By: Cameron Tyo
October 27th, 2024
Hadestown is a musical retelling of the Greek myth tale of “Orpheus and Eurydice,” weaving together modern concepts such as capitalism and elements of the myth “The Abduction of Persephone.” The story is told through soulful jazz-like tunes and powerful ballads, showing the bond between Orpheus and Eurydice, revealing the conflict anchoring much of the rest of the plot, and delving into Orpheus’s journey into the Underworld to bring his lover back from Hell.
The second national tour might not have the whole set that the one on Broadway does; noticeably, it is missing the turntable and the lift, but the blocking was creatively done to make up for this. Having Orpheus look into the audience diagonally with Eurydice following walking in place to create the illusion of moving towards him mimicking what the turntable would do when she starts to follow Orpheus back into the living world in “Wait for Me (Reprise)” was done well.
Furthermore, the set change between the living world and the Underworld/Hadestown in “Wait for Me” was a lot less massive than on Broadway, but with the tour, I’m surprised that the scene had even a sense of change in environment. The chandeliers of light crossing each other on the stage and in the air above the audience while Orpheus (Bryan Munar) powerfully pleads that he is coming for Eurydice while making his way through the tunnel connecting the real world and Hell despite being a little scared and lost is still intact and is still breathtaking to see. I loved that the workers who are concerned with Orpheus’s intrusion into the tunnels, and their headlights were the only sense of direction for Orpheus to use when making his way to Hadestown, and the choreography of the scene effectively shows that. The whole end of Act 1 is probably my favorite moment in the musical.
The lighting done by Bradley King was effectively used to show the tonality of a scene; strobe lights were used well, flashing in and out in scenes such as when the workers punish Orpehus for going down to the Underworld with permission by orders from Hades.
Now, going on to the music. I’ve seen Hadestown twice, and this was by far my favorite performance. Orpheus, played by Bryan Numar, did an excellent job with his soaring melodies in all of the “Epics,” “Wait for Me,” and “If It’s True.” You could hear the agony, hopefulness, and innocent-like nature of his character reflected in his voice. I also liked the many riffs Bryan incorporated which are reminiscent of those of Jordan Fischer on Broadway. Eurydice (played by understudy Julia Shick, typically played by Megan Colton) on the Oct 22 performance time and time again showed her powerfully demanding vocals in “Chant,” where she pleads to Orpheus to create his song that could have the power of bringing spring to a world plagued with cold ridding the world of no food after Hades brings Persephone back below too soon as well as “Wedding Song,” which also serves as showing her sassy nature at first. And the growl in “Wait for Me (Reprise)” was everything. Hermes (Jaylon C. Crum) did so well in playing the eccentric messenger god with his crooning jazz tune, narrating the story in songs such as “Road to Hell” and “Way Down Hadestown.” But at the same time, playing a parental figure of sorts between Orpheus. Everyone else did so well, such as Persephone (Namisa Midalaose Bizana), Hades (played by understudy Randy Cain, typically played by Nickolous Colon), and The Fates (Miriam Navarrete, Erin McMillen, and understudy Michelle Carter for Katelyn Crall). The vocals of songs such as “Little Song Bird,” “Living on Top,” and “The Chips are Down” were so energetic and powerful when they needed to be.
You also couldn’t have the show without the worker ensemble (Miracle Myles, Rick Cardenas in this performance, Kaitlyn O’Leary, Joe Rumi, and Mikaela Rada) as well as the band that often interacts with the cast members and even gets their names called out at the beginning of Act 2. They helped add emotional emphasis to the songs through complex and contrasting melodies and through dancing that was executed very well.
I thought all the songs were sung so well, of course, with a few minor hiccups that are expected to come with live theater.The musical’s songs weaved well to show a progression of Eurydice and Orpheus getting to know each other, introducing the conflict that Hades has with the people around him, like his wife, and how what he is doing affects people not only above but below, as well as Orpheus adventure to the Underworld to get Eurydice back.
I also liked the costumes for each character, showing the vibrancy or lack thereof of the characters introduced throughout the story. They were crafted in a way to look modern-like, almost industrialist but also cloaked in mythology.
Without revealing too many spoilers, I’ll leave things as they are. With that being said, Hadestown is one of my favorite shows, and I’d definitely see it again. If you’re a fan of Greek mythology or love jazzy tunes, I encourage you to buy Tickets for Hadestown on Ticketmaster before the tour ends. You’ll laugh, cry, and just overall be amazed.