Theater at It’s Finest
by K. S. on 4/16/20I saw Hadestown’s performance at the Tony Award, and immediately felt like I just needed to see this show. I somehow managed to save up my money and go. It did not disappoint.
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Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theatre
While based on the oft-told Greek myth of Eurydice and Orpheus' descent into hell, Ana?s Mitchell's folk opera ‘Hadestown' just might deliver audiences to musical-theater heaven. A dozen years in the making, ‘Hadestown' was first performed as a stage production in Mitchell's home state of Vermont. In 2010, to enthusiastic acclaim, she released it as a concept album featuring indie-folk stars Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, the Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller, and the Haden triplets (Petra, Rachel, and Tanya). Mitchell expanded the album into an Americana musical quilt with the help of Tony Award–winning director Rachel Chavkin (‘Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812'). It premiered off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop on May 6, 2016, and ran through July 31. March 2019 marks its Broadway debut, with opening night planned for April 17.
About the Show
In ‘Hadestown,' Mitchell inventively updates the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus to a post-apocalyptic setting reminiscent of the Great Depression. The narrator, Hermes (Tony-nominated André De Shields), calls it "an old tale from way back when." While economic misery and environmental calamities afflict the land, the underworld has become a model of full employment thanks to Hades, who wants to construct a wall to protect the jobs of his mining minions.
While Eurydice (Tony-nominated Eva Noblezada) seeks economic security in the overworld, her beloved Orpheus — played by denim-clad singer-songwriter Reeve Carney, originator of the title role in Broadway's ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' — possesses a more poetic soul. Amber Gray plays Persephone, queen of the underworld, who cherishes the summers she is allowed to spend "on top." When Hades (Patrick Page, the Green Goblin in ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark') convinces Eurydice to join him in Hadestown, Persephone convinces her husband to give the couple one last chance to leave the underworld together.
A blend of classic storytelling and contemporary concerns, ‘Hadestown' reverberates with relevance. It's also a heartfelt celebration of American music in all its emotional richness and down-to-earth pleasures. And don't worry: In ‘Hadestown,' the devil has only some, not all, of the best tunes.
I saw Hadestown’s performance at the Tony Award, and immediately felt like I just needed to see this show. I somehow managed to save up my money and go. It did not disappoint.
It was recalling show for the 2019 . Still I am recalling that show till now .
never show it due to the coronavirus shutting down the whole city of new york
Enjoyed every minute of this show! Great music, Fabulous singing and dancing, and what a story!
My mother and I saw the show right before Broadway went dark. This show is absolutely deserving of every award it gets. PHENOMENAL!
Loved every moment of this show. Its so great, and yes it very much worth all the recognition it has gotten over the past year. I would see this over and over if I lived in NYC.
Gets better and better each time!! Every part of this show from the talent, to music , to costume and set design are a must to experience.
The music and performers are amazing. The best musical I have seen since Hamilton.
I'm a huge fan of productions that have a small-theatre feel. There's just something to be said for the utilization of space and the skill and training of the actors and musicians on stage. Every single person on that stage brings their A-game every night AND IT SHOWS. Principal actors ALSO playing instruments? I'm shaking. The use of the space they had? Amazing. I don't often describe things as "jaw-dropping" anymore but this set and the way it changed just before intermission QUITE LITERALLY had my jaw hanging. I could NOT believe what I saw. Hadestown deserves every Tony it won AND THEN SOME.
Great to see this Tony-award winning musical. Well deserved. We were blown away. Sat in second to last row of center orchestra. Still could see everyone's faces and expressions. Felt close still. Sound was great in there. Heard singing and orchestra all perfectly.