Photo by T. Charles Erickson
‘Hadestown’ – Music, Lyrics & Book by Anaïs Mitchell. Developed with & Directed by Rachel Chavkin. Music Supervisor & Vocal Arrangements by Liam Robinson. Choreographed by David Neumann. At the Boch Wang Center through April 28
By Helen Ganley
The train releases belts of smoke, picking up passengers as it flies down the track toward Hadestown. Members of the Greek pantheon stand statuesque, chiseled into the set as the audience is warned: “It’s a sad tale. It’s a tragedy.” The tour of “Hadestown” at the Boch Center Wang Theatre weaves this epic saga with threads of hope and harmony.
Created by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, Hadestown is a Tony Award-winning musical that premiered off-Broadway in 2016 before its Broadway debut in 2019. Inspired by Greek mythology, Hadestown transports audiences to a captivating underworld, blending folk, jazz, and blues music to tell a timeless tale of love, loss, and redemption. Its innovative retelling of the ancient myth earned it eight Tony Awards in 2019, including Best Musical.
Conducting this train is Will Mann as Hermes. Mann boogies across the stage, effortlessly switching between impish foreshadowing and subdued storytelling. Posing across the stage, Mann’s inherent charisma guides the audience down the river Styx, tugging heartstrings with every verse in “Road to Hell (reprise).”
At the heart of this buskin are Orpheus and Eurydice, portrayed by J. Antonio Rodriguez and Amaya Braganza, respectively. Rodriguez brims with relentless hope, his giddiness and naiveté pervading the gloom of a frozen world. His thrilling tenor cuts through the grim cacophony of the chorus in “Epic I,” filling every corner with radiant joy. Braganza, on the other hand, is grounded in desperation, damaged by an unkind world. Flinching away at the threat of a comforting hand, she shields herself with witty wordplay in “Wedding Song,” teasing Orpheus with a roguish charm. Together, the duo create a casual comfort, their physicality creating images of natural protection, spooning and shielding one another from the harm of the outside world.
While Orpheus and Eurydice might embody “opposites attract,” that superlative belongs squarely to Hades and Persephone, played by Matthew Patrick Quinn and Lana Gordon. Quinn is a snake-oil salesman, disarming those who oppose him with the tenor of his earth-quaking bass. Tempting Eurydice with a silver tongue in “Hey Little Songbird,” he pedals salvation in a gilded cage. Gordon, on the other hand, is full of exuberant joy. Springtime incarnate, her zany and uninhibited nature draws the eye as she warbles tales of freedom in “Livin’ It Up On Top.” Together, the duo are an unstoppable force and an immovable object, pulling the cast into the gravitational pull of their connection in “How Long?”
Backing these interwoven tales were the Fates, a trio made up of Marla Louissant, Lizzie Markson, and Hannah Schreer. Together, the three create discordant backing tracks, their sprawling limbs encroaching like a weeping willow, dripping provocation into the scenes. The Workers Chorus slips between scenes, their synchronized dancing and individual personalities seeping through, amplifying the emotions of each scene.
The astounding tech breathed life into these ancient myths. Rachel Hauck’s scenic design and Bradley King’s swinging lights expand the stage into the depths of the underworld. Jennifer Mullins’s hair design meshed with Michael Krass’s costume design, forming tableaus of sweating miners and daunting gods. Persephone’s green dress, an emblem of her history and fabled mother was a distracting hue amongst the swathes of blacks and browns. The onstage band, with the exception of drummer Eladio Rojas (who made an onstage appearance in the closing instrumental), was full of life, their jazzy riffs and onstage energy adding further profundity to the show.
Even though this train ends up at the same station upon each rewatch, audiences flock to the show time and time again to experience this Greek tragedy in all of its glory. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.bochcenter.org/events/detail/hadestown
