Hadestown is the singular creation of Anaïs Mitchell, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics. She adapted the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice into a different kind of musical that weaves political commentary and romance into a backdrop of bluesy, emotionally driven music. Where most musicals strive to be fluffy and escapist, Hadestown embraces all the darkness inherent in its story. It's still very fun at times, but it aspires to more than sending you out of the theater with a song stuck in your head.
Not that it doesn't do that too. Mitchell worked on this musical for over a decade before it finally arrived in this form that won the Tony for Best Musical, and that long, hard work shows. From the tight three-part harmonies sung by the Fates, to the high falsetto of Orpheus, to the gravelly low bass of Hades, to a backing quintet that's deliberately supportive or abrasive at different times, there are a lot of styles at play here. But they all gel in a well-crafted whole.
In this touring production, the most thunderous applause went to the two lead performers, Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice and Chibueze Ihuoma as Orpheus. But I hope it takes nothing away from them to say that the real stand-outs in the cast were in the secondary roles. Kimberly Marable played a Persephone sometimes feisty and sometimes weary, but always relatable. Kevyn Morrow was a dangerous wicked Hades. And as Hermes, Levi Kreis infused his sort of "master of ceremonies" role with great sympathy and dignity.
Hadestown is in Denver for a few more days, so perhaps by posting this immediately -- the night after I saw it -- there's still a window for a couple of you reading this to score yourselves some tickets. I give it an A-.
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