With an opening night debut just days away, students hustle inside the Campolindo Performing Arts Center (CPAC) on a late Wednesday night to rehearse this year’s Spring Musical: Hadestown. Co-director and choreographer Renee DeWeese adjusts a dancer’s stance during “Way Down Hadestown” while members of the tech crew finalize lighting cues. In the audience, Director David Pinkham and Music Director Mark Roberts take notes, pulling cast members aside to give feedback. The orchestra tunes their instruments, sound engineers lower microphone feedback, and stage managers delegate cast members with moving various set pieces in between scenes. For the Campolindo Music Department, putting on the much-anticipated annual Spring Musical leaves no room for error.

Since January, students have been preparing for Hadestown, a musical that reimagines the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a Great Depression-era underworld filled with Jazz and American folk music. Orpheus, played by senior Curtis Resnick and junior Noah Muldoon, must venture into Hades’ underworld to rescue Eurydice, played by seniors Meher Gupta and Sage Balducci, who sold her soul to Hades played by seniors Julian Lueder and Luke Hansen.

The musical is almost entirely written in song, meaning there is little dialogue and a lot of vocal tenacity required to pull off the leading roles. However, this year also marks the first time in which the orchestra sits directly on-stage as opposed to the pit. Lueder testified to the importance the orchestra serves each year to his performance. “In most musicals, they just use a recorded back track, so they don’t have live musicians that perform the instrumentals. I remember that one time I had forgotten a line in one of my songs, but because we had live music, the conductor was able to get us back on track and adjust – something that wouldn’t have happened if we used a backing track,” he said.

When it comes to getting into character, each student incorporates their own techniques. Balducci said, “I’ve been doing a lot of research like watching videos from Broadway while still putting my own take on things like how I want to play her. I don’t want to be a copy paste of someone else, so I’m trying to take some individuality within this mold of [Eurydice].” Others cast members, including sophomore Addison Davis, work with an acting coach to best interpret their character. “It’s been really nice to analyze when [and] how certain things affect my character, and what that can like mean for her, and how that can affect the people around her,” she said.

Some cast members also found an affinity with their characters, including senior Bhavana Kasalanati who plays Hermes. “Hermes is a very energetic character who’s kind of like looking out for everybody, especially Orpheus and Eurydice. I feel like I can relate because I’m a storyteller myself and I like being energetic,” said Kasalanati.

This year, the directors leaned into more introspective themes, a sharp tangent from last year’s more upbeat musical, The Prom. “Every musical always has a really deep message. But specifically for this one…there’s a big shift into a darker, more reflective type of musical,” Davis said. “It took people longer to see and come together and really understand what’s going on.” This change required more time for the cast to fully connect with the material, as they worked to understand both the narrative and their individual roles in shaping it.

Throughout the process, from audition to closing night, the cast formed connections lasting beyond the stage. Senior Meher Gupta said, “I actually met my best friend freshman year in the musical and she’s stuck with me. I just think it’s so wonderful because you spend so much time with these people in such a close environment that you really are able to get to know them and be close with them.”

This year, Davis is playing a lead for the first time, the experience has deepened her appreciation for the community behind the production. “Everyone’s been really supportive and kind,” she said. “It really helps us connect and have our characters all connect together.” She noted how being part of the musical is “so different from sports in terms of community, people are really just trying to look out for each other.” That sense of sincerity creates a culture built not simply on talent, but on connection.

Kasalanati, who is a freshman choir peer tutor, said, “I’m probably gonna miss the community most and the ability in the musical to make connections. I’ve grown from being a freshman who looked up to others to now being somebody that people can look up to, and somebody who can be a mentor.”

Approaching the long-awaited opening night, nerves are inevitable. “I’m nervous because I want to give my best performance,” Davis said. Despite this, her anxiety is grounded by a sense of trust in the hard work the cast has put in. “We’ve all been working really hard to put it together. And so I’m really excited to have people see what we worked on.” Her nerves reflect not just pressure, but a shared pride in the production shaped by dedication and a commitment to bring the tale of the underworld to stage.