character? Upcoming playwright Sarah Ruhl has done just that, called her work Eurydice and has examined love in two astonishingly effective ways — love for husband and love for her father. She has brought the vernacular to the present and transposed ancient lore into an achingly beautiful and provocative parable for today.

   In the process playwright Ruhl has broken some of the conventional rules of the theater and the current student production at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre is happy to exploit the fissures. Actually it is a senior thesis project and there is extraordinary work behind it (not the least of which was acquiring the rights to stage the play in the first place). It is also one of the more startling pieces you will see in many a year. Ms. Ruhl uses an offbeat style, blending colors and moods that some may find a bit jarring. If you are a devotee of “straight-line lineation of plot,” be advised you may have considerable work to do. She eschews the typical threads of comedy and drama and mixes them to her own brew. She also blends naturalism with fantasy to form her own patterns. There is passion aplenty, but humor also. Loss and grief, but hope and comfort as well.

   The cast is simply superb. The title role is being played by Jessica Harrop, who finds equal doses of bewilderment and youthful indignation, confusion at the regulations that seem to have no reason, and concern for her loved ones. Above all, she is puzzled by life and death. Kut Akdogan plays Orpheus with a kind of dogged intensity, blinders firmly in place. Shawn Fennell plays the father with great grace, patience and caring, willing to take his time when needed. If, as the old saying goes, “in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King,” he is regal, indeed, having escaped the full effects of the River of Forgetfulness. He is able to remember some of what passed for humanity on Earth.

   Glenn Brown first plays “a nasty interesting man” and later plays the “lord of the underworld.” That he doesn’t steal the entire evening is a tribute to the other actors. He uses voice modulations to perfection and finds both comedy and pathos, sometimes in the same sentence. Willie Myers, Cate Adams and Veronica Siverd comprise the chorus (here they are stones, named Big Stone, Little Stone and Loud Stone) and as such they lay down the rules as required and briefly comment on what might be happening as a good chorus should. Always without emotion as stones indeed might.

   There is much more: Michael McMillan has written original music, which acts as underscoring in some scenes. Sara Clement has designed a set that is simplicity itself, except when you realize that it includes an elevator to Hades, complete with rainstorm, a high-rise apartment building and that people bicycled on and off at times. All this has been handled by director Douglas Lavanture seamlessly and with great style and extraordinary insight, making the difficult seem easy. In particular his father/daughter scenes go beyond the script in depth.

   There are only two performances left. It is very much worth the effort to see it.

Eurydice continues at The Berlind Theatre, McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, Mar. 13-14, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10, $8 seniors/students; (609) 258-9220; www.mccarter.org