Board the train to “Hadestown: The Musical”

I saw “Hadestown” when it came to town a few years ago, and I became obsessed. I have listened to the cast album dozens of times, bought merch from the store, and followed many of the cast members' projects post-“Hadestown.” It is probably my favorite musical of all time. I have been dying to see it again on stage and would love to go to NYC to see it live. Until that day, or until it returns to Buffalo, I will have to be satisfied with the proshot released this past weekend. Apparently I was not the only one, because it made a lot of money (for a proshot) and just had its run extended beyond the initial five days.

“Hadestown” is a retelling of the Greek story of the doomed lovers Orpheus (Reeve Carney) and Eurydice (Eva Noblezada). One way the musical differs from the source material is that it also focuses on the lord of the Underworld, Hades (Patrick Page), and his wife, Persephone (Amber Grey).

As much as I love the soundtrack, nothing compares to seeing it performed on stage, and this proshot proves it. One of the things I love about Noblezada’s performance is the raw emotion she puts into her Eurydice. Finally, seeing her on stage, I got to experience how powerful a performance it really is. Actually seeing her choose to go to Hadestown is heartbreaking. She loves Orpheus and wants to be with him, but winter has arrived, and they are out of food, so she chooses safety and security over her love. One of my favorite songs is “Wait For Me (Reprise).” This is the song sung as Orpheus and Eurydice are walking out of Hell. For those unfamiliar with the story, Hades lets them go, but only under the condition that Orpheus walks in front of Eurydice and doesn’t turn around to look behind (side note: I loved hearing the gasp from the people who don’t know how it ends). In this song, Eurydice is letting Orpheus know that she is right behind him, and there is this pleading in the way she sings the ending lines of the song that blows me away every time.

The other performance I have to talk about is Amber Grey. Persephone was forced into this marriage (read the myth, it’s one of my favorites). She loves Hades (unlike in the myth), but after eons together, that love has faded, and she has turned to wine to dull her misery. Grey plays a great drunk. Her song, “Our Lady of the Underground,” opens Act 2, and I appreciate it all the more after seeing her perform it. She is stumbling, making faces and gestures, and it’s a very funny number. It is something you miss just listening to the soundtrack. The proshot gave me a much better appreciation of Persephone in general. She is a woman with a man she used to love, but he has become overbearing. She sees the love that Orpheus and Eurydice have and yearns for that again.

Being a huge fan of the show, I followed the production of the proshot closely. The original cast went to London for a short run, and this was filmed during that time. Before they were scheduled to film, Patrick Page ruptured his Achilles. They reworked a few things (mainly his Act 2 dance with Persephone), and he wore a boot so he could be a part of the filming. At one point, Hades is on this balcony on the stage, then on the stage floor. Obviously he had to come down the stairs, but in the proshot edit, it looks like he magically appears. I am not sure if this was intentional, but it adds a more mystical element to the performance.

I am so glad a theater near me was playing this; I would have been heartbroken if I didn’t get to see it on the big screen. I know that proshots are rare because they can be expensive (it's the cost of a show plus the cost of filming), but they seem to be doing well. Between this, “Hamilton,” and “Waitress” all doing good numbers at the box office, I would hope to see more of these come to theaters.

9/10

Rated: NR

2h 21m