Hadestown is currently playing its premier season in Australia. The worldwide hit, which won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album and a slew of Tony Awards including 2019 Best Musical, is receiving emphatic critical acclaim all around. Not from this reviewer, however.
While elements of the show are impressive, overall it feels lacklustre, undercooked.
The show had a long gestation between original conception and its debut on Broadway in 2019; it was reworked many times over, with lots of outside contributions, and that may account for some of its issues.
Indie/country/folk singer-songwriter, Anaïs Mitchell, first tested a sung-only version of her musical, Hadestown, in 2006, when it briefly toured her home state of Vermont, plus Massachusetts. Unsure of its stage potential, Mitchell decided to release a concept album in 2010.
In 2012, Mitchell met director, Rachel Chavkin and they began reworking Hadestown, adding songs and dialogue. In 2016, the new and improved Hadestown began an off-Broadway tour, playing in Canada, England and the US, being constantly tweaked, until it finally opened on Broadway in 2019.
The story is a mashing of Greek mythology, morality play and social commentary. At its core, is the mythological tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, paralleled with the tale of Persephone and Hades. Its time frame is undefined – there are references to modern technology, yet the set, costumes and musical flavour all very strongly suggest 1920s New Orleans.
The Sydney production of Hadestown is presented by Opera Australia, but it is basically the same production that played on Broadway and in the West End.
The stage is designed to resemble a New Orleans style bar, with tables and chairs at centre, and a winding, wrought-iron railed staircase at the rear leading up to a small balcony. Musicians (effectively, a jazz band) sit on either side of the stage.
The ensemble consists of a troupe of around nine singers/dancers, three Fates (Sarah Murr, Jennifer Trijo, Imani Williams), and the main characters: Hermes (Christine Anu) who acts as a narrator, Eurydice (Abigail Adriano), Orpheus (Noah Mullins), Persephone (Elenoa Rokobaro) and Hades (Adrian Tamburini).
The plot, in brief: Orpheus is a young musician who is blessed with the gift of writing magical music –literally. One day, he spots the beautiful Eurydice and falls instantly in love. The feelings are not immediately reciprocated, but Orpheus plays his enchanting music and Eurydice becomes smitten.
A long cruel winter causes a famine across the land, but while Eurydice goes out searching for food, desperate and starving, Orpheus is engrossed in trying to compose a tune to save the world.
Hades is something of a mogul who runs large factories that are unfriendly to the environment and unfair to workers. When he espies a tired and hungry Eurydice, he compels her to sign a contract and become a worker in his Hell factory.
Orpheus, discovering Eurydice’s fate, does what no other mortal has ever done and lived – he descends into the Underworld to try and rescue her.
Persephone, Hades’ long-suffering wife, sees a younger version of herself and her husband in Eurydice and Orpheus and implores Hades to let them both go free. To lubricate Hades’ sense of clemency, Orpheus plays the magical tune he has finally finished. Hades is moved and releases the two young lovers, but only on the condition that Orpheus walks in front of Eurydice and does not look back until they have both ascended completely out of the Underworld.
Alas, Orpheus can’t help himself and when they are within a breath of freedom, he turns to make sure Eurydice is still behind him, and she falls away forever.
So, not exactly a fairy tale, and yet Hadestown manages to put a Disney-esque patina over what is essentially a very dark story. Worse still, in this production and apparently many others, Orpheus is played by a white performer, which, considering Eurydice is played by an Asian performer, unfortunately introduces an element of white saviourism.
Orpheus is also rather an insipid character (not to disparage Mullins who clearly does his best with the role). This is not helped by the amount of falsetto singing included in his songs, or that he walks around with a semi-acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder like a rock idol in the wrong show.
Nor is the magical tune, which becomes a leitmotif in the show, particularly memorable or engrossing.
There are, in fact, no real bangers. Some tunes are fun and interesting, but eventually, it all begins to sound the same. The singing and choreography are very good, with Persephone (Elenoa Bakabora) arguably getting the show-stoppers
There just isn’t enough going on visually. Occasional theatrical devices like a roller door opening up and swinging lights, aren’t enough to relieve the scenic fatigue that sets out. It makes it hard to follow an intricate story that is being told through song.
Someone made the inexplicable choice to have Hermes speak with an Australian accent. Aussie accents are always welcome on stage but, in this case, it feels incongruous and takes us out of the New Orleans/Greek myth vibe.
Read: Mixed-reality concert: KAGAMI, Asia TOPA 2025
Undeniably, the energy level is high and, undoubtedly, most audiences and critics rate this musical very highly. So, you may consider this review an outlier … but you have been warned.
Hadestown
Theatre Royal Sydney
Music, Lyrics and Book: Anaïs Mitchell
Developed with and Directed by: Rachel Chavkin
Choreographer: David Neumann
Scenic Designer: Rachel Hauk
Costume Designer: Michael Krass
Lighting Designer: Bradley King
Sound Designers: Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz
Musical Supervisor and Vocal Arranger: Liam Robinson
Orchestration/Arrangements: Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose
Dramaturg: Ken Cerniglia
Associate Director: Tiffani Swalley
Associate Choreographer: Alex Lugo
Musical Director: Laura Tipoki
Associate Lighting Designer: Judy Dalgleish
Associate Sound Designer: Shelly Lee
Original Producers: Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, Tom Kirdahy
Cast: Christine Anu, Abigail Adriano, Noah Mullins, Adrian Tamburini, Elenoa Rokobaro, Sarah Murr, Jennifer Trijo, Imani Williams, Eliza Soriano, Afua Adjei, Devon Braithwaite, Molly Bugeja, Joshua Kobeck, Iosefa Laga’aia, Jack Lyall, Jessie Monk, Sam Richardson
Hadestown will be performing til 26 April 2025 before touring to Melbourne in May
