Musical Review - Hadestown – Anaïs Mitchell

On November 5th I had the opportunity to see the musical Hadestown. It is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in an industrial wasteland.

On Earth the seasons are all out of whack because Hades, the god of the Underworld, isn’t letting his wife Persephone, the goddess of Spring, stay on Earth for the allotted six months. When she does come up for any brief amount of time, she parties with the humans.

This uneven amount of time Persephone is in the underworld causes severe weather on Earth and makes it hard for the people living there to survive. Enter Orpheus and Eurydice.

Orpheus is a talented musician that is convinced that the song he is working on will be the solution to a better tomorrow. Eurydice is a realist who just wants a roof over her head and food to eat.

A particularly hard winter storm forces Eurydice to take an offer to go to Hadestown. When Orpheus finds out what happened he ventures into the underworld to save her.

When I had first heard about the show, I was only mildly interested. The concept sounded interesting, but I wasn’t running to buy a ticket.

Now that I’ve seen it once, I want to see it again. It was phenomenal. The music, the actors, the set, the costumes, the effects. Everything was phenomenally done.

The music was in part reminiscent of New Orleans Jazz and reminded me at times of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. My favourite song was Way Down Hadestown.

The effects definitely added to the atmosphere of the musical. Smoke is used in many underworld scenes and gives them a very eerie feel. The lighting and moving stage also add interest to the visuals.

Hands down my favourite part of the show was Amber Gray as Persephone. Her singing was beautiful and her expressions during many scenes were hilarious to watch.

If you would like watch the show, it is currently playing at the National Theatre till January 26^th2019. The tickets are pretty affordable. They range from £15 to £62 every Monday to Thursday as well as for all the matinees.

Tickets for Friday and Saturday range from £18 to £67. Friday Rush and Day Tickets are also available for £20 and £15/£18 respectively.

I was able to go with the help of Helen’s list. The list helps provided access to the arts in London to people who wouldn’t usually be involved in them, through ticket deals, offers, and insider access.

They have worked to bring people to shows at the National Theatre and the West End. If you would like to join the list visit their website at the link above.