This June, the Renaissance opens the doors of Theatre 166 to a fully staged workshop of Häxan: A Witchcraft Musical, a haunting new musical about fear, suspicion, and the surprising similarities we share with those we’re taught to condemn. Written by Ryan Shealy (who also directs), with music and lyrics by Aaron Nicolas, Häxan is based on the 1922 silent horror film classic and explores how communities fracture under tyranny and superstition.
This is the same creative team that brought last year’s sold-out Dracula to life—and many of the cast members are returning as well. If you were in that audience and felt the electricity of that terrifying experience, Häxan is calling you back.
“The story is truly ancient, but it was relevant when the film was made in 1922, and it’s relevant again now,” Shealy explains. “This is a scary story both in content and also because the idea is scary—how anyone could be accused of witchcraft and pulled from their homes without a trial…”
Set in medieval Sweden, the story spirals through a witch hunt—a taut, psychological descent into mass hysteria, false confessions, and the question at the heart of every scapegoating moment: Why do we keep burning each other? It’s gothic. It’s intimate. It’s unavoidably relevant.
Aaron Nicolas, composer and music producer, says the collaboration was a no-brainer. “We had been wanting to write something together for a while. Ryan brought Häxan to the table as a potential option and asked me to watch the film. I immediately knew that this was the piece we were meant to work on together. It was meant to be.” The score weaves post-punk, medieval folk, and Catholic mass into something wholly original.
The cast features Samantha Woodill as Karna, Jacob Poiner as Brother Henrik, Zakari Ramos as Brother John, Nykera Gardner as Anna, Nikki Stitak as Sister Cecilia, McKenna Stoffer as Trina, George Swarn as Brother Rasmus, Mindy Tishue as Maria, with ensemble members Haley Bedocs, Darius Darmody, Ethan Chapman, and Molly McClanahan.