Hadestown

Noticed there was no thread for Hadestown, so I decided to make one! :) Let's all go way down Hadestown and celebrate the show in all its forms, from the 2006 DIY era to the 2010 concept album to NYTW, Edmonton, London, and Broadway!

I got into the musical last November thanks to the game Hades, and it quickly consumed my life. XD While researching it I found some cool, obscure stuff, like a compilation of old lyrics that shows the show was significantly darker early on, an article that mentions some of how the 2006 show was staged and 2010-era tours like "[City Name] sings Hadestown!', Cerberus being part of the show before the Workers were introduced (and the Fates beat Orpheus up in the NYTW era since the whole cast sang as the Workers), and that Ahmad Simmons and John Krause gave their ensemble characters names.

The show has so much history behind it, and it's been such a long journey to get to where it is now! I hope I can get to see it myself one day.

EDIT: And I just found MORE history! A video filmed in 2007, and local articles about the making of the show, including one from 2007.

DOUBLE EDIT: Thanks to Ben T. Matchstick's Instagram, we have artifacts from early Hadestown development, from 2006 to at least 2012! A 2012 workshop had Hades work on mechanical birds in an aviary, spending much of "His Kiss The Riot" tuning a bird and letting it go, and deciding to just shoot Orpheus at the speakeasy before realizing it'd make him a martyr. Orpheus, who'd been imprisoned with other rioters, takes the opportunity to sing to him as long as he's there, and Hades' guards would refuse to quell the workers rioting only for it to calm on its own. Post-turn Orpheus would be taken to a hospital by Hermes, who'd sabotaged Hadetown from within and given Eurydice a wiretap to listen in. Thought was also given to Hermes running a sideshow attraction featuring scale models of Hadestown, and in the 2007 show Hermes and Hades played poker at one point. Never said who won.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Jul 1st 2021 at 6:21:19 AM

Hadestown is coming to Korea, with EXO singer Xiumin cast as Orpheus, along with Park Kang Hyun and Jo Hyung Gyun. I'm interested to see how/where it'll differ from other productions, if at all!

EDIT: Going by this interview/game show thing it seems they compressed the three Fates into one, the Goddess of Fate.

DOUBLE EDIT: Nope, all 3 Fates are there! Must have been a mistranslation.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Sep 8th 2021 at 4:40:15 AM

Reeve Carney's brother, Zane Carney, performed a completely improvised version of Hadestown based on what little he remembered of it, with the added challenge of fitting 20 audience-selected words into the story somewhere. Highlights include Zane mispronouncing Eurydice's name the whole time, Hermes having a nice watch, Hades singing about how life is just poop while Persephone compares it to a train, Orpheus turning around by spinning in his chair, and Reeve and Eva dying of laughter in the chat.

They should perform this version of Hadestown for April Fool's Day. XD

The Broadway cast and Touring cast was announced! Tom Hewitt is filling in for Patrick Page as Hades until November 11th on Broadway, and Kimberly Marable is our touring Persephone! Kay Trinidad, one of the original Fates, also confirmed she'll be returning to Broadway in January.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Oct 3rd 2021 at 3:12:37 PM

Didn't Tom Hewitt also play Frank N Furter? It'll be interesting hearing a non Basso Profundo tackle the role, presumably with certain sections flipped up the octave.

Hades has been played baritone by David Symons and I think Timothy Hughes and T. Oliver Reid, and Patrick said he was a tenor once in a workshop, but I'm unsure who played him then. It'll be exciting to see for sure! (Timothy can do bass but some of his sections were toned up cause he couldn't hit as low as Patrick does.)

And yeah, Tom was Frank N Furter! He was also in The Lion King, Art, The School for Scandal, The Sisters Rosensweig, The Boys from Syracuse, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Amazing Grace.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Sep 27th 2021 at 12:20:19 PM

The world came back to life as Hadestown reopened yesterday, and word is it's great! Tom Hewitt is a great, charming Hades who does sing in a higher octave, and there's videos floating around of the curtain call, a pre-show announcement standing ovation, and the cast singing and dancing and handing out flowers from the balcony. They sang 'Lean on Me' and 'New York, New York'. There were at least 6 standing ovations during the show, and Andre de Shields, Anais Mitchell, and Rachel Chavkin gave speeches (Andre at the day before's final dress rehearsal).

Also they changed the Playbill design a bit to add more red flower petals to the background, and acknowledged the re-opening date as well as the traditional opening date!

Waitress reopened, too!

Edited by lalalei2001 on Sep 3rd 2021 at 6:05:27 AM

Happy opening day to Hadestown Korea! The National Tour starts next month!

I saw Hadestown on the 15th, and it was amazing! <3 I'm hoping to go back in November when Patrick Page rejoins the cast as Hades.

Hadestown is coming to my city in the winter. No idea what my winter plans are, but I'm thinking to just buy a ticket just in case...

John Krause is finally going on as Orpheus on 10/26! He was supposed to go on before the pandemic, but real life had a major case of Yank the Dog's Chain and the day he was supposed to go on was when Broadway shut down.

Due to that people are joking about something world-ending happening XD

EDIT: Also, according to the Hadestown cast list, Amber will be returning on Nov. 13, so Lana Gordon, her alternate, will be Persephone indefinitely until then. https://www.hadestown.com/team.php

DOUBLE EDIT: Jewelle Blackman is going on as Persephone, too, and Chibueze Ihuoma went on as Orpheus understudy on tour 10/26! Also, Trent Saunders and Khaila Wilcoxon went on as Orph and Eury 11/16!

Reeve Carney is also taking a month-long break in January for a filming project, but should be back afterwards, similar to Tom Hewitt filling in for Patrick Page.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Nov 19th 2021 at 9:36:41 AM

Amber Gray's final performance as Persephone will be February 19, 2022.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Amber-Gray-to-Play-Final-Performance-in-HADESTOWN-on-February-19-20220207

EDIT: Jewelle Blackman is replacing Lana as the full-time Persephone in April! The new Fate is Soara Joye-Ross.

Edited by lalalei2001 on Mar 20th 2022 at 6:24:15 AM

Lillias White will be Hermes started September 13th!

Patrick Page is leaving Hadestown, with his last performance December 30th. https://www.thewrap.com/hadestown-patrick-page-leaving-reason-why/