Learning on the stage

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Nova High School’s student body will put on four performances of the Broadway musical Hadestown on Friday, June 13 at 6 p.m.; Saturday, June 14 at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, June 15 at 6 p.m. at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint). The story, inspired by the classical Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, will be the students’ final show before the school closes due to rising costs.

Teacher Michael Seifert chose Hadestown as the group’s swan song to help students explore and understand its themes of love, hope and poverty, which will in turn help them to navigate adult life going forward. 

“With Hadestown, students are immediately connected with the characters, their struggles, the love stories and the themes,” Seifert said. “Our curriculum is designed to connect our students with the world, inspire them to act to make it better, engage them in critical thinking and develop emotional maturity. Hadestown makes all of this possible.”

The musical, by Anaïs Mitchell, had its first performance in 2006, steadily gaining traction until its Broadway debut in 2019. It then swept the Tony Awards, earning 14 nominations and eight wins, including for Best Musical and Best Original Score. Despite the well-known tragic ending, the story remains hopeful and inspiring for both performers and audiences.

“It allows you to express yourself — the deepest parts of yourself — through the subtleties of the characters,” said Aspen Gill, one of the actresses starring as the character Eurydice. “Even if you haven’t experienced it — I obviously haven’t experienced going to Hadestown — but it lets you express your pain and your fears and even your love for other people.”

Hadestown follows the love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone through the trials and tribulations that arise in a heavily industrialized, poverty-stricken world. Orpheus and Eurydice struggle to survive as they weigh the price of their love against a full stomach and a dry place to sleep, ultimately inspiring one another to fight to create a better world.

The cast of Hadestown on stage. Photo by Michael Seifert.

“Loneliness, economic struggle and dehumanization in the workplace are themes our young adults relate to as they enter the world,” Seifert said. “Most of us at some time or other have taken up the chase for wealth to keep us out of poverty and the resulting toll it takes on us.”

Aside from minor alterations to suit the students’ young voices, Nova’s teen version of the musical stays true to the original and does not flinch from portraying the desperation, alcoholism and abuse integral to the story.

The performances will switch between an “A” and “B” cast, starring Cairn Rookey as Orpheus; Melody Whitlock or Gill as Eurydice; Thorston Wright or Leo Hart as Hades; Beatrice Lawson or Ava Rose as Persephone; River Corcoran as Hermes; Mercy Whitlock, Maryah Pratt and Charlie Wardle as the Fates; and Mason Wesala, Tashi DeLong, Melody Whitlock, Gill, Rose, Hart, Lawson and Wright as the workers.

When asked what they appreciate about performing Hadestown — and theater in general — the students said it provides an opportunity to practice introspection and empathy.

“Expressing yourself, your emotions, through a character … I guess you’re being vulnerable in some ways, but you’re expressing it through somebody who’s not you, through a mask, so it’s a way to express without that fear,” said Rookey.

“Being able to take on somebody else’s face or image or character that lets you look at yourself through that character’s eyes and then that in turn helps you think about, ‘OK, what can I do different in my life?’ I become a better person from having a different perspective on my life,” added Corcoran.

The cast members are veterans of the stage, having performed their interpretation of the Broadway musical Little Women in 2024, in addition to hosting a Halloween experience in which they played various terrifying and ghoulish roles. Many of the students said they will continue performing on the stage in the future, whether that be through another local high school or at a higher level.

“It has been a true privilege to work with these students. I wish to especially thank the parents for not only entrusting their children with us, but also for all the sacrifices every family makes in bringing this show to fruition,” said Seifert.

Tickets for Hadestown are $25 for adults and $20 for students at panida.org. For more information, visit novahigh.org.