Lakota West is currently working on one of its most technically difficult shows, Hadestown High School Edition.
Hadestown is a musical featuring the Greek myth of Orpheus of Eurydice, except their story is set in a Great Depression era city, dealing with issues that centered around the 1920s.
According to Kim Eldrige, Theatre Arts teacher and director of the Lakota West Drama Club, it’s one of the most technically advanced shows they’ve done in a long time, and the tech crew is working hard to bring the show to life.
“Hadestown is becoming one of my favorite shows we’ve ever done here at Lakota West in 28 years… It is a highly technical show, it has beautiful music; our vocalists and dancers are absolutely amazing, and the story is quite a juxtaposition. You have Greek mythology set in a depression era company town, with New Orleans jazz influence.”
Despite all the highly difficult backstage work, many crew members feel as though they get overshadowed by the work of the actors.
“Stage and tech are probably one of the most important parts of the show,” according to Rebecca Bacu, backstage manager for Hadestown. “Yes, you can’t have the show without the cast, but you also can’t have the show without all our cool, fancy technical effects. Stage and tech run all of the mics, all of the lighting, all of the sound, all of the everything.”
The story of Eurydice and Orpheus taking place in such a completely different environment is worth the watch, as the story feels very fleshed out, even in an unfamiliar setting.
“It is a really moving piece of art,” says Armaan Megada, an ensemble member playing one of the Hadestown workers. “It’s a show about hope, and how at the center of Hadestown there is hope. It’s, at its heart, a metaphor, and yeah, it’s a tragedy but, we keep singing that same song; we keep pushing forward because we believe that things can be better, even if it seems that’s not likely.”
Lakota West’s impressive production of Hadestown takes place on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of April at 7:30 pm, and on April 6th at 2:00 pm. Buy your tickets today for no more than $21!
