Santa Barbara High School’s Hadestown

Santa Barbara High School Theater Department is excited to announce their production of Hadestown: Teen Edition this Spring! Awarded for Best Musical and Best Musical Theater Album by the Tony Awards and Grammy Awards, respectively, the students at the high school will bring a new life to the show. Available for all ages, tickets can be purchased at the website, sbhstheatre.com.

Recently released, the 2019 Hadestown musical intertwines two classic Greek mythology tales of Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and Queen Persephone with concepts of love, strength, climate change, doubt, corruption with power, and resilience. Written by Anaïs Mitchell, she brings a modern twist to the classic myths to tackle current ecological and sociopolitical issues in our country that become more relevant as the days go by. The show is set in a similar universe to our dreams “To the world we dream about, and the one we live in now,” to bring optimism and resilience to the story of the characters and our lives. 

Struggling with increasingly prolonged winters, Orpheus plans to create a song that will bring back spring when he meets Eurydice and falls in love. They travel to the industrial Hadestown in hopes of singing the song of spring to Queen Persephone, the goddess of spring, to persuade her to come to the Overworld and rebalance the seasons. Trapped in her own old love to King Hades, the royals find themselves drunk in power with the captivating idea to protect their kingdom to avoid confronting their toxic relationship. Meanwhile, Orpheus and Eurydice fall deeper in their young love and find strength in each other while passing through the River Styx to find the solution to spring. 

The storyline of Hadestown is embodied by the young adults so well that audience members are sure to get chills! Eurydice carries a strong belt while Orpheus graces the audience with refreshing, optimistic vocals. The Fates who harmonize incredibly well together and Hermes, the soulful mentor, carry the story along with their showstopping presence. Persephone dives into emotions of sadness, discontent and resentment while her husband, Hades, revels in his corrupt empire while vying to be loved by his partner. The ensemble members personify the emotions of the main characters while simultaneously bringing spotlight to their strong, powerful choreography with a touch of delicacy. 

Dates

April 25th, April 26th, May 1st, May 2nd, and May 3rd at 7pm and April 26th at 1pm

Cast and Crew Spotlight

Sophomore student Dragon Aditya, reflected on his character Hades as a fun experience because he has been able to “embody someone so different… with a different air” and how it has translated into his regular life. Senior costume crew member, Angelle Breton, urges the audience to “pay close attention to see possible solutions” to themes in the musical that closely parallel life today. Freshman Melanie Snyder describes the production process as one of her favorites because rehearsal has made her “more aware of [herself] and [her] presence, bringing a different kind of understanding to the importance of truly feeling things.” Ensemble member, Natalie Warren, loves how much of “an ensemble heavy show” Hadestown is and the freeing sensation of letting loose in rehearsals.  

Production Team

The production team includes: Director/Gioia Marchese, Choreographer/Kyra Lehman, Production Designer/Jake Himovitz, Musical Director/Tyler Ravelli, Vocal Director/Mary LaFace, Producer/Kira Duffy, Lighting Designer/Leigh Allen, Technical Director/Eli Himovitz

Photo Credit: Leela Cyd