From July 25 to August 2, 2025, the Pleasanton Youth Theater Company performed Hadestown at the Firehouse Arts Center. Hadestown tells the tragic Greek story of Orpheus, a musician who goes to the underworld to save his lover, Eurydice. The show is a folk opera, meaning that it combines folk musical numbers with storytelling.
“In my opinion, the whole musical of Hadestown is just a true American musical…I think it’s incredibly relevant, and it’s incredibly special to us to perform it in such a crazy political climate right now. I think there are a lot of parallels between Hadestown, and, you know, America today. So, I think it’s just a beautiful musical,” said Eurydice actor Eva Pudiyapura (‘26).
Hadestown is characterized by its mesmerizing storyline and unique soundtrack. The Firehouse’s production, however, is different in its own way.
“The style of music and the amount of effort put into the set is one of the things that stands out to me – at the Firehouse…we haven’t usually had super big sets like we do for this one,” said Orpheus actor Grayson Rebello (‘25)
A Community of Cast Members
Not only is Hadestown an immersive experience for the audience, but the performers themselves benefit as well. Behind the scenes, the cast build a sense of community that carries it’s way onto the stage.
“Every day we try to shout out somebody that has impacted us. And I feel like just being able to do that every day – I feel like is the culmination of how much of a great community, a great show it is. I feel like despite the mistakes we make, we always put in effort to support each other,” said Rebello.
The supporting cast also mirrors this sense of community and appreciation.
“Especially with this cast, because it’s so much smaller, there’s a really strong bond between castmates. And I feel really connected to not only the ensemble, but the other leads as well,” said actor Mason Bona (‘26).
The Challenges
The actors spent three weeks rehearsing for the show, Monday through Friday, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 pm. During their technical week, the actors rehearsed from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Musicians also played a pivotal role in the production of the show.
“It’s taken about three months of, like, solid practice. I got the sheet music in early June. And I’ve been practicing pretty much every day since then.,” said guitarist Colin Gillette (‘25).
“I think the hardest part for me was at the start when we just, the musicians were playing together and we didn’t have the singers to play along with. And none of us knew the parts completely. And so it was a little bit hard to count along and make sure you’re playing the right notes and everything,” said Gillette.
For Hadestown, the rehearsal period for this production was shorter than normal. The cast rehearsed for only three weeks.
“It was kind of tough to jam all that in three weeks. Especially like the amount of harmonies I have – trying to learn all those harmonies. It was so hard. So like, I definitely put in a lot of work at home, but it was all worth it in the end,” said actor Audrey Tonkin (‘27).
