House concurrent resolution honoring the Vermonters who created the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown and the Vermont theatrical youth ensembles now staging exhilarating teen performances
This House concurrent resolution is a ceremonial measure honoring the Vermont artists and educators connected to the creation and continued performance of the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown. It highlights the work of Anaïs Mitchell, Michael Chorney, Ben T. Matchstick, Rachel Chavkin, Robinson Morse, and other Vermonters who helped develop the show from its early Vermont roots into a Broadway success. The resolution also recognizes Vermont youth theater groups and school ensembles that are staging teen productions of Hadestown, including Peoples Academy, Very Merry Theatre, U-32 Middle and High School, and Montpelier High School.
The resolution recounts the musical’s development from its early premiere in Barre to its Broadway debut in 2019, where it won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction, Best Original Score, and Best Orchestrations. It emphasizes the cultural significance of the show as a Vermont-created work that achieved national acclaim and continues to inspire student performances in the state. The measure directs the Secretary of State to send copies of the resolution to the named creators, schools, and theater organizations.
HCR009 does not change Vermont statutes, create new legal duties, or appropriate funds. Its effect is purely honorary and symbolic, using a concurrent resolution to formally commend specific individuals, schools, and arts organizations. The practical impact is to place the General Assembly’s recognition on the public record and to acknowledge the role of Vermont-based artists and youth theater programs in the success and ongoing performance of Hadestown.
The sentiment around the resolution is strongly positive and celebratory. The bill presents Hadestown as a point of Vermont pride and frames the youth productions as an inspiring cultural achievement worthy of legislative recognition. There is no recorded opposition, committee controversy, or roll-call vote in the provided materials, which is consistent with the resolution’s commemorative nature.
No notable contention appears in the available record. Because the resolution is honorary, it does not raise policy disputes, fiscal concerns, or legal questions. The only substantive focus is on whom to recognize and the specific Vermont individuals and institutions associated with the musical and its teen adaptations, all of whom are treated favorably in the text.