Broadway Dallas And Dallas ISD Announce STEAM Education Program Themed To HADESTOWN

Broadway Dallas, Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), and a consortium of generous underwriters have announced a district-wide STEAM education program themed around the Broadway musical HADESTOWN.

Over the course of multiple weeks, 3,400 theatre students and teachers from 26 Dallas ISD High Schools will participate in specially created curriculum that relates to the production. As part of the lesson plan, all the participating students and teachers will attend a dedicated performance of HADESTOWN at the Music Hall at Fair Park, where the show will play from February 25 – March 2, 2025.

The program was borne of a growing partnership between Broadway Dallas and Dallas ISD, which strives to provide students with access to “the spirit of Broadway” through a wide array of programs and initiatives. This program has previously centered around the national tours of HAMILTON, AIN'T TOO PROUD – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE TEMPTATIONS, and BEETLEJUICE.

This year, the curriculum was developed to prepare students for college and 21st-century careers and includes a sequence of lesson plans where students will learn the art and science of costume design. Students will utilize algebra and geometry to construct creative iterations of the New Orleans inspired HADESTOWN costumes.

“At Broadway Dallas we believe in the power of live theater and the positive impact it can have on students in our community,” said Ken Novice, President and CEO of Broadway Dallas. “Through this program and its exposure to theater industry work, students will learn various career and life skills that they can apply in their future endeavors.”

“The arts provide a platform for self-expression and an appreciation of the world's aesthetics, while STEAM education seamlessly combines science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics,” said Dr. Michele Broughton, Deputy Chief of Academic Services for Dallas ISD. “In the Dallas ISD, we believe that through the integration of these disciplines, students are empowered to develop essential critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration skills. Dallas ISD is committed to prioritizing the delivery of exceptional arts experiences, such as offering theater arts students from 26 high schools the opportunity to witness the musical HADESTOWN. We are appreciative of organizations like Broadway Dallas that allow us to adequately expose students to an integrated STEAM curriculum, the arts, and prepare them for higher education and future careers.”

Additional project funding is being provided by corporate, foundation, and individual donors supporting Broadway Dallas Education: On Stage, In Classrooms and Throughout the Community, and its Give A Kid A Seat Campaign.

About HADESTOWN

HADESTOWN is the most honored show of the 2018-2019 Broadway season. In addition to the show's eight Tony Awards, it has been honored with four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical.

The acclaimed new musical is by celebrated singer-songwriter and Tony Award winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with original director and Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin. HADESTOWN marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics, and book, and is the fourth time in Broadway history a woman has accomplished this creative feat.

The show opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway (219 West 48th Street, New York) on April 17, 2019, where it played sold out houses nightly before performances were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HADESTOWN resumed performances September 2, 2021 as one of the first musicals to reopen on Broadway where it continues to play today.

The show originated as Mitchell's indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, HADESTOWN has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale.

Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — HADESTOWN invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell's beguiling melodies and Chavkin's poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, HADESTOWN delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.

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