We’re Livin’ It Up on Top

This article was co-written with Carter Harmon

The lights dim, the audience sits, and the trombone solo starts. Our very own students wait in the shadows until their cue, but that’s not all they do. Here's the insider’s scoop to the actors' side of Hadestown, the behind the scenes chaos that occurs that most don’t get to see or hear unless the actors’ mics are accidentally turned on (Declan O’Brien during the Sunday matinee). Starting on the 13th of March, 2026, Hadestown was performed by VHS’s very own theater club.

Long story short, the musical follows Orpheus as he tries to write a song to bring the seasons back and save his lover, Eurydice, from eternal slavery in Hadestown, which is a hellish factory and mine. This folk opera also includes Hades, king of the underworld and owner of the factory, and his wife Persephone, the goddess that brings spring . Now, no spoilers for those that didn’t see it at VHS, but this story is a tragedy for a reason.

With such an emotional show, how does the cast cope? Well, there was lots of crying backstage and general emotional tomfoolery. With such a delightful casting of Sebastian Gallez as the man, the myth, the legend: Hades, Ari Anderson and Calliah Brown as Orpheus A and B (and workers when not Orpheus), Tisah Durahim as the hungry young girl, Eurydice, Amali Lewis as Persephone, Star D’Artell as Hermes, Lidia Bojoko, Delilah Spence, and Ruby Johnson as the Fates, and Whit Barnett, Carter Harmon, Owen Hawk, Marlowe Gamble, Declan O’Brien, Max Southerland, Emmalyn Werner (as a stand in on the 21st), and Leo Watson as the workers/ensemble, all of the cast are there for each other.

“The show has been a lot of fun, but stressful at the same time. Despite the stress, I feel like it has brought me a lot closer to my fellow cast members,” Senior Sebastian Gallez said. His sentiments are widely shared across the cast.

“This show has been really fun to work on and watch come together, even during times where rehearsals felt stressful and felt like too much, there are always people around me to get me through anything,” Junior Ari Anderson shared.

Now, everyone tends to gravitate towards the leads when they want to hear about a production, but the ensemble does a lot of heavy lifting as well and deserves credit for doing so.

“I am a worker which means I get to be a part of things without having to be in the spotlight,” Sophomore Owen Huak said.

“My favorite part of performing is being able to make things happen that look really cool without being the one everyone's looking at,” Hauk said.

Huak is one of the very special workers that have to operate the turntable on stage during the show. In fact, his favorite number in the musical is Doubt Comes In because and, in his exact words, “I turntable.” That’s right, the turntable is a manual job and not the fancy self moving ones on Broadway. Every time that circle spins, it’s either Hauk or O’Brien working hard behind the scenes.

While many of the actors in this show are more seasoned, for others this is their introduction to theater, the first time stepping out on a stage and performing for an audience.

“I have never been in a play before, so this was a new experience for me, but an incredibly fun one! I really enjoyed finally completing dance moves correctly and putting together costumes. I love performing for others and being someone's entertainment. Performances are deeply rooted in human culture and to continue on the tradition is very fulfilling,” ensemble member, senior Max Southerland stated.

The entirety of the cast and crew have a passion for performing and sharing a piece of themselves with the audience, which you can certainly feel when they sing, act, and dance.

“My favorite part about performing is how immersive it feels in the moment, and how when you step out of a scene or role, you can really look back at how you performed that scene or portrayed that character and feel a sense of pride in it,” Anderson shared.

“I also really do relate to this character [Orpheus] in the sense that his character grows an insane amount in the span of the musical, and I've really seen myself grow in some of the same ways as he has, so I'm able to put it into perspective and really feel natural in the role,” Anderson said.

Relating to your character is an important part of being an actor that our departing seniors have learned over their years of growing not only as actors, but as people.

“I feel like performing has made me a better person in being able to better understand other people and gain the ability to put myself in someone else's shoes. I relate to Hades in the natural human desire for power. There is also an underlying pain in Hades that I can relate to. He has unresolved personal issues that he has lived with, and I feel like I can relate to that,” Gallez said.

Though the song has reached its final chorus, the actors are ever grateful to have sung it, especially the graduating seniors, Sebastian Gallez, Callia Brown, Amali Lewis, Delilah Spence, and Max Southerland. Everyone has done so well, and we can’t wait till the next show! So to Orpheus, and all of us, goodnight, brothers, goodnight!