The Dublin School and ConVal Theatre Arts will both be presenting the Broadway hit “Hadestown” this spring, thanks to the unusual early release of the “teen version” of the play. The Dublin School show is March 8 and 9, and the ConVal production will be April 17 to 19.

“It is just a rare and beautiful kismet that both our schools will be performing the play this spring,” said Elizabeth Moore, director of Conval Theatre Arts.

Both schools were notified around the same time that they would be among the first high schools in the country to perform “Hadestown.” The teen version has different musical notes for young voices and offers an abridged version if schools want to perform a shorter version of the show.

“It is rare that a Broadway show releases ‘teen rights’ to a show while it is still on Broadway, and even rarer that two schools near one another would both be performing it,” Moore said. “We are very excited to get the two groups together and have some conversations about storytelling and the approaches we’re taking.”

Moore and Jenny Foreman, theater director at the Dublin School, are hoping to get the two groups of actors together, possibly for a sing-through of the Broadway musical.

Foreman said “everything just came together for us to do this show.”

“We did ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ last year, which is such a classic show, so we wanted to do something a little more contemporary this year. Then the announcement came out that there was going to be a limited release teen release of ‘Hadestown,’” Foreman said. “‘Hadestown’ is still very popular on Broadway, and as far as I knew, it had not even available, so it was really cool when we found that out.”

Foreman said that “Hadestown,” which is told almost completely in song, fit the cast she knew she would be working with.

“We always try to look at what we did last year. We try to have we look at what we will have for a cast, who will be returning, and a general sense of numbers for our winter production. This show a little hard – it’s a lot of singing – but we have a lot of strong voices and it just fit,” Foreman said.

The Dublin cast recently created the urban-style, graffitied background of the stage incorporating lyrics and quotes from the show. The young actors have found the play to be an interesting challenge so far.

Adelaide, a student who plays the lead of Persephone, said rehearsing and repetition enable her to “act without even thinking about it.”

“The repetition is so important – the actual staging and singing. Just drilling and and doing it over and over makes it so I don’t even have to think about it; I can really just be my character,” she said.

Katie, who has acted in several Dublin School shows, said it’s challenging to play the character of a Fate.

“It is really interesting to figure out how to separate your character from yourself. My character is completely different from me,” she said. “Our character’s role is to create mischief, and most of the time it’s not good. The Fates are perceived as cruel. It’s kind of hard to put myself into that mindset because I don’t think of myself as cruel.”

Emma, who also plays a Fate, said the role is a departure from other roles she has played.

“I’ve kind of played innocent roles in the past, and it’s really fun to do something new and broaden my acting experiences. It’s been fun to try to figure out how to really put my character into the singing,” Emma said.

Most of the Dublin cast has seen “Hadestown” either on Broadway or as a recording, and all say seeing the show was inspiring.

“It’s so good I started crying,” Adelaide said.

“Hadestown” has New England roots. According to Moore, the play was first performed as a “folk art” piece in Vermont, and another version was later performed in Massachusetts before it found its way to Broadway.

“It has gone through a lot of different versions. It was performed in London before coming back to the U.S. and Broadway in 2019,” Moore said. “What is really amazing is that this show made it through COVID, when so many other shows died, and it is still going. It is just a show that really speaks to people.”

The play is an adaptation of the stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hermes and Persephone.

“It’s about how people struggle in the world to make something of themselves, to find meaning and find love while they are all struggling to survive; it’s a constant balancing act,” Moore said of the play. “It is relevant to all times.”

“Hadestown” will be performed on March 7 and 8 in the Fountain Arts Building at the Dublin School. Shows are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Reservations are recommended. To reserve a seat send email to alord@dublinschool.org or call 603-563-1283.