Lincoln East puts on Nebraska's first-ever high school production of 'Hadestown'

As Melissa Walburn left the New York City theater in March 2020 after seeing the very last showing of "Hadestown" on Broadway before the world shut down, her thoughts weren’t on the looming global pandemic.

Instead, she was thinking about the show’s gorgeous sets, the intriguing characters and especially of the music, which was some of the most beautiful and complicated music she had ever heard on a Broadway stage, she said.

More than that, however, Walburn, the musical director at Lincoln East, was thinking about her new dream to one day have the chance to direct a production of "Hadestown," based on stories of Greek mythology, herself.

“Just the whole show, for me, was one that immediately took hold,” she said.

But that dream felt like a far-away fantasy for Walburn. For starters, "Hadestown" was still fairly new to Broadway after premiering just one year prior. Plus, there were currently no high school editions of the Tony- and Grammy-award-winning musical. And even if rights to a high school show became available, there was no guarantee she would be able to pull it off because it can be a challenging show to perform, she said.

Then this year, everything came together all at once. The rights to the "Hadestown: Teen Edition" became available, Walburn’s application to do the musical was approved, and the theater department had the perfect cast to step into the characters of "Hadestown."

“It was kind of just the right place, right time. Everything fell into place for us to be able to do it, and to do it justice,” Walburn said.

Come opening night on Thursday, Lincoln East will be the first-ever high school in Nebraska to put on a production of "Hadestown." The cast at East High will take the stage on Thursday and Friday at 7 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students and are available online.

Set in the 1930s, "Hadestown" brings two mythical tales together into one show — telling both the story of King Hades and Queen Persephone and the fateful love story of Orpheus and Eurydice through continuous opera-inspired music.

“It's this really interesting story of new love, of new hope, but also a love that has seen some trials, and what that can look like paired against that fairy tale that we normally see at a show,” Walburn said. “So I feel like it's a show that people can find something to relate to in some way, because there's so many different avenues into the storytelling.”

The cast and crew at East High have been working to put the production together since the end of August, focusing on tackling the many challenges the musical presents. Not only is the show more intense than what many at East are used to — Walburn said they usually stick to comedies — but it also has no true dialogue.

The entire production is performed in song alongside live music, which has been a bit of an adjustment, Walburn said. There’s no room for error or delay when music is playing behind your lines, she added.

But Gavin Foust, a junior at East who is part of the ensemble, said the challenge of "Hadestown" is part of the fun.

“It's not just about learning those basic theater skills, acting skills,” he said. “We're learning to work together. We're learning to collaborate. We're learning to lead each other. And I think that's really impressive to learn now as high-schoolers.”

Earlier this semester the cast was even able to virtually meet with Omaha native Kevyn Morrow, who played Hades on the Broadway tour of the show that made a stop in Omaha this March. On the call, Morrow discussed what it’s like to be a part of the show, how to handle nerves and the importance of treating every show like it's opening night.

When Zach Johannes, the junior who plays Hermes, takes the stage Thursday night, he plans to hold Morrow’s words close.

“It was really cool to be able to ask him questions specifically on his experience. And to be able to take home wisdom that we didn't have before,” he said.

While the chance to perform "Hadestown" was exciting for most of the cast, it has been really special for Myles Hardt.

Even though he's never actually seen the musical live — only bootleg versions on YouTube — "Hadestown" has been Hardt’s favorite production for more than a year, and it wasn’t something the East High junior ever expected he’d have the opportunity to perform himself.

Even after rehearsing for months, Hardt, who plays Morpheus, said he still gets chills when he hears the music.

“It's just surreal to get to be on this set and perform these songs,” he said.

After months of anticipation and practice, Walburn is ready to finally show the Lincoln community what the cast has been working on, and raise the curtain on a high school production of "Hadestown" for the first time in the state. 

"I'm nervous, I'm excited. I want to shout it from the rooftops," she said. "I hope people come and see this beautiful show, and not for my sake, but for the amount of time and work our students have put into it."