Orpheus must lead the way above ground and Eurydice must follow behind. The only problem is that Eurydice has signed a contract and now belongs to Hades. However, Persephone, who spends part of the year above ground issuing in the summer and the other part of the year as Hades' lover and Lady of the Underground, is moved by Orpheus and Eurydice's love for one another and persuades Hades to let Eurydice leave.įaced with the dilemma of either making a martyr of her or risking his own authoritarian control over Hadestown, Hades agrees to let Eurydice go. On discovering her cruel fate, Orpheus decides to journey to this industrial underworld to face Hades and retrieve his soulmate. After true love blossoms despite the bleak poverty of their circumstances, Eurydice is seduced by Hades to work in his underground factory (aka Hadestown) that would offer 'comfort and stability'. Infused with Blues, Jazz, Dixieland and modern American folk music, the show begins with Hermes, whose task it is to guide us through the tragic tale of these poor young lovers. Hadestown is an innovative retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, inspired by a post-apocalyptic New Orleans French Quarter-style setting. But, how is it so successful?įind out more about Hadestown on Broadway below.

Following its Off-Broadway premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016, its Canadian premiere at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre in 2017, and its London premiere at the National Theatre in 2018, Hadestown finally put down roots at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre on March 22, 2019. Shortly after, Mitchell and Broadway director Rachel Chavkin co-developed the Hadestown musical.

theatre project', a concept album was born in 2010. It's been a long and winding 'Road to Hell' (or Broadway, in this case), but the wait was worth it. Anaïs Mitchell's celebrated folk opera Hadestownis the most acclaimed production of the 2018-2019 Broadway season, earning 14 Tony Award nominations.īorn in Mitchell's home state of Vermont in 2006 as a 'D.I.Y.

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