On The Road To HADESTOWN

Hmm, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga– stepping forward into the spotlight on April 4, 2025, Hermes’ (Tobi Rowins) sharp silver suit sparkled, voice smooth as velvet. It’s an old song– he summons, followed by a trumpet and choir, as the twirling wildfire in green satin, Persephone (Skylar Collins), brings her summertime to a tale of winter.  In the corner, the electric Orpheus (Gracie Domenghini) gently strums his vessel of magic, piercing the audience with awe. 

La, la, la, la, la, la– escaped his god gifted lips, trembling like a prayer for his lover, Eurydice (Divyana Emmons), who cuts through the wind crying for help. The air thickens as the lovers meet eye to eye, cut off by Hades’ (Maxwell Toohey-Bergvall) striking arrival. 

The way down to the spring musical Hadestown began Jan. 24 for 33 student actors at PRHS. Hadestown vastly differs from other shows put on by PHTC, the entirety of the two hour show is sung through, which was a challenge for many of the actors.

The Original Hadestown musical, with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell, first performed off Broadway in 2016. It has won several awards since it was first performed, including a Tony for Best Musical and Best Original Score, and a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album in 2020. After its journey on Broadway and other stages, it finally made its way to Paso Robles.

“I first fell in love with the music. I then got to see a National Tour in LA in the second row. That was it. It was in my head that if I could ever license the show I would do it” Director Marcy Keyser-Goodnow stated in the program for Hadestown. 

Hadestown portrays a story of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus (Gracie Domenghini) and Eurydice (Divyana Emmons) a stylish, free thinking young girl, cold and starving on the street, seeks work in a hellish industrial recreation of the Greek underworld in hopes to provide safety and security for herself. She is transported to Hadestown and suddenly goes missing from the mortal world. Things take a turn for the worse when her singer-songwriter lover Orpheus, full of optimism and naivete, comes to rescue her.

Before the opening night of most PRHS performances, Goodnow hosts a preview night which offers an opportunity for families of actors and middle school theater students to get a chance to experience the show before its debut.

“One of the reasons we do this [preview night] is to break that idea of Oh, it’s so scary. Oh, they’re not human. I want you to see that they are human and they’ve been working on this since they were freshmen. We do take it very seriously. They are treated like professionals who are doing this on their own. So there’s a lot of trust that we have built together. You’ll never feel like you work a day if you do something that you love” Goodnow said in her inspiring and encouraging statement following the show.

Gallery • 26 Photos

Jade Wagner

ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS - Eurydice (Divyana Emmons), a poor and hungry young girl, searches her backpack for a candle to keep warm by--until the Fates blow it out.

As rehearsals came to an end, curtains closed and actors fled into the wings. Laughter echoed across the backstage- each corner was packed with energetic actors ranging from Acting I and Acting IV classes. Though the audience never saw this side of the show, the magical production of Hadestown bled into the hearts of the cast 

“Hadestown had so much passion and talent. We all were very close so it made it extra emotional towards the end; we all loved the show and the beautiful story. We also had amazing leaders: Goodnow, our director, Courtney Brock, our choreographer, and Reagan Rowins, our music director. They made this story come to life with their hard work,” Acting III junior Ayda Sloan said. 

The actors extended far beyond a typical cast relationship, it became a family. Experienced lead actress, Divyanna Emmons, who’s currently a student director in the Directors Practicum pathway, guided many of the day viewing actors, who appreciated the coaching and the stage experience they embody. 

“It was such a great experience. All the [actors who’s] first show [Hadestown was] did such an amazing job.” Emmons said.

Freshman Mason Meazell-Perez, who portrayed one of the chorus members of Hadestown, explained that the acting experience was unforgettable. Stepping into his first theatre production with PTHC, Perez expressed that the environment of Hadestown was very professional.

“Being around a group of people who had the same passion as I do only enhanced it and made me want to go through with it even more,” Perez said.

With hours of rehearsal, Emmons explained that her goal was to contribute to the positive environment of the acting department. She reminisced on her freshman year’s beautiful experience, and hopes to give back to the 2025 Acting I students.

Design and Details

Have you ever wondered what it’s like on the underside? From design details of winged shoes to grated steps, a vital aspect of telling the story of Hadestown is contributed by the work that happens backstage. The technical focus for the spring 2025 production was to create an industrial look in order to replicate the unforgiving conditions of Hadestown, which included numerous different technical aspects in the set and costume design, while also creating designs to match characteristics of the original production.

