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The 2019 Tony award-winning musical, Hadestown, weaves the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice (in which Orpheus ventures to the underworld to save his love from an eternity of suffering) through a contemporary exploration of industry versus nature and excess versus neglect and poverty.  The undercurrents of these themes are palpable today.  But for us, the journey of Orpheus, the Idealistic Artist, who believes wholeheartedly that a song can change the world, has been resonating personally and profoundly throughout the process of directing these young artists.  

Orpheus’ journey is our journey.  The relentless pursuit of beauty and love while battling the elements of nature (climate change) and man (tyranny, greed, exclusion) is one we feel personally.  Ultimately, it is self-doubt that is Orpheus’ undoing.  How we talk to ourselves throughout our life journey is an integral part of our growth as artists, as humans.  That little voice that says, maybe you can’t do this or that or even dare to try can be fatal to the spirit.  Doubt is existential and inevitable.  How do we battle that force?

This has been an ambitious project on every level.  Building complex sets and navigating and learning a sophisticated musical score and choreographic landscape on a limited budget with teenage musicians and actors might seem a daunting and near impossible venture.  But these kids are incredible!  It has sometimes seemed like a veritable circus of rehearsal days: some of us learning choreography in one room, others honing complex harmonic vocal lines in another while Aaron and team was “building the wall” of set pieces which we ultimately need to fashion this complex world.  But we never doubted we could not make it all work.  The team effort has paid off.  We are thrilled for you to experience the magic today!

If there is any one message we want to convey to our young actors and musicians, it is this: try!  Try and fail over and over again.  Anais Mitchell writes, “We raise our cups to Orpheus not because he succeeds, but because he tries.”  We must have the courage to fail repeatedly.  Because as Hermes sings, maybe it will turn out right this time!

We believe a good song, Art, Music, Beauty, has the power to change the world!  

“A song to fix what’s wrong. Take what’s broken, make it whole…a song to bring the world back into time, back into tune.”  So we are going to sing it again and again and again.

We raise our cups to these kids…we raise our cups to you, our audience.  Enjoy the ride.

Rebecca, Danette, and Amy