The most innovative show of this Broadway season is Hadestown. This musical from composer Anaïs Mitchell (a singer/songwriter from Vermont) started as a concept album in 2010 and has been fleshed out by director Rachel Chavkin into what’s now playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
I had originally inferred comparisons to Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 due to Chavkin directing both, which worried me as I was not a big fan of Comet, but I’m pleased to say that Hadestown is a true creative delight that deserves high praise.
Hadestown tells the stories of two Greek mythological couples — Hades, god of the underworld and his queen Persephone, as well as the singer Orpheus and his love Eurydice. The basic plot is that Eurydice dies, goes to the underworld (aka Hadestown). Orpheus attempts to bring her back but must pass a test from Hades himself.
The genius of this production is how uniquely the director and cast interpret this ancient story and its characters. The show takes on an apocalyptic motif, with Hades characterized as a greedy Great Depression-era CEO of a vast mining or industrial company and all the dead as his workers, forced to build a wall between worlds.
In addition to criticisms of greed, isolationism, and exploitation of workers, the theme of climate change hovers throughout, as Persephone (who brings spring and harvest), spends half the year in the underworld while the living suffer from bitter storms, famine, and poverty. In response, the optimistic Orpheus spends his time writing a song that he believes can restore the world to balance. We see striking parallels as the masses suffer while the greediest build walls and horde power.
The motifs of Hadestown are brilliantly tied in with the music as well. Much of Anaïs Mitchell’s catchy score has influences of New Orleans jazz/blues, which leads much of the show to take place in a New Orleans-style club. The path between our world and Hadestown is a train track, so the music and staging feature train whistles and sound effects. As we view the underworld on stage, we hear the workers in Hadestown sing what resemble work songs sung by American slaves, with lyrics such as “keep your head low/if you wanna keep your head.” The underworld also features call-and-response slavery-type songs.
Act I concludes with a song entitled “Why We Build The Wall” and before you ask, it was composed nearly a decade ago, before the rise of Donald Trump. This song features Hades asking his slaves “why do we build the wall?” with answers such as “to keep us free” and “to keep out the enemy.” The highlight of the score is “Wait For Me”, which should have been the Act I finale as it stops the show. The song is determined, haunting, and infectious, while the lighting design by Bradley King shines as bright (figuratively) as any number I’ve seen on Broadway.
The backbone behind this production is Rachel Chavkin, whose direction I thought was the one standout in The Great Comet. She’s been a partner in development with Mitchell for years, and her artistic fingerprints are all over the show. The storytelling, staging, music, concert-like vibe, and themes all tie in brilliantly together because of the artistic vision of Chavkin.
The ensemble of workers (highlighted by Timothy Hughes) and Greek chorus of fates (highlighted by the accordion-playing, deep-voiced Jewell Blackman) work hard throughout the show. The main cast of five is led by the smooth Andre De Shields (Hermes), the energetic Amber Gray (Persephone), and the charming Reeve Carney (Orpheus). But the highlights are the sinister Patrick Page (Hades), delivering the lowest voice you’ve ever heard and commanding the stage every second he’s on it, as well as the delightful Eva Noblezada (Eurydice), with a dynamite singing voice and strong-willed spirit.
I can’t say I felt the same emotion in the tragic love story as some others, as the ‘spoiler’ is expected and due to the breaking of the fourth wall, it’s clear they’re telling a story, so you don’t feel these characters are real. But the whole is a magnificent achievement, keeping the audience glued and our toes tapping for two and a half hours. Hadestown is one of the most creative and original productions now on Broadway.