Eurydice gives up her happiness with Orpheus for a less impoverished afterlife in Hades. Persephone is under the thumb of Hades, who oppresses his understandably skittish wife with the same impunity that he uses to exploit his indentured workers. “Hadestown” directs a gimlet eye on the power imbalance in male-female relationships without sacrificing romantic mystery. Hades (Kevyn Morrow), the jealous tyrant of the underworld, and Persephone (Kimberly Marable), his wife who gets to return for half of every year to the land of the living, have equal prominence in Mitchell’s retelling. And thus begins the saga of two young lovers whose attempt to hold on to the paradise they've briefly found in each other will lead them to the depths of hell. Orpheus (Nicholas Barasch), a struggling songwriter whom Hermes has taken under his wing, is instantly smitten when Eurydice (Morgan Siobhan Green) walks into his life.Ī ragamuffin looking for a meal, Eurydice receives instead a feast of affection that includes a proposition of marriage. The initial setting resembles a New Orleans speakeasy. A mercurial character whose main role is master of ceremonies, Hermes entices us to once again resurrect this ancient tale of love and loss to see what fresh insights might be gained through another communal encounter. The story of Eurydice and Orpheus is presided over by Hermes (Levi Kreis, who won a Tony for playing Jerry Lee Lewis in “Million Dollar Quartet”). Developed by Rachel Chavkin, the resourceful director who won a Tony for her staging, “Hadestown” achieves a fluidity of musical theater storytelling that makes an old tale seem startlingly new. As with the ancient original, tragedy awaits in the wings, offset by exquisite melodies, jaunty rhythms and a brilliant, inventive way of story telling.“Hadestown,” the 2019 Tony-winning musical reimagining the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as a New Orleans-style folk opera, has arrived at the Ahmanson Theatre in smoldering fashion.īorn out of a concept album by Anaïs Mitchell, who wrote the book, lyrics and music, the show travels to the underworld and back again with liquified grace. The penniless muso and poet resolves to retrieve his love, the beautiful runaway Eurydice, when she is tempted by Hades to enter the underworld in a bid to escape the frost, famine and empty bellies of the winter months brought on by Persephone's annual tenure below. Rollicking tunes like 'Road to Hell', 'Way Down Hadestown' and 'Wait for Me' punctuate the story of Orpheus, narrated by Hermes. Orpheus is cast as a struggling musician and the post-apocalyptic, depression-era world he lives in is tormented with wild seasons that smack of climate-change. Based on the beloved Greek myth of Orpheus and his supernatural journey into the underworld, Mitchell and Rachel give the story a uniquely modern and American sensibility - their Hades is a fearsome King of The Underworld cum factory fat cat boss that torments lost souls with endless mechanic toil. Written by indie singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell and brought to vivid life by experimental theatre director Rachel Chavkin ( Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812), the musical began its life as a touring concert and concept album before taking to the stage at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2016. Don't miss out when the lauded musical hits the road on this hotly anticipated national tour! This came as no surprise given the production received much acclaim during both its Off-Broadway and Broadway runs, praised for its soaring imagination, vibrant retelling of a classic story and a sumptuous score that evokes smoky New Orleans jazz and bubbling Americana-tinged folk. Cleaning up during the 2018/19 awards season, plucky folk opera Hadestown garnered eight Tony Awards (including the coveted Tony for Best Musical), four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards and a Drama League Award.
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