An Epic Field Trip From Haddonfield To Hadestown

There is nothing a classroom full of students loves more than a field trip, and the Kimmel Cultural Campus is the perfect place for a day out full of learning and new experiences. 

Join New Jersey teacher Kimberly Dickstein Hughes and the students of her Greek Drama class at Haddonfield Memorial High School as they discover the world surrounding the hit Broadway musical, Hadestown, through specialized in-school curriculum culminating in a trip to see the show at the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Academy of Music.

One of the greatest rewards of teaching comes from the lessons you never intended to learn. Let me explain.

I am a very tired teacher among many enduring the pandemic response. We’ve been living in hard times, and everything has felt out of tune since the world shut down and reopened. Enter a musical called Hadestown as a deus ex machina to resolve my malaise. Hadestown had given me renewed hope. It made me feel alive again. Theater breathes life into that shared human experience. There’s something deeply intimate about a cathartic moment that connects you with countless others. I think that’s what the stage does best. And that’s why I knew I had to take my students way down to Hadestown. 

I first saw the Hadestown tour at the Kennedy Center in October 2021 as part of a Google For Education experience while attending an education policy conference. What was to be a fun night out during an intensive professional learning week inspired an idea for my Greek Drama class. I came home the following Monday and shared with my students the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and how moved I was by this myth turned musical. If you want to learn more about Hadestown, you must read the Kimmel’s blog post by Morgan Horell entitled, “Why You Should See Hadestown.” After reading Morgan’s love letter, you will come to appreciate our efforts. We looked up the tour schedule and learned that Hadestown would be at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia in February, but we would be switching gears to our Shakespeare semester by then…but we had to find a way to make it happen.

The first obstacle was logistics. We had to consider not only the cost but also COVID-19 protocols. Tickets seemed expensive for an entire class. Taking students on a field trip and navigating constantly changing rules and regulations felt daunting. Doubt came in. It had been two years full of disappointment and unknowns, but I also felt deeply in my core that I had to show them it was possible. I have successfully designed my Shakespeare curriculum around what’s on stage in the Philadelphia region for nine years. This experience would be my first attempt at bringing students to the Kimmel Cultural Campus, but hopefully not my last. 

I can still hear the Fates singing “Who are you to lead them?” antagonizing me as I encouraged my students to write a grant to a local organization called the Haddonfield Educational Trust. We divided portions of the grant proposal and conducted outreach. We brainstormed ideas on how to make this request applicable to a teacher innovation grant. We contacted the incredible Kimmel Group Sales team who put together a reasonable group rate for my students. We contacted a local bookstore for a class set of Hadestown texts at a discounted cost.