Juan Diego theatre opens season with 'Hadestown' in November

Juan Diego Catholic High School will stage "Hadestown: Teen Edition" next month, the first of three productions in the Draper school's theatre season.

Performances run Nov. 12-15 in the school's Skaggs Black Box Theatre, with 7 p.m. shows Thursday through Saturday and a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee, as the Draper Journal first reported. Tickets are $10. The Nov. 12 show features the understudy cast.

Junior Mack Kesler will play Hermes. Kesler has seen "Hadestown" four times and describes himself as "obsessed" with the musical, which retells the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Director Sophia Davis is giving the production a 1940s film-noir look.

"I liked the darkness of it and I've seen a lot of old film noir movies," Davis told the Draper Journal.

Costumes will be mostly black, gray and white, with pops of color for key characters.

The season's second production is Tracy Wells' "Queen of Hearts," a Wonderland story featuring the Jabberwock and White Rabbit. Kesler plays the Mad Hatter. A free showcase is set for 7 p.m. March 9, 2027, in the Black Box theatre. The cast also plans to compete at the 4A regional competition in March and the state competition in April.

The closer is "Xanadu," a roller-skating musical running March 4-7, 2027. Davis said the '80s-inspired show will provide a lighter contrast to "Hadestown." Kesler, a former hockey player, went ice skating over the summer to start preparing for the skating scenes.

All three shows will be staged in the Skaggs Black Box Theatre, part of a campus expansion Juan Diego dedicated earlier this year. The space can also host band concerts, choir recitals and other school events, according to the Draper Journal.

Upcoming Juan Diego Theatre dates: