A look inside Hampton High School's spring musical 'Hadestown: Teen Edition'

As Hampton High School prepares to bring the acclaimed Broadway musical Hadestown: Teen Edition to the stage, we sat down with Mr. Dan Franklin, Musical Director and HHS Teacher, to explore the magic behind this unique production. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. on April 4 & 5 and 11 & 12. Tickets are available online (www.hamptoncats.org) or at the door. 

This interview was lightly edited for clarity and flow.

Can you talk about the initial reaction when the kids found out about the production? Is this the first time we’ve done Hadestown in Hampton?

Mr. Franklin: This is the first time we’ve done it. As a matter of fact, the licensing for an amateur production of Hadestown was not available until last April. So it’s not even been available outside of professional companies for even a year yet.

The original excitement was definitely there, especially among those in the cast who are really familiar with musical theater. Hadestown is still on Broadway since its premiere in 2019. I was fortunate enough, before the pandemic, to see the all-original cast performance, and during that performance, it quickly became my number one favorite musical. I thought it was so different and innovative, unlike anything else playing at the time. It really stuck with me.

The kids were all familiar with it. I think it's come through Pittsburgh at least once, if not twice, with the professional tour. So the excitement level was really high for those familiar with the show.

What sets it apart from other musicals?

Mr. Franklin: First, it's a "sing-through" musical, which means it's all music from beginning to end. There are no pauses for dialogue or traditional spoken scenes. It’s music from end to end. Several shows like Les Misérables and Hamilton are similar, but we've never attempted a sing-through production before. For us, this makes it extremely challenging because everything is staged to music. So you don’t have those breaks of dialogue.

Musically, it is non-traditional in terms of musical fare. The sound and flavor of the music has a New Orleans “second line” jazz-type feel to it. The set also echoes that. The band is on stage the entire time, usually a small six-piece ensemble. The costuming has a late 1920s, American Depression-era style, which gives it a very distinctive look.

What's the setting of the musical?

Mr. Franklin: According to the script, it's set in an unspecified time and place. But it does take inspiration from the American Depression era and consists of two worlds: the above ground and the underground, which is Hadestown. But it's not meant to be tied to a specific year or location.

Can you tell us about the leads and the cast?

Mr. Franklin: This year, as far as leads go, it's a smaller show, with a smaller orchestra, too. While we have an ensemble, there are only eight leads. The two romantic leads are based on Greek mythology characters, Orpheus and Eurydice. Their story follows their meeting, falling in love, and Eurydice being taken to the underworld by Hades.

We've double-cast three roles this year, which is the most we've ever done. We do this when more than one actor is giving a completely different interpretation of a role during auditions, but we would like to use both. One cast performs on Friday nights, the other on Saturday nights. This is challenging for the students because on nights they're not playing lead roles, they're still part of the ensemble, singing and dancing.

With the exception of two leads, everyone cast as a lead has previous experience in high school musical theater. For example, our lead playing Eurydice, Lordyn Shoemaker, had the lead in Tuck Everlasting last year playing Winnie Foster as a freshman. Nathan Connelly, playing Orpheus, is a junior and this is his first lead role, though he's been cast in supporting roles before.

How long is the musical?

Mr. Franklin: It runs between two and two and a half hours, including a 15 to 20-minute intermission.

Any final thoughts?

Mr. Franklin: I'm really excited to share this with the public because it's such a modern show. We’ve never done a show that has had such a quick turnaround from it being on Broadway to us having the ability to produce it as an amateur production. Many people are familiar with it because it’s so recent, and I’m excited to bring it to those who aren’t familiar with it, because it really is a ride that takes you down this path where you’re looking at the leads making these choices, and you’re hoping for the best for them, but you don’t know how it is going to turn out.

And I think everybody takes something different away from this show. For me, I feel that the message is fascinating. It's written based on characters from Greek mythology, so the story is ancient, but the message is more modern. There's a line that Orpheus has in Act I where he does a toast with the ensemble: "To the world we dream about and the one we live in now." 

I think that’s such an important and powerful line in this show. When he says this, it’s showing to the audience that during hard times, we can still find beauty and compassion in the world, regardless of how hard it gets. Even if we can’t see the struggle ahead of us, to find that beauty — it’s still there, as dark as times may seem to us. He’s looking at it from both sides. He’s not a successful hero of the story because he succeeds at the end, he’s successful because he attempts to find the good things in the world.

The leads are Nathan Connelly (Orpheus); Lordyn Schomaeker (Eurydice); Logan Brady and Jordan Schafer (Hermes); Aidan Casey and Daniel Morgan (Hades); Kaitlin Howe and Clara Mauro (Persephone); Mira Cupps, Ashley Kimmell, and Alain Pursh (The Fates).

The ensemble is comprised of Evelyn Dillon, Gianna Eager, Finn Fitschen-Wilmes, Lily Haberman, Rosha Kazemi, Rachel Kirsopp, Bella Korn, Abigail Legal, Madison McCay, Miles McKinney, Sara Miller, Addison Payne, Lola Pikalo, Isabel Romul, Jinwon So, Linnea Taube, Hannah Ward, and Jasmine White.