Cate School Performs Hadestown

By: Max Devore '25

The annual Cate School Musical, Hadestown, is nearing its opening night on April 24th. Both faculty and students are working overtime, spending their weekends and free time in the theater, to finalize the production.

This year's chosen musical production comprises over 50 students and will feature three showings, with the first on the evening of Thursday, April 24th for the entire student body.

Ms. Downey, the Director of Theater at Cate for over three years, shares some of the challenges with this production: “The people who have lead roles are singing a marathon”. At over 2 hours long, Hadestown is the longest musical in Cate’s recent history.

For the past three Saturdays, the cast, consisting of actors, musicians, and technicians, has dedicated over eight hours each day to rehearsal time. “It’s so time-consuming,” says 10th-grader Aleema Bowo, who plays the lead role in the musical. “There’s more dancing and singing than ever before,” she adds, “but everyone is very supportive.” “I go home when my feet are tired”, noted Ms. Downey, speaking to the long weekend rehearsals.

First-time stage manager and 11th-grader Ian Sheshunoff also plays a crucial role in the performance’s success. “I have to work with the lighting board, set board, and actors, as well as go through checks of all the systems during each rehearsal,” Ian explains, continuing with, “Part of my job is figuring out how to minimize the errors in the show.” During each rehearsal, Ian also combs through a master binder, following each cue as it unfolds in front of him. “When everything is going smoothly it’s quite an easy job, but if I’m not paying attention and things start coming up quickly, I have to run multiple light cues back to back and it gets more complicated,” he says. Typically, the stage manager is the first one there and the last to leave.

Along with the tech crew’s responsibilities, the ensemble also plays an essential role in telling the story of Hadestown. Ensemble member and 12th-grader Nico Huiner shares some challenges he has encountered while rehearsing. “Dancing with singing requires a different breath control, which is hard even for a singer like me,” he says. Nico has spent the past two years singing with the Camerata group at the school.

Additionally, Hadestown’s longer runtime naturally leads to a larger production scale. “This is the biggest show–in terms of music, vocals, and numbers–we’ve done since I’ve been here,” explains Ms. Downey. In total, 31 actors and singers, 9 musicians, and 12 technicians make up the musical’s cast. While the costumes are not as complex as past shows, Ms. Downey considers the singing more “sophisticated”, representing their most significant challenge with this production.

With less than a week remaining until opening night, the Hadestown crew is rehearsing daily to deliver the best possible performance to the Cate community. Doors open at 6:15, and the show begins promptly at 6:30.