Hadestown — Santa Barbara High School Theatre

Spring 2025

Hermes+Chorus.jpeg

LightsOutE+Fates.jpeg

Hades+Fates.jpeg

Hermes,Hades+Persephone.jpeg

Staff:

Director: Gioia Marchese

Technical Director: Eli Himovitz

Production Designer: Jake Himovitz

Choreography: Kyra Lehman and Sophia Phillips

Vocal Direction: Mary LeFace

Producer: Kira Duffy

Photography: Ben Himovitz

Musical Direction: Tyler Ravelli

Vocal Coach: Luana Psaros

Lighting Design: Leigh Allen

Costume Management: Heather Houser

Dramaturgy: Kara Wood

News Articles:

(click to open links)

- The Independent

- SBHS Dons Facebook

If You Defund the Arts, There Won’t Be Any:

- The Independent

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.

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, self-doubt 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 ours but toasts “To the world we dream about, and the one we live in now.” Hence, bringing optimism and resilience to the story, the characters and our own 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 facing their individual challenges.

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.

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.

Santa Barbara High School Theatre

Santa Barbara High School Theatre, located in the heart of Downtown Santa Barbara, on the beautiful Santa Barbara High School campus is home to the nationally recognized Santa Barbara High School Theatre Program. With theatre being performed continuously in the same space since 1924, Santa Barbara High school Theatre has a rich history. Since 1996 the program has further flourished with the coming of now artistic director and department head Otto Layman, who is now the senior theatre director in the Santa Barbara Unified School District with the retirement of long time San Marcos Theatre director, David Holmes. Otto shares the district with new San Marcos Theatre director Riley Berris (a former student of Otto's) and Dos Pueblos Theatre Company director Clark Sayre.

With close relationships with multiple licensing companies such as Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Musical Theatrical International, Samuel French, and others, SBHS Theatre is able to bring the latest and greatest shows to the Santa Barbara area. Recent shows include Hair, Pippin, Big Fish, Monty Python's SPAMALOT, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, Into the Woods, Alice in Wonderland, Anything Goes, Little Shop of Horrors, and many more. With a strong vocal group SBHS Theatre in recent years has produced two musicals a year in addition to the wildly successful student produced and directed Music of the Night which has been in continuous production since 2000. To provide a professional experience we hold actors to a high standard and to that standard we hire professional directors and artists. Leap ... and a net will appear.