Berkley students head to Greek underworld for ‘Hadestown’

Heiress Brame sings a number from “Hadestown” at a recent rehearsal. Photo by Erin Sanchez Alise Herron performs a song with a live band during a rehearsal on April 16 for the Berkley High School production of “Hadestown,” which the students will perform April 23-25 at Bonstelle Playhouse in Detroit. Photo by Erin Sanchez BERKLEY — The students of Berkley High School will take on the Greek underworld in their new musical.

Berkley High School’s Be Drama club will perform “Hadestown” April 23-25 at the Bonstelle Playhouse in Detroit, 3424 Woodward Ave. The Tony-award winning musical tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice in the underworld of Hadestown.

While the production is of the teen edition of the musical, which he doesn’t always love, Hadestown has very few changes between the two besides optional word and easier key changes, said John Hopkins, the club’s drama coordinator and musical director.

“We’re in great shape,” he said of the cast’s preparations. “We have accomplished so much, and I think it’s because every single person involved has bought into it; like, is fully invested and it’s not a show that’s easy to do. It’s a tough thing.”

Hopkins said the toughest issue with getting the musical ready is that the drama club doesn’t have its performing arts space for rehearsals or the show, as it’s still under construction.

Because of this, the students have been rehearsing in the cafeteria and then, this past weekend, they moved all their stage equipment to the Bonstelle.

“The goal was that we would have (our space) back in time to rehearse this show and perform it, but totally unforeseen circumstances, like electrical that was in the walls, wasn’t how it needs to be based on code now,” he said.

“I am not used to having to hunt for a place to do a musical during the process of rehearsing the musical,” he added.

Playing one of the lead roles — Hermes — is senior Heiress Brame, of Bloomfield Hills. Brame first got into the drama club her freshman year with the “SpongeBob SquarePants” musical and hasn’t looked back since.

Entering her last show, Brame, 18, said she’s so excited to show audiences what they’ve been working on, especially the musical numbers.

“There’s so many good parts in this musical. I love this musical so much,” she said. “Honestly, the opening number is going to be the real heavy hitter, and then also the famous ‘Wait for Me,’ both of them … I’m really excited for the audience to see those two. Those are my favorite numbers.”

Brame shared that when she’s performing on stage, she feels at home and at peace. “Hadestown” is a special show for her because it’s her last one.

“Seeing this all come to life in our high school and being a part of it is really, really special to me,” she said. “So, I’m really excited to share this special moment with people.”

“My current drama students have just a whole lot of heart,” Hopkins said. “There’s just a lot of spirit there. So, they’ve made it, even though it’s like twice as much work, they’ve made it worth it and they’ve worked as hard as I have.”

The musical will run at 7 p.m. April 23-25 with an additional show at 2 p.m. April 25. Tickets cost $10-$20. For more information and tickets, visit onthestage.tickets/be-drama-berkley-high-school-drama-department.

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