Directed by New World School of the Arts faculty Silas Hoover, the high school theatre students conclude the NWSA theatre season with Hadestown: Teen Edition by Anaïs Mitchell. The musical invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell’s beguiling sung-through musical pits industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.
“The story asks: when the fight for autonomy is lost, why do men get to go on with their lives, while women live with the consequences?” said director Hoover, who has set the musical in the ecological and agricultural disaster Dust Bowl period in the American Great Plains. “Setting Act I of Hadestown during the Dust Bowl wasn’t just an aesthetic decision—it was a return home.”
“I grew up in Kansas, listening to my grandparents describe what it was like to survive the dust storms. Eurydice’s and the Fates’ lyrics about hunger, drought, and dust echo the exact imagery I heard at their kitchen table. That history felt too relevant to ignore, especially in a story centered on labor, survival, and what we’re willing to trade for safety,” explained Hoover in his director’s notes.
“I’m playing Hades. Hadestown has helped me grow as an artist and in my character performance. Playing this role has been challenging but extremely rewarding,” explained high school theatre student Olivia Serrano. “It’s difficult taking on a role that hasn’t been played in my vocal range, which allows me to feel like I’m building my own character. It’s interesting because playing Hades is deepening my understanding of the original story through my unique perspective of the character.”
Olivia Baron, playing one of the Fates highlighted, “I think one of the most important things about New World School of the Arts is that we’re all offered the technical classes and training within our conservatory classes. The application of everything we learn happens in the performance space. Applying what we have learned in the class leads to a more informed process when we’re rehearsing and eventually performing the actual play.”
Acting and musical theatre students at NWSA hone their craft through acting technique, movement, and speech classes, focusing on fundamentals of physical and emotional preparation. With performance at its core, training is based on the classical texts and the principles of drama as well as practical incursions into the contemporary and experimental edges of theatre. Consequently, alumni are found performing onstage nationally and internationally and their talent and vision are recognized and highly regarded in the industry. Information about the NWSA theater division at 305-237-3260. 2024-2025 Theatre Season Scheduled Events.
A Florida center of excellence in the visual and performing arts, New World School of the Arts is an educational partnership of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College, and University of Florida. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects our community and the rich multicultural state of Florida. Through our partners NWSA confers the high school diploma, Associate of Arts degree, and Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees in programs accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance, Music, Theater and Art & Design. NWSA’s rigorous eight-year curriculum and conservatory-style teaching has empowered students in our community and our nation to become leaders in the arts for more three decades. Information about New World School of the Arts at 305-237-3135 or nwsa.mdc.edu.
HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION
May 9, 10, 16, 17; 7:30 PM
May 10, 17; 2:00 PM
Louise O. Gerrits Theater
25 NE 2 Street, 8th Floor, Miami
General admission $15. Students and seniors $10