Hadestown: Teen Edition
Fairfax High School
Photo credits: Cindy DeCarlo
How to get to Hadestown?
You’ll have to take the long way down…
A sprawling journey through the underworld, with earth-shattering ballads and swinging lanterns alike. Headlined by a wildly talented cast of teenagers, “Hadestown: Teen Edition” at Fairfax HS was utterly transformative.
This Production
With Maya Gijon and Griffin Reinsel’s dynamic set, the auditorium of Fairfax High School became a spitting image of Hadestown’s national tour stage. The floor was occupied by a massive turntable and surrounded by platforms for the show’s incredible professional band, which was directed by local legend Matthew Scarborough. Farthest upstage was a pair of sliding doors to mark the descent into the underworld; loaded with tendrils of fog, it made for a haunting image when characters were dragged behind them and down to Hadestown.
Nikolai Crowl’s lights perfectly amplified the rustic atmosphere. In numbers like “Why We Build the Wall,” Crowl’s intense lighting made for a menacing image. The large, superficial bulbs lining the back wall of the stage perfectly illustrated the artificial framework of Hades’s electric city and made for shocking moments of blinding brightness. Finally, the iconic swinging lamps of “Wait for Me” were done absolute justice, and brought the audience right into Orpheus’s rocky descent into the underworld.
Standout Performances
Well, someone’s got to tell the tale… and from his very first “aaaalright!,” Nate Wheeler Smith breathed fresh life into the classic character of Hermes. The role of Hermes essentially serves as the audience’s personal tour guide through the underworld, but is often understated in the grand scheme of Hadestown. Smith, however, brought the charisma and vivid emotional journey of Hermes to the forefront. His movements and vocals were effortlessly smooth, but never distracted from the character’s raw connection to the journey of Orpheus and Eurydice. In many productions, Hermes is played as a somewhat cynical, desensitized individual to the tale he’s telling; in Smith’s case, it was almost as if Hermes had chosen to experience the heightened emotion of each event for the first time again. Before the events of “Wait For Me,” he displayed a shocking anger toward Orpheus’s actions, and his heartbroken soliloquy before “Road to Hell (Reprise)” was nothing short of poignantly sorrowful.
Brimming with naivete, Tristan Farmer held the audience in the palm of his hand as the ill-fated Orpheus. He remarkably depicted the musician’s innocence with doe-eyed softness: a quality that carried into Farmer’s gorgeous falsetto. This image of fragility was all but broken by the time Farmer belted out the desperate “If It’s True” with a blood-stained face, begging the workers to disprove his newly-shattered perception of the world. Under the twisted control of Marli Palchik, Zara Neal, and Yoki Abiy as the Fates, Farmer displayed impressive conflict; and the Fates delivered impeccably ethereal melodies in three-part harmony. Kathryn Whitis stepped into the well-worn boots of Eurydice, and paired with Farmer, the lovers demonstrated remarkable chemistry. Passionate numbers like “All I’ve Ever Known” were spellbinding, and Whitis’s vocals especially soared in her unshaking rendition of “Wait For Me (Reprise),” as she marched after her lover with gritty resolve.
On opposite ends of the spectrum were Nikolai Crowl’s Hades and Olive Webster’s Persephone: the industrialist leader of the underworld and his fun-loving, alcoholic wife. Just as Persephone tossed a flourish to ignite spring, Webster brought a touch of life to every scene she stepped into. Her brassy vocals were fit for a jazz club, and she belted out numbers like “Our Lady of the Underground” with playful vigor. In contrast, Crowl approached the role of Hades with a classic stony expression. Just from standing atop the balcony, Crowl carried himself with an authoritative presence and spoke with a cavernous quality. Through the help of a song, Crowl and Webster found the sparks to rekindle their characters' dying relationship: a flame that rose to a touchingly intimate waltz by Act II.
No matter the occasion, the worker ensemble was enraptured by the tale unfolding before them. From joyous celebration in “Livin’ It Up On Top” to powerful rebellion in “Chant (Reprise),” they painted every scene with vivid emotional depth. Naomi Bautista, Libby Hansen, and Nate Wheeler-Smith’s choreography was explosive and intimate in just the right places, perfectly accompanying the highs and lows of this tragic tale. The worker ensemble carried out this movement with unflinching spirit, and accompanied each moment with resonant harmony.
When I tell you this entire cast was full of star power, I’m not kidding. I’ve seen two professional productions of Hadestown (one of which included the original Broadway cast), and in this reviewer’s humble opinion, several of the individual performances from Fairfax High School rivaled that of the professional companies.
It’s not an easy tale to tell by any means--and I went into this production knowing that--so to say I was blown away would be an understatement.
Who Is It For?
Look, it’s a little late into the review to admit, but “Hadestown” is one of my favorite shows (if not my favorite show) of all time… so I’m inclined to recommend this production to anyone and everyone. Hadestown is a very unique show, though. It doesn’t follow the typical glitz and glamour of a musical; it’s entirely sung-through with a small onstage band, and has its musical roots in folk and blues.
Plus, the show takes a few watches to appreciate the nuances of the plot. Any fan of Greek mythology or epic love sagas will have a deep connection to the storytelling of Hadestown. But even if you don’t completely pick up the story, Fairfax High School’s production of “Hadestown: Teen Edition” is absolutely worth it for the show’s vocals, choreography, and technical prowess alone.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab a ticket to the underworld before they’re sold out-- “Hadestown: Teen Edition” runs for one final weekend (May 1-3) at Fairfax High School. Visit www.fxplayers.org for tickets and more information.