Interview: Joe Bishara of HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION, GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL

Although it is mainly known for its mass production of the Bible, Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press was also responsible for the mass distribution of Greek myths and texts to spark the age of enlightenment.

If you look at it that way, the Abbey Theater of Dublin’s back-to-back productions of GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL! and HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION makes perfect sense. The theater (located at 5600 Post Road in Dublin) will take on the double header staging of GUTENBERG! a farcical story of two men trying to produce a musical about the creator of the printing press as well as HADESTOWN, a soulful retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus, Eurydice, Hades, and Persephone. On Aug. 9 and 10, the Abbey Theater will be performing HADESTOWN at 2 p.m. and following it with GUTENBERG! at 7 p.m. The two shows will then shift order on Aug. 16 and 17 with GUTENBERG! running at 2 p.m. and HADESTOWN at 7 p.m.

The two shows have meant Abbey Theater of Dublin Supervisor Joe Bishara and Jonathan Collura have had to pull double duty. In the two-man musical GUTENBERG!, Bishara plays Doug Simon and Collura takes on the role of Bud Davenport. Bishara is also the producer and Collura is the musical director of HADESTOWN.

“It's a very ambitious undertaking, but it's very similar to what we did last summer with ALICE BY HEART and AMERICAN IDIOT,” Bishara said. “The only difference is that I decided to make myself extra crazy by being on stage as well.

“During rehearsals, we work on GUTENBERG! from 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and finish around 6 p.m. We take a half-hour break to catch our breath and then work on HADESTOWN starting at 6:30 p.m. and finishing from 9 p.m-10 p.m.”

While both shows are musicals, the Abbey Theater couldn’t have picked two more different presentations. GUTENBERG! is a musical farce performed by two experienced actors on a sparse stage. HADESTOWN, on the other hand, is based on a Greek tragedy, has a large cast of teenagers, and requires an extensive set to stage it properly.

Performing in a two-person show is familiar territory for Bishara, who was in the two-person play, A WALK IN THE WOODS in the spring of 2024. In that show, however, Bishara played just one character, John Honeywell.

In GUTENBERG!, two aspiring Broadway writers are trying to sell investors on their woeful inaccurate musical about Johannes Gutenberg. To do that, both characters must portray every character in the show. Bishara estimates Collura plays 12 different roles while he takes on nine different parts.

“It’s a brain drain and, as I get older, these kind of shows become harder. However, I find myself being drawn towards things where I must be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Bishara said. “I’ve played multiple characters before in the various iterations of FORBIDDEN BROADWAY, but those were a series of vignettes.

“In GUTENBERG! Jonathan and I must be able to turn on a dime. One second we’re one character and then the next, we’re another character and then another. That’s the fun part about this, coming up with different voices and different physical (quirks) and trying to keep it all straight in my head. But we’re having a lot of fun in rehearsal and our director (Niko Carter) is giving us a chance to stretch ourselves and enjoy the process.”

HADESTOWN, a musical composed by Anaïs Mitchell, also offers the Abbey Theater a chance to push its pre-professional program. Over 90 students from across central Ohio tried out for the 26 roles.

The show features Isidora Diaz (Eurydice), Owen Montanya (Orpheus), Nic Franklin (Hades) and Driga Mogaka (Persephone). Miles Prince and Sam Hardjono will split the role of Hermes, the show’s narrator, while Grace Hardjono, Maggie Zhang, Bella Mytinger, Ainsley Mustard, Ava Rogers, and Elsa Westover will play The Fates.

“HADESTOWN is not your typical musical in its degree of difficulty,” said Bishara who is getting assists from Collura (music) and Jamie Markovich McMahon (choreography). “Don’t get me wrong, ALICE BY HEART was challenging, but HADESTOWN is a monster.

“HADESTOWN did exactly what we hoped it would do: bring out some new faces to audition. Sixty percent of the actors are from Dublin, and that’s great, but 40 percent of them come from the surrounding suburbs. Our pre-professional program has become a melting pot. These kids get to know each other, become friends with each other and then once the school year starts, they support each other in their own individual high school productions.”

While doing two shows back to back means a lot of long days and nights at The Abbey Theater , Bishara doesn’t seem to mind.

“I'm blessed that I have a job that I absolutely love, so when you're putting in the extra hours and elbow grease, it doesn't feel like work. It  not only provides me with joy, but that has an opportunity to provide the community with joy as well. It's worth it in the end,” Bishara said, adding with a chuckle. “At least that's what I tell myself right now.“