Recommended: ‘Hadestown Teen Edition’ at VHS

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Islanders can take a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back by seeing “Hadestown: Teen Edition,” set to bow in eight upcoming performances, spanning March 13-28, at Vashon High School Theater.

The production is the latest challenge for the wildly talented group of students of Andy James, the director of the VHS theater program — and the first musical to be performed at VHS since the school’s production of “Ride the Cyclone” astonished audiences last year.

It’s also a chance to spend only $15 to see a teen edition of the Tony Award-winning musical that is still selling out seats on Broadway.

Critics have raved about “Hadestown,” with New York Magazine calling it an “intricate and gorgeous feat of songwriting, a vehicle for dynamite performances and a courageous experiment with form.”

“Hadestown Teen Edition,” like its grown-up cousin on Broadway, is a folk opera based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, with Grammy-winning jazz and blues-inspired music by Anaïs Mitchell.

Leading the student cast, Ari Anderson and Callia Brown will play Orpheus, a passionate poet and lyre player whose mad love for Eurydice drives him to the underworld to save her. Anderson will perform the role on March 13, 20, 22 and 27, with Brown stepping into the part on all other dates.

Tisah Durahim is cast as Eurydice, who must be rescued after signing a contract to reside in the industrial hellscape of Hadestown.

Sebastian Gallez is cast as Hades, the power-mad tyrant of the underworld, with

Amali Lewis as his wife, Persephone, who must find balance between the warmth of the living world and the gnarly depths of the underworld.

Star D’Artell will play Hermes, the narrator who guides the audience through the labyrinth of Hadestown.

Ruby Johnson, Lindia Bojko and Delilah Spence are cast as The Fates, who weave themselves in the lives of all the characters.

The show’s ensemble also includes Whit Barnett, Marlowe Gamble, Carter Harmon, Declan O’Brien, Max Southerland and Leo Watson, portraying the ever-toiling workers of Hadestown throughout the show.

For director Andy James, the show marks another step forward for the high school’s theater program.

For the first time, he said, an expanded roster of local theater professionals are now overseeing full crews of students working on the show’s set, lights and costumes. These island veterans, Alex Drissell, Erik Mortensen, Sierra Tinhof and Christopher Overstreet, are respectively serving as the show’s vocal director, set consultant, choreographer and musical director.

“We’re at the point where we not only have a team of adult professionals, but students working hard under their guidance,” said James. “So we’re becoming a complete machine.”

James said he can’t wait to welcome audiences to “Hadestown,” calling the production “an athletic and slightly overpowering version” of the show.

“See this one because it kicks butt,” he said. “We don’t do shows you ought to attend as a favor to young people; we do shows that will knock you out on their own terms.”

The show is challenging, he said — with 38 songs that play out in operatic style, never stopping for dialogue. Instead, he said, the music “swirls in conflicted layers of sweet and painful jazz and folk — one that travels in a spiral and a circle.”

Members of the student cast described their time working on the show as deeply meaningful.

Amali Lewis said “Hadestown: Teen Edition” has helped her connect to her African American heritage, with the soulful music of the show reminding her of her late grandfather, who was a fan of jazz music.

Her character, Persephone, has also inspired her.

“I aspire to be more like her by standing up more for myself and others,” Lewis said.

Ruby Johnson, also in the show, said she felt a deep emotional connection to the show, describing it as “a story about love, trust, power, fear, hope and so much more.”

“I think my favorite theme from the show, at the moment, is how powerful a group of people can be against authority,” she said. “It’s an incredibly resonant message at the current moment where a lot of people, including myself, are feeling hopeless when navigating today’s political climate.”

Evening shows for “Hadestown Teen Edition,” at Vashon High School’s Theater, will take place at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, March 13-14, 20-21 and 27-28. Matinee performances take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 22, and 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26. Tickets, $15, are available at the door or online at tinyurl.com/3bcwwpc2.

The show is for all ages, but is recommended most for ages 10 and older, as it contains some dark and mature themes.

Elizabeth Shepherd is a former editor and reporter for The Beachcomber.