Grand Junction High School theater and Colorado Mesa University theater will be opening the curtains for “Hadestown” in their own ways.
GJHS will be presenting the play on the last weekend of February and the first weekend of March in the school auditorium. The Broadway show will take place May 1-2, 2026, in CMU’s Asteria Theater.
“I’ve got mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it’s a Broadway show, it’s gonna be super cool to see a professional version of the musical [Hadestown]. But on the other hand, it might drive down willingness or people’s desire to see our version,” said GJHS senior Russell White, who is student director of “The Play That Goes Wrong.”
The Asteria Theatre opened on Sept. 24, 2024, on the CMU campus and was designed to host world-class theater productions. Because of this, touring Broadway shows can now visit Grand Junction for the first time, presenting shows that range from “Mrs. Doubtfire” to “Hadestown.”
GJHS offers various theater classes, including Theater Arts I and II, and Play Production. This fall, GJHS theater will be performing “The Play That Goes Wrong” on Nov. 14 and 15 at 7 p.m.
The CMU Broadway shows scheduled include “Mrs. Doubtfire.” “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” “Mark Twain Tonight!,” “The Book of Mormon,” “Chicago,” and “Hadestown.” All of the plays will be on for two days and many are already sold out.
“We could see an influx of potential tourism coming through,” said GJHS theater teacher Bryan Carlson.
For a performance to be considered a Broadway show, the theater must have at least 500 seats, according to broadway.com. Broadway shows attract professional actors, singers, musicians, and dancers, adding to the high-caliber performances that are a hallmark of Broadway. CMU’s Asteria Theater is qualified to host plays, with 869 seats, according to the CMU website, which is less than the 1,462-seat GJHS auditorium.
According to broadwayleague.com, local economies are stimulated by Broadway coming to town. People in the local area and close by come to see the shows, creating tourism revenue. People also have the chance to see Broadway in their own hometown. The Hadestown tour is stopping in more than 60 cities, starting in Kentucky and ending in Texas. Tickets for the CMU Broadway shows are available at tickets.coloradomesa.edu.
