It’s been a long road for Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown to gain the Tony and Grammy award-winning acclaim it’s garnered since gracing Broadway in 2019. After 20 years of workshops, concerts in cafes, concept albums, out-of-state and Off-Broadway tryouts, the six years between its 2018 National Theatre run and current West End return feels like a mere snippet of the show’s history.
I was intrigued about Hadestown during its National Theatre run mainly because of its cast, and I thought to myself ‘Hmm, maybe I’ll go watch it’ between the several West End shows I’d blow my student loan on during uni. If this review is any indication, that never happened and I immediately regretted it once I witnessed Hadestown become Broadway’s latest smash hit in real time. With that in mind, were these six years of waiting for Hadestown’s London return worth it?
Hadestown
Cast
- Orpheus: Donal Finn
- Eurydice: Grace Hodgett Young
- Hermes: Melanie La Barrie
- Hades: Zachary James
- Persephone: Gloria Onitiri
- Fates: Bella Brown, Madeline Charlamagne, Allie Daniel
Rating: ★★★★
What is Hadestown about?
Hadestown is a folk opera that intertwines two mythic love stories: young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and King Hades and his wife Persephone. Orpheus longs to create a song that will finally make spring return. Cold and starving, Eurydice makes a deal with Hades to become a worker in his industrialist Hadestown. Journeying down to the underworld, Orpheus’ determination to get his wife back leads him to discover the realities of the world and finally create the one thing he wants to help to set things right.
It’s a Greek tragedy – you probably know how the ending goes.
What do I think of Hadestown?
Fusing Greek mythology with Great Depression era aesthetics, the beauty of Hadestown is Mitchell and director Rachel Chavkin’s ability to bend and twist an age old story everyone knows the outcome of while packing it with raw emotion. Paralleling Orpheus and Eurydice’s and Hades and Persephone’s strained relationships while discussing issues affecting today’s world such as capitalism, industrialism and climate change, its metatextual genius shines in its concept. We tell and watch Greek tragedies again to find their messages, and that’s exactly what this show does 8 times a week – replaying itself in the hopes that maybe the next time will turn out differently.
Undoubtedly Hadestown’s biggest strength is Anais Mitchell’s gorgeous American folk and New Orleans jazz-inspired score. Her melodies are haunting, vivacious and soaring to the point I was in tears. While the lyrics occasionally lean into purple prose territory, highlights such as the joyful Livin’ It Up On Top, spine-tingling Epic III, signature song Wait For Me and eerily prophetic Why We Build A Wall (written a decade before Trump’s ‘build a wall over Mexico’ reign of power) can make the hardest of souls reduced to tears.
Rachel Hauck’s beautiful set in a New Orleans-inspired speakeasy with Hermes as the emcee, clad in dapper silver suit designed by Michael Krass. Simple on the surface, small details like two revolves, haze, swinging lamps and a central elevator immediately immerse the audience to the dark railroads, and Hade’s factory-like underworld. By the time the set literally breaks apart in one jaw-dropping sequence near the end of act one (you know the one), you give yourself over to the beauty of this musical.
What’s the cast like?
Donal Finn’s (very Irish) Orpheus captures the wide-eyed naivete and desperation for a better world through his music. While obsessed with his goal to the point of neglecting his wife, his good intentions and determination to set things right avoid him being unlikable as he’s forced to face the harsh realities of the world. Add in a chilling falsetto voice, his stunning versions of Epic III and Wait For Me left me in tears.
Fresh from her award-winning debut in Sunset Boulevard, Grace Hodgett Young’s Eurydice should cement her as a bonafide West End star. Hardened and cynical with a raw and passionate (East-Midlands) voice, her moments of vulnerability crack heartbreakingly as she realises the truth of her deal with Hades. With her and Finn’s amazing chemistry, you immediately believe in their love.
Zachary James’ Hades mixes humour and terror as his baritone voice booms the Lyric Theatre, while Gloria Onitiri (previously a Fate in Hadestown’s National Theatre run) brings infectious energy and rebellious gusto as Persephone. My standout is easily Melanie La Barrie (& Juliet) as Hermes. Bombastic, fun and a powerhouse vocalist, her expressions to the side were enough to briefly distract me from the action in the foreground. Truly a career-defining performance that I hope gets recognition this awards season.
Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne and Allie Daniel bring personality and killer harmonies as the Fates, and all the Workers (Beth Hinton-Lever, Waylon Jacobs, Lauren Azania, Tiago Dhont-Bamberger and Christopher Short) bring strong character and life to them both as a collective group and individuals.
What are my overall thoughts?
Hadestown is a beautiful and soaring musical full of heart – I was in tears. Anais Mitchell’s return to London is an unequivocal triumph, her score remaining one of the defining theatrical scores in the 2010’s decade. With a phenomenal cast who bring new edges to iconic musical characters, the six years of waiting have been undoubtedly worth it.
I was gifted a ticket in return for an honest review – all thoughts and opinions are my own.
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