Beginning in a New Orleans 1920’s style bar, the industrial concept of the Underworld was designed to replicate a factory. In order to do this, the set design crew, led by seniors Alyssa Wesley (Fate 1) and Skylar Collins (Persephone), reproduced a rust look over corrugated plastic and six metal stage tower trusses using silver, copper, dark brown, and black spray-paint–which required purchasing more than 33 cans of spray-paint, including a singular order of 18 silver cans.

Additionally, 32 rolls of blue masking tape were purchased, which were wrapped around each truss to ensure minimal damage to the original paint. Numerous curtains and screens from the side of the theater were also removed to enhance the industrial atmosphere, and furniture was made to look used and run down. 

“The story of Hadestown gets told over and over again, as said in the songs, so we tried to reflect that in the set design,” Wesley said.

To further demonstrate the strenuous labor in Hadestown, worker and chorus costumes were designed to give a run-down, ragged look, similar to clothing from a blue-collar’s closet. While you can walk into a store and buy torn-up clothing, the Hadestown costume and makeup team, led by seniors Naomi Velasco, Anthony Ramirez and Renata Perez, were tasked with distressing 14 sets of overalls and 11 aprons, using workwood tools, such as drills, sandpaper, and black spray paint to illustrate damage from working in the mines.

Workers also wore ‘faux dirt,’ a mixture of powder and crème eyeshadow, applied onto their arms to look like grime as well as to amplify their muscle definition. Done before the show, the dirt is set with a translucent powder to ensure no transfer while being hidden under their opening number costumes of flannels and sweaters, as well as to make an easier quick change. Props contributed to the worker and chorus costumes by distressing gloves for each actor and headlamps. The headlamps were equipped with standard cool-toned LEDS, which didn’t match the industrial atmosphere, and were painted over to create a warmer light.

On the contrary, each immortal’s costume was extravagant, tailored with lavish patterns. Hermes, the narrator, played by senior Tobi Rowins, wore a silver suit, while Hades, junior Maxwell Toohey-Bergvall, to show his wealth and power, was designed with a tattoo sleeve and wore rings that sparkled in the spotlight, catching the audiences’ eyes.  

“We looked at the Broadway costumes and put our own spin on it. Like for the Fates, we had a dark design and wanted them all to match. We wanted them to look kind of grungy, and included gold accents,” Ramirez explained. 

All the main cast’s costumes, excluding Eurydice, were designed by 15-year PHTC costume designer Ruth Enriquez-Bague, who retired this year, marking Hadestown as her last of over 20 shows.

As Goodnow pointed out to over 50 junior-high students from Lewis-Flamson Middle School and Almond Acres that were present at Picture Preview— light plays a character. The lights for the show were led by senior Alexzander Ventura, another technical theater legacy. “We were going for a mid-twentieth century bar style feel, because it’s staged during the Great Depression era. We were going for that kind of warm undertone feeling,” Ventura said.

While lighting design might seem basic, it tends to be tedious when trying to create the right look. “A lot of stuff makes it complicated—a lot from set design and costume design because certain lighting doesn’t go with the costumes, or certain looks don’t feel the same with certain lights,” he explained. After doing numerous lighting run-throughs, Ventura explains that they figure out what they do and don’t like, sometimes only a couple days before the show. 

Mastering New Mediums

Technical production and rehearsals were not the only projects being done behind the scenes. Four of the main cast all took on the intricate task of learning new instruments, and for some of them, their first.

While Orpheus plays a lyre, senior Gracie Domenghini took on the guitar, volunteering to go to lessons—of which she only attended two. While around a year prior to the show she had taught herself a few songs for fun, she hadn’t had any real lessons before the start of Hadestown. “I practiced probably everyday until I felt comfortable with the songs I had to play, and once I was, I only practiced when I felt I needed a refresh,” Domenghini said. Approximately 30 minutes to an hour everyday was spent on her own time to perfect the chords. 

The three Fates, portrayed by seniors Wesley, Elijah Jordan, and Shane Mullinix, learned the violin, finger cymbal, and even the accordion for their roles. The decision that the Fates were going to have instruments was made only a few weeks before the show, which gave them a short time to learn. Wesley explained that both Ted Wagner and junior Clarae Clark helped her learn the violin, which she had no prior experience with.

“The real hero was our vocal director, Reagan Rowins. They helped me a tremendous amount and I could not be more grateful,” Wesley said. “Without them I would’ve been so stressed.” Before every show, Mullinix also helped use the accordion to assist Wesley perfect the tuning of her violin.