Hadestown

Hadestown is a beautiful show. It follows most notably the story of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology, alongside the marriage of Hades and Persephone, all narrated by Hermes and additional interjections by the 3 fates. It was first released as a concept album, but since arriving on stage it has been a worldwide success. 

I don’t have too much to say about the show, I like it and had seen it before, so I had been waiting for rush tickets which I got after many tries, and I’m very glad I did! 

What I liked

I was lucky enough to see the show in 2019 on Broadway with the original cast, and though I adored the show the album did not make it into my rotation of musical theatre listens. Returning back to see the show 6 years later, I was once again in awe of the beauty of the music, the use of stagecraft with simplistic yet effective staging, costumes, and lighting, and ultimately loved the show.

Though I was very lucky to see the original Broadway cast, this cast in the Lyric theatre was absolutely fantastic. I adored hearing Dylan Wood’s natural Scottish accent shine through as Orpheus, Desmonda Cathabel’s opt ups as Erudice were really powerful, and Cedric Neal’s Hermes was undeniably engaging.  

During Doubt Comes In I adored the moments where characters would disappear and reappear thanks to very clever lighting design and the round table stage. I had always been a bit miffed that Hadestown won for lighting design over Beetlejuice in the 2019 Tony Awards, but this rewatch gave more clarity to how well lighting is used in the show on top of the novel swingly industrial lamp choreography. 

What wasn’t my favourite

I think there are some moments in the show where the change in form from concept album to stage hasn’t made for the most engaging moments. The music throughout is beautiful but there are definitely moments where we cycle through every character’s point of view and I lose some interest. I think this is probably why Hadestown hasn’t made it onto my rotation of full album listens. 

Overall

Hadestown is the type of musical I recommend to everyone, it has a beautiful musical identity and is filled with purposeful design and talent across the cast, orchestra and crew. I’m very glad to have seen it again, and I will give it another shot of listening to the whole album instead of just the notable big songs.