For many, the road to seeing Hadestown has been a long and difficult one. Following its Tony win for Best Musical in 2019, the sensational new show from Anais Mitchell celebrated a brief run on Broadway before COVID-19 put theater into uncertainty, leaving any plans for a national tour of any kind up in the air. Given that live shows didn’t properly return until 2021, many have waited a long time to finally see one of the best new shows of the past decade. For those lucky enough to catch it at The Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, CA, it was more than worth the wait. Even as it recalled shows of yesteryear, it presented something new and exciting within its myth-making tale. As the opening song would suggest, it’s a sad song from way back when, but they’re gonna sing it again.
The story follows the familiar beats of Orpheus & Eurydice. The former, played by J. Antonio Rodriguez, is an artist writing a song that he promises will bring back spring from Hades (Kevyn Morrow) and his betrothed Persephone (Kimberly Marable) who live in the underworld. Somewhere along the way, he is mentored by the show’s narrator Hermes (Eddie Noel Rodriguez), and meets the love of his life, his muse Eurydice (Morgan Siobhan Green). There’s a group of backup dancers and an ominous trio known as The Fates to add a little flavor while an on-stage band adds some merriment to the whole experience. The minimalist stage work centers around a pub-like setting where tables are constantly moved around while characters enter like an episode of Cheers.
The setup is crucial. There can’t be an orchestra pit for Hadestown, as it would ultimately impact everything that follows. While many musicals have featured similar staging, none have used it for as dramatic of an effect. Act II in particular incorporates horns and bass that may sound dissonant elsewhere, but manage to stir the soul as the breathtaking finale occurs. For as jubilant as everything begins, the story becomes complex, taking familiar universal themes and recognizing the sacrifices that come with romance. Even then, this isn’t just a story of love, but one that impressively turns the titular Hadestown into a capitalist landscape of rotating stages and blinding lights. From atop a balcony, Hades leads a regime. His deep voice clashes with Orpheus’ nimble, childlike cadence, reflecting intimidation and dominance. He is a figure who is sincere, naïve, as Hermes would say “touched.” He is an odd fit for a protagonist, but as one witnesses his central song “Epic” build, the significance of his tone begins to make more and more sense.
Even the way that the show begins is something special, reminding the audience more of a karaoke bar than a night of live theater. Hermes addresses the audience prior to the show’s beginning, as if a master of ceremonies, itself freeing the audience from any boundaries. If they want to cheer, they can cheer. If they want to laugh, they can laugh. Given that Mitchell has baked every conceivable emotion into the story, it’s likely that this seconds-long moment may be the most crucial to appreciating everything that follows. It may be in a realm of myth, itself ancient and removed from modern ways, but contemporizing it as such allows one to reflect on the power of good storytelling not only in Orpheus’ arc, but in the subtext of the art form itself. Even if Hermes is beyond the fourth wall, it’s hardly a gimmick. If anything, it’s the best way of commenting on the narrative’s function in theater.
Even if Hermes is the more colorful character and most magnetic of the cast, credit should be given to Orpheus. In some ways, he feels removed even from supporting players. He’s not quite a messiah nor a totally helpless character. He is the comic folly who introduces the audience to the potential of the story. Early scenes opposite Eurydice especially illuminate one of the cutest, most awkward pairings before finding him growing in confidence. Eurydice’s songs are also ethereal, as if she’s singing along a cold and breezy trail. There is something endearing about these two finally meeting. Is it fate? As the next few hours will show, it’s not that simple.
Even then, Mitchell has created something amazing. She has created a love story that questions its significance in the most tender and introspective ways imaginable. As everything builds to unfathomable hurdles, what drives Orpheus to keep trying? The Fates with their excellent three-part harmonies taunt him, adding a spiritual subtext to the whole performance. They are an amoral center, more designed to warn of danger than present it. Hades has the collected cool of a young, snazzy businessman trying to buy his way to happiness. The only issue is that, as the intermission song insinuates, he’s better at building walls. The enemy is poverty, and working hard will distract from any potential misery. Again, the stage lights up so blindingly that all form ceases to exist. It’s mechanical, impersonal, the opposite of Orpheus’ “Epic,” which is the homegrown wonder that will hopefully save the world.
In some respect the plot is ridiculous, but when treated with this level of sincerity it works as something greater. It is the power of something implicit and intangible that lives inside every audience member willing to dream. It’s the type of aspirational core that makes the story work. Given how Act II builds into something more abstract and downright ingenious from a presentation standpoint, it’s amazing how Mitchell has captured the potential of theater not only to entertain, but to craft old stories into something new. It’s provocative, but most of all it’s one of the most expertly detailed shows of the modern era, creating a story that paces itself beautifully and still manages to present so many lovely surprises.
One can hope that COVID-19 doesn’t keep the show from moving onward and upward during its national tour. Few shows have captured the significance and potential of a stage with as much success as Hadestown. Every minute is a dazzler with enough toe tapping numbers to add to the standards. It may be a show that looks simple on the surface, but like anyone who has a knack for creating something out of a simple premise, Mitchell manages to find something greater in this old song. In fact, it’s a work that has the potential to be timeless, to tie into emotions that have defined the greatest of theater for centuries now. Thanks to the entire cast for making this miracle happen with so much heart and soul that will hopefully be sung again and again for years and decades to come.
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