Hadestown Review – ‘There is promise in this production that you don’t quite expect from your typical Greek tragedy’

If you’re in on what’s what on the musical theatre scene then the word Hadestown has probably been buzzing around your peripherals for a fair few months now. The theatre workshop turned concept album turned musical has been fluttering past people’s lips for around two years now, and stopping by the Olivier Theatre to catch a performance was a must before the show is whizzed off to Broadway. If not only to be able to say that we saw it before it went big, because it will be blowing up in a major way.

 

This re-telling of the story of Orpheus, the man whose divine music charmed all who heard it, called upon the myth and worked it into a New Orlean inter-generational tale of love and greed. He bumps into a nomadic Eurydice as she travels from pillar to post in a Great Depression-era inspired post-apocalyptic wasteland. It’s very much a boy meets girl, boy sings to girl, girl falls madly in love kind of story. As far as the rest of their star-crossed relationship, it

unfurls rather clumsily with girl being tempted by greener grass and choosing to abandon her boy because he’s too busy perfecting his music. The tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice lies in it’s senselessness, with one bite of a viper parting the two, and their one shot at their happily-ever-after is squandered by Orpheus’ carelessness.  In giving Eurydice agency and some teenage sass marvellously portrayed by Eva Noblezada, sidestepping this story’s inevitable damsel in distress trope, this production sacrifices her tragedy. In making her fall to the underworld voluntary, having been seduced by it’s wealth and promise, her fate is self-inflicted. It also doesn’t quite feel like a life or death type situation in this production further devaluing its tragedy.

 

What did deliver on the tragedy was Anaïs Mitchell’s music that succeeds in stirring even in the more contrived scenes. To set about telling the story of the greatest music ever played through music is a bold move that certainly pays off, melding together genres and influences to create an air of deep American mysticism. The piece’s simple use of language really draws attention to her heady melodies. Orpheus’s divine music rung eternal with Reeve Carney’s tender falsetto intimating a numinous longing. It was all we could to suppress the urge to whip out our iPhones and purchase the concept album mid production. Some numbers were a little too on the head in retelling the piece’s political subtext, with “Why We Build the Wall” having all the subtly of a Trump presidential speech. In outstretching the material into a theatrical production there was a tension between what we’re told and what we we’re shown, with the former rendering the latter unproductive at times. 

 

Yet, we were happy to sit back and listen contently to André De Shields’ Hermes narrate, with a wink, nudge and a knowing raise of the eyebrow, strutting around the stage as master of this ceremony. Under Rachel Chavkin’s direction this production was successful in maintain its momentum, with the crucial journey to the underworld rousing genuine dread and a quickened heartbeat. She also delicately brought forward the parallels between our two young lovers and their aged counterparts Hades and Persephone whose love had run its course. We would be remise not to mention Hades’ (Patrick Page) treacle thick vocals that asserted him as an authentic king of the underworld, arm tattoo and all. His Persephone (Amber Gray) delivered some much-needed comic relief, astutely playing her as a liquored up housewife who has to retreat from her merrymaking each fall. 

 

There is promise in this production that you don’t quite expect from your typical Greek tragedy. Omnipresent is the hope for Persephone to return from the underworld and re-ignite the summer, telling the sad story not for the tragedy that it is, but for the hopeful tale it could be. The hope for this production’s next sunny season is also potent, as it makes its way back across the Atlantic and onto the Broadway stage. Orpheus’ song, once perfected, is sure to ring loud and turn this tragedy into a smash-hit success. 

 

 

by Ifan Llewelyn