Reviews: Hadestown: Teen Edition presented by Colgan HS
Written by Bonna Koo of Thomas Jefferson Highschool of Science and Technology
A shrill train whistle reverberates through the space, beckoning all to attention. A guiding hum settles the electric excitement in the air, and a stomp of a shined, silver shoe ignites the spark of a bustling community– an ancient epic coming to life. All aboard, for the vibrant, tragic journey of Colgan High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition is departing once again.
Based on classic Greek myths, Hadestown: Teen Edition by Anaïs Mitchell centers around Orpheus and Eurydice, a lone pair finding their way through a harsh reality. Hades and Persephone, an industrial tyrant and his caged spouse, foil the young lovers with a worn out relationship which drains the world around them. As Orpheus, an ingenious musician, struggles to finish his magnum opus, and Eurydice, a pragmatic realist, struggles to keep food on the table, the duo endures trial after trial, straining the depths of their love.
Andrew Serrano-Bremer as Orpheus delivered a hauntingly earnest performance, embracing a puppy-like naivety in both his airy singing and full-bodied advances. From helpless looks of infatuation to hefty trudges forward, Serrano-Bremer subtly progressed Orpheus, never losing the sincere core of the character. Serrano-Bremer’s warm, velvety voice and live guitar self-accompaniment passionately drove each scene, cutting through heavy moments of silence with a heartbreakingly sincere voice. Complementing Serrano-Bremer’s Orpheus was Cam Carter’s Eurydice, whose sharp, resonant singing beautifully blended with Serrano-Bremer’s soft, rich tones. With guttural sobs and joyful glee, Carter rooted Eurydice in human suffering, grounding herself as a young girl rather than an epic caricature.
Balancing each scene as the ever reliable conductor was Hermes (Jeremiah Gates), the colorful narrator and mentor to Orpheus. Bringing a pastoral air to the commentary, Gates delivered lines like a poet, masterfully utilizing clipped consonants and a relaxed gait to guide through each scene. Despite this, Gates’ Hermes never lost an underlying sincerity, transitioning between bright, celebratory shouts and mournful, soft-spoken whispers. Acting as otherworldly vultures, the Fates (Madelyn Byrne, Beza Endashaw, and Nature Greene) seeped doubt and worry into each character's minds with sharp, harmonious melodies. Carrying themselves with mystic, poised postures, the Fates loomed in every scene, circling around as harbingers of doom.
Dynamic, 1920’s inspired costumes made by Maya Vilchik and Casey Williams breathed life into each character, cohesively accentuating each bright personality and narrative. With blue lighting representing Orpheus’ young passion throughout the show, Hades’ coat symbolized his locked away warmth by partially concealing stripes of ocean blue with stiff black leather. The programmed uniformity of the working ensemble was heightened with black ski goggles, replacing any lively facial features with cold, unfeeling darkness. Highlighting the vibrant environments was the lighting design, utilizing creative implementations of onstage lighting to emphasize different themes. Juxtaposing weary hues of orange with inspiring splashes of cerulean blue, the lighting distinguished each revelation, even dividing the stage into easily understandable swatches of color to represent the character’s different attitudes.
With each quiet whistle and thunderous shout, Colgan High School’s Hadestown: Teen Edition mapped a frustratingly real road of both hope and despair. In an unfair world of dramatic irony and doomed fate, sometimes all there’s left to do is grab a drink, sit down, and listen.
Written by Lucia Wilkerson of Oakton High School
Powerful melodies, vibrant Dixieland jazz, and a poor boy working on a song… brothers and sisters, boys and girls, welcome to Colgan High School’s magnificent production of Hadestown: Teen Edition!
The show intertwines the Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice with the story of Hades and Persephone. The first version of the original production, titled Hadestown, premiered on Broadway in 2019. A beautiful celebration of the power of music, unity, and hope, Hadestown won 8 Tony Awards, two of which include Best Musical and Best Original Score. Colgan High School’s production chooses to take inspiration from certain 1920 elements, such as costumes and choreography, but overall is inspired by the two major Greek myths.
Set in the 1920s-style train station of the overworld, that could be transformed into the bright, steampunk world of Hadestown, complete with Hades’ massive brick wall and neon-bright electric wiring. The orchestra, inspired by the unique sound of New Orleans jazz and American folk music, plays a central role in building the world of the play. The energy of the cast was extremely lively and vibrant, with each cast member being as in tune with each other as the orchestra themselves. Specifically, The Fates– Madelyn Byrne, Beza Endashaw, and Nature Greene– gave the audience chills with eerie harmonies and haunting sliding notes perfectly encapsulating their beautiful yet menacing presence.
The lead role of the charming musician Orpheus was expertly portrayed by Andrew Serrano-Bremer. Orpheus is written as a hopeful and boyish character, and Serrano-Bremer encapsulates those qualities perfectly. His moving rendition of “Wait for Me” displayed his expertly trained voice, sliding up into a perfect falsetto with mastery. Eurydice, a hungry young girl, portrayed by Cam Carter, immediately entranced the audience with her vocal prowess. Being able to masterfully infuse emotion into each lyric, Carter displays her character’s emotional arc regarding Orpheus. From being closed off and distant to deeply vulnerable, Carter and Serrano-Bremer’s tear-jerking love duet, “All I’ve Ever Known”, left the audience breathless and misty-eyed.
The show opens with the brassy and confident Hermes (Jeremiah Gates), who was the perfect narrator and conductor to the world of the play, and the characters of Hadestown: Teen Edition. Skillfully balancing stern authority with parental warmth, Gates cemented his role as a father figure for Orpheus and our guide on the road to Hell. Mariam Trigui, as the one and only Queen of the Underworld, Persephone, is a prime example of the vocal excellence that Colgan High School has to offer. With beautiful and complex vocal riffs, not only was her performance as a singer incredible, but the twinge of sadness in every sassy dance number solidifies Trigui as a master of characterization. The stoic King Hades, ruler of the underworld, played by Robert Cioletti, was portrayed with incredible deliberation and thought. Together with Trigui, the pair create a dysfunctional couple, who despite seemingly being polar opposites, have a love so passionate that you can’t help but root for them.
The Costume and Makeup teams, composed of Maya Vilchik and Casey Williams infused the production with 1920s flair, except The Fates, whose costumes and makeup looks were dated to be from an earlier era, emphasizing their timelessness. Other notable costume pieces include Hermes’ silver conductor’s uniform and Persephone’s golden snake necklace, chosen in homage to the original Orpheus and Eurydice myth, where Hades brings Eurydice to the underworld via snakebite.
Hadestown: Teen Edition is a powerful and thought-provoking reminder of what musical theatre can achieve, and is a toast “to the world we dream about, and the one we live in now”.