The spring musical for Lakota West is Hadestown! This famous Broadway musical, based on Greek mythology, focuses on two myths, Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades, and Persephone. 

Now, the musical isn’t entirely accurate to the actual myths, but the character’s personalities and narratives are drawn from the original Greek literature. This musical was originally a concept album, created by Anais Mitchell, and it was then turned into a full-fledged musical. This show is a contemporary version of the stories, retold with the help of folk music and jazz. 

The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice is a sad one. In the original story, Orpheus is the son of King Oeagras and a muse named Calliope (Some versions call Apollo his father). In Greek mythology, he is a famous musician and prophet, included on a journey with Jason and the Argonauts, to search for the golden fleece. 

Eurydice is an Auloniad nymph, a nymph associated with nature. She was married to Orpheus but was pursued by a man named Artistaeus. As she was running from the man, she was bitten by a venomous snake and died. Her husband, desperate for her to return, convinced Hades to give her back by playing his music. The only condition set was that as they were returning to the surface, Orpheus could not look back at his wife. 

Right as Orpheus reached the surface with Eurydice, he glanced back at her, sending her back into the underworld for good. For the rest of his life, he was consumed by grief and resisted the pursuits of others, such as the Maenads, who tore him limb from limb for refusing them. 

The story between the gods Hades and Persephone is much simpler. One day, when Persephone was in a field picking flowers, Hades appeared before her and dragged her into the underworld. At some point when she was down there, she ate six pomegranate seeds from Hades’ garden. No matter if she was in love with the god or not, she now was forced to be with him for six months out of the year. So, they were married and now ruled the underworld together. 

This was also the way that seasons were created for the Greeks since Persephone’s mother, Demeter, caused a long winter of grief over her daughter. And since Persephone has to go away every winter, nature dies with her descent into the Underworld and reblooms when she comes back to the surface. 

Before you watch the Broadway play or even our school musical, I would highly recommend just reading the synopsis or at least understanding Greek mythology, before you watch this show.