Last week, Highland theater welcomed the community to Hadestown. Through a mix of heartfelt and jazzy songs, the cast told the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and their journey to the underworld. Hadestown: Teen Edition intermixed two love stories: one very old and the other brand new.
The musical begins with introductions of the main characters: Hades (Leif Kious) and Persephone (Aviana Cova)—the god of the underworld and the goddess of spring, whose great love was lost long ago. Orpheus (Harper Pierce) is an optimistic songwriter, and Eurydice (Grace Croft) is a poor girl just trying to get by. Orpheus falls in love with Eurydice, and she soon falls for him, too. Hermes (Leo Muñoz) is our narrator and a thread that connects the world of the gods to the mortals.
During the spring and summer, Persephone resides above ground, and everything is great. But every fall, Hades arrives to bring Persephone back down to Hadestown for the winter. This year, Hades comes for Persephone too early, causing the people to suffer. Orpheus is tasked with writing a song to bring spring back.
When Eurydice is struggling, she makes a deal with Hades. Eurydice leaves Orpheus behind in favor of working in Hadestown. Orpheus’s love for Eurydice drives him to walk the long way to hell to find her and bring her home again.
Way down, in Hadestown, Orpheus and Eurydice are reunited. To convince Hades to let them go, Orpheus must sing him a song. Through his song, Orpheus reminds the god of the underworld of his love for Persephone. It was one of the greatest loves to ever have existed. Softened by the song, Hades agrees to let the young lovers go under one condition: Orpheus must walk in front and Eurydice behind him. If Orpheus turns around to see if she is following, she returns to Hadestown forever.
Highland Drama did an amazing job bringing this story to life on stage. The chorus was very in sync and the leads brought great vocals to the table. The pit on the side of the stage was a vibrant accompaniment to the actors.
Throughout the musical, the fates (Tate Winger, Q Smith, Takarah Parker) manifested a sense of warning in the story. Constantly watching the action, they embodied Orpheus and Eurydice’s sealed fate.
Alongside the actors and the music, the set design and lighting were what really immersed the audience in the world of Hadestown. From Hades’ ominous backlit entrance to Orpheus’ spotlight amid total darkness, the lighting set the tone for each scene and was really incredible.
Overall, this year’s fall musical was a success. And thanks to director Sara Ragey, the performers, the crew, and everyone who worked on the show, Hadestown was a performance that won’t be forgotten.
