Just as winter rolls into spring, Heartwood Theater and Lincoln Academy (LA) will present a very special student production – Sonnets to Orpheus.  Director Griff Braley notes, “Our original intent this year was to produce the new musical Hadestown, based on the beautiful, haunting myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.  Unable to fulfill the cast requirements for singers, we took up a new challenge, based on the very same ancient myth.”

"Sonnets to Orpheus" infuses the text of 50 sonnets written by poet Reiner Maria Rilke in 1920, into the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The story tracks the final years of Rilke's life and the brief relationship of the young couple in the myth. (Writing a memorial for a young family friend, Rilke completed the full sonnet collection in just three weeks.)

Like the myth, the sonnets focus on the nature of beauty and love, even in the face of challenges and grief. The family friend, Vera, a young ballet dancer in her prime, appears as Rilke's muse, as he struggles through writing and re-enacting the myth in the solitude of his borrowed Swiss chalet. 

A close ensemble of nine students delivers the story onstage, including vocals, movement, and an original musical underscoring; the show is technically created and supported by LA’s Play Production Class and tech crew of three adults. 

Three LA seniors carry the production: Elias Bassett (Rilke), Taylin Lowe (Narrator and doctor friend of Rilke) and Sophia Scott (Vera).

In addition, Cadence Balbo Towle, Natalie Friel, Addison McCafferty, and Syndey Kurr play the Sonnet Voices, interpreting the sonnets and reenacting the mythical story.

Katlyn Prior portrays Vera's grieving mother and Persephone, providing vocals throughout the play. Trystan Lambert plays the Narrator's assistant, facilitating the movement of the myth and adding his voice to Hades.

Sophia Scott, with a broad high school career of original music, arranging and composition, has created a full underscore of original arrangements for this production.  Sophia is preparing for conservatory training,  following graduation.

Elias Bassett, who most recently played Macbeth at LA, takes on the role of Rilke, with the intense interest of a writer (screenwriter of the 2024 LA/Heartwood feature film, “Getting Along”) – his personal passion and a career goal.

Working weekly through the second semester, LA's Play Production Class has been instrumental in many of the technical aspects of Sonnets to Orpheus. New to the theater world, these students finalize designs, build and paint sets, and discover the importance of lights, sound and projection in the theater.

 Managing the technical side are Heartwood TD Ryan Kohnert and LA grad Annalise Garnett. Heidi Kopishke manages the costume side, working with student input from the historical periods of Rilke's life and the Greek myth. 1920's Art Deco and Greek elements, along with the Swiss chateau, provide plenty of inspiration for the whole design.

Director and writer, Griff Braley, first worked with students in 2009 and 2010, to create versions of this play, as LA's competitive One-Act entry. Combining both scripts and adapting the story into a slightly longer version for just nine actors this time around has been a great challenge, strengthening and clarifying the script.

Five evening performances are scheduled for March 14 and 15 and March 20, 21 and 22 at 7 p.m. in the Parker Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy.  Reservations open March 1, and are strongly suggested, by emailing info@heartwoodtheater.org or phoning 207-563-1373.  Note: Lincoln Academy does not manage ticket sales.  All adult tickets are $20, and students through college are $5, thanks to Student Ticket Sponsors - First National Wealth Management and Moody’s Diner.

Along with many individual sponsors and anonymous grantors, generous business sponsors help provide this programming: Bath Savings Institution Associates, Inc. - Heartwood Season Sponsor; Damariscotta Hardware – Youth Sponsor; First National Bank – Education Sponsor; Hootenanny Bread & Gallagher, Villeneuve and Degeer, PLLC – Show Sponsors.