This spring, Santa Barbara and Goleta high school drama students will present three musicals that weave tales of loyalty and passion and display a wide variety of musical styles, from traditional musical theater to jazz/folk fusion to disco-pop. Each of these musicals carries a mythic quality, whether it be the “you can fight city hall” call to glory of Urinetown (produced by San Marcos High School); the jubilance of Mamma Mia’s island goddess reuniting with former lovers at a transitional point in her life (produced by Dos Pueblos High School); or the journey to hell and back to reclaim lost love in Hadestown (produced by Santa Barbara High School — this one actually based on Greek mythology).
Hadestown (by Anaïs Mitchell) is a relatively new musical, still running on Broadway after Tony wins in 2019. The importance of giving performers the opportunity to perform truly contemporary work is that they can feel its resonance with current culture, and director Gioia Marchese says Hadestown’s themes couldn’t be more relevant. “The Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone unfold a story of two worlds: the upper world and Hadestown. The upper world suffers with more extreme weather while Persephone is down below in Hadestown, and Hadestown workers have been lulled into a sense of wellbeing; Hades has them build a wall to keep out the poor, and anyone else who might want what they have,” she says.
Margo Carmean, who plays Orpheus, comments on familiarity between his life and the journey of the mythic characters: “With Hadestown’s references to capitalism, climate change, and class struggle, the environment of the show feels very similar to the world I live in now…. I’m inspired by [Orpheus’s] constant work ethic … his constant efforts to do good in a world that feels so dark is something I can relate to.”