ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – Elmira High School will be filled with emotions, laughter, and adventure over the next couple of days as two Southern Tier natives premiere their original musical titled “Hero.”

“There will be stories of Persephone, Orpheus, Narcissus and Heracles as they enter early adulthood and have to confront some difficult truths and what it is to be human,” said musical writer Katie Starling.

The musical is about fear, grief, and letting go with reinterpretations of Greek mythology. Novelist Katie Starling and Composer Jeffery Mathews turned a dream into reality and wrote the musical as students at Horseheads High School. The two later premiered a version in 2011 with the Young Actors Workshop at the Clemens Center.

“This is a totally new script. There’s a lot of new music. Things have been updated and changed,” said Jeffrey Williams. We’re pulling in community members from all over the Southern Tier from Corning, Dundee, Elmira, and Horseheads, and we have designers in a creative team behind us from all over the place, so they should expect to see a lot of familiar faces,” Mathews continues.

The production was locally funded by grants from the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and will feature local talent on stage and behind the scenes. “Hero” is said to be comparable to musicals like Jekyll and Hyde and Les Miserables.

“The audience will laugh, cry, and they’ll leave feeling lifted and thinking about the choices we make in life. We’re hoping everyone will leave with a message of love is the most important thing,” said Mathews.

“Hero” will premiere Friday, July 28, at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, July 29th at 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Admission is 12 dollars for students and seniors and 20 dollars for adults. Tickets are available on Eventbrite and at the door.