When Sonder Cole goes on stage to play the role of Orpheus in Montgomery County High School’s production of Hadestown: Teen Edition, he would be fulfilling a childhood dream – getting to act.

“Probably when I was 7 or 8, I would play musicals on my computer,” the MCHS senior said. “I would sing along to them.”

The play, which is produced by the MCHS Drama Club, is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 6 and 7 at the Montgomery City Elementary gymnasium. It is an adaptation of the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice with a jazzy twist. 

“We originally wanted to have it in November. But sometimes, I think a little too big and too fast,” said Kylee Watters-Stephens, who is the co-director of the play. “I think with the amount of resources we had at first, that was too short of a timeframe to give us, so we decided to extend it to February so we can make sure that we give everybody a good show.”

Nikki Scheulen is the other director of the play. Watters-Stephens is the music director for the R-II School District and Scheulen, who has a minor in theatre, is a math teacher at MCHS. Both will be making their directorial debuts.

“Nikki Scheulen has been a humongous help with taking some of the musical workload off and my husband at home has been supportive, too,” Watters-Stephens said. “So there have been a lot of people helping to fill in some of the gaps and the things I might be missing at home or work.” 

Kendra Arens, Lucian Cowsert, Haley Engleman, Charlie Hudgens, Payshance and Aurora Maylee, Ryleigh Moore, Jeremy Nische, Ava Rhodes, Bentley Robinson, Gray Rosemann, Liv Shults, Aundrea Smith, Carl Smith, Grace Thier, Levi Waters and Myles Wilson are the other cast members. Thier, a junior, will play Eurydice.

“While we have a small cast, they absolutely worked their butts off and they all have the passion and the drive, so I really think it’s going to be awesome,” Watters-Stephens said.

Cast members have been rehearsing at MCE and Watters-Stephens’ classroom since the fall.

“We’ve been working on a lot of music since October,” Watters-Stephens said. “There was a lot of choreography for November and December. We had a couple of rehearsals over Christmas break. I was really thankful because all of our actors showed up. Nobody was complaining about being there over the break. They all just came and it was a fun time. It’s been a long time coming, but I think we put together something that the community will enjoy.” 

In the storyline, Orpheus and Eurydice fall in love before Eurydice tragically dies. Orpheus then travels to the underworld to try to get Eurydice back. The setting is 1920s New Orleans.

Cole said he became interested in the Hadestown play when he found out that it was going to be in production last spring.

“I didn’t listen to the musical, but I was really excited,” Cole said. “I went home and listened to it and I was like, “Oh, my goodness, I can’t wait to do this.’ I knew I was going to audition for the role of Orpheus as soon as I listened to it. I was so excited that I would tell people all summer that’s the one thing I wanted to do when we started school again.”

Cole is a member of the MCHS Concert Choir. He said having a singing background was a huge plus in getting the Orpheus role.

“I stopped doing choir when I entered high school, but even when I did it in middle school and doing it now has really helped me,” the senior said. “I think my voice has grown so much.”

Cole plans to attend Truman State University next year. He said he is thrilled to participate in a school play in his senior year.

“It’s a very good experience, especially before going to college,” he said.

The cost of the play is $7 for adults, $5 for middle school and high school students, $2 for children 8-11 and free for children ages 7 and under. Anyone who would like to pre-order tickets can visit https://mocodramahadestown.ludus.com/index.php. Tickets will also be available at the door.