Excitement for Hadestown buzzes through the blackbox

Auditions were filled with excited faces, and melodious voices filled the downstairs chorus room. 

Ever since the announcement of the winter musical Hadestown, excitement has been buzzing through the DSA community. On November 12th through 15th, the Black Box Theater will be filled with excited members of the Durham community to watch Anaïs Mitchell’s retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, who are played by seniors Greta Spagnardi and Chris Johnson, respectively. Secondary leads Hades and Persephone are portrayed by seniors Max Wolfrum and Adaeze Ezuma-Igwe, and Hermes is portrayed by junior AJ Murchison.

“Hadestown is a modern retelling of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the reality of poverty in a capitalist society, being forced to work your life away because of the economic structures imposed by the upper class,” Wolfrum, who is also the set designer for the show, said.

The story’s meaning is widely up for interpretation. Following the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, it can be either a tragic love story, or a deep symbolism about the class system in our society.

“To me, Hadestown is a metaphorical musical about the fact that love is a never-ending cycle,” AJ Murchison, a junior at DSA, reflected.

Although the musical’s actual meaning can be seen as grim or disturbing, that doesn’t undermine the experience that the actors have within the play.  Both actors have thoroughly enjoyed their time in the play.

“I love Hadestown because of the songwriting,” Wolfrum remarked. “Anaïs Mitchell is a fantastic songwriter and I would recommend to everyone that they listen through the whole soundtrack, as well as the concept and off-Broadway albums.”

The Hadestown soundtrack pulls from the traditional jazz sound, and the broadway play has primarily people of color cast as important roles, making this music feel like an homage to black culture.

“The music is soulful and has a wonderful trombone part throughout the songs,” Wolfrum mused.

Outside of the music, Murchison appreciates the people that they’ve met in DSA theater. In last year's musical Little Shop of Horrors, they portrayed Estelle, one of the Doo Wop Girls. Since then, they’ve been making connections within the theater community, most notably with DSA alumni Nathan Prince and current DSA senior Chris Johnson.

“My favorite part of this production is all of the talented and kind actors I've gotten to work with so far. I love just the amount of community that we've built and all of the strong friendships I've gained!” Murchison exclaimed.

Though enjoying the shows, the actors do admit that there are some technicalities to overcome. And according to the set crew, unlevel floors and other details present challenges to the production.  

“The most tedious part of this production is most definitely staging,” Murchison admitted. “We have very intricate ideas, and to keep the illusion of things repeating, we have to have all our blocking down to a T. It's super difficult, but it'll be so worth it!”

Everyone involved in the play is super excited for the outcome. The first show is November 12, and the last show is the 15th. “You guys should totally come to the show, please!” Murchison concluded.