★★★★★ REVIEW: Hadestown (West End) | musical at the Lyric Theatre London

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OHMYGOD HEY!

Last month saw the opening of HADESTOWN at the Lyric Theatre in West End, direct from Tony Award winning Broadway success and five years after it was last seen by London audiences, at the National Theatre.

The show, whose Broadway run subsequently went on to win the 2019 Tony Award for Best New Musical, now stars Dónal Finn, Grace Hodgett-Young, Melanie La Barrie, Zachary James, Gloria Onitiri and more.

Check out today's new video for my up to date thoughts about this show after seeing it for the fourth time...

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00:00 | introduction
02:42 | context / synopsis
07:19 | thoughts on the show
12:40 | creative choices
19:22 | performances

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#musical #hadestown #theatre

[joshuaklein]

Literally jumped when I saw this was a 5 star review. This is my favourite show of all time and so much of what I love about it is summed up in the last song "some birds sing when the sun shines bright, our praise is not for them; but the ones who sing in the dead of night, we raise our cups to them" what a gorgeous sentiment to go out on

[robynstype]

Thank you for putting forth the idea that it’s okay to change your mind and relationship to a work of art/piece of media!

[katedolan]

I'd never been an "If It's True" girlie, but seeing Donal Finn's rendition of it pulled my attention in such a way that it's now one of my favorite songs in the whole show. And I'm so glad you brought up the youthfulness that he brings to the role as well. It's nice to see that combined with the naivete that we often see to the role, but it adds a whole new dimension to it.

[ringdonuts]

I've not been able to stop talking about Doubt Comes In, it's one of the most gorgeous lighting designs I've ever seen, so simple but clever and effective.
Love that you pointed out the pocketwatch, I didn't completely get what was going on there, so clever!

[tapdancer]

Naming Hades' realm as Hadestown also hearkens back to the very American idea of "company towns" where the company ran your entire life, and you were stuck there forever.

[scrambledmeggs]

The term “redneck” has been attributed to the red bandanas worn by striking workers in Appalachia, which ties into the labor organizing themes for Orpheus as well! ❤ the costume design

[katemacleod]

I love the various accents because it reinforces the idea that the story has been told time and time again. If you see multiple productions of the show, you can see these differences in the people despite the fact that everything is much the same in its foundation, which could also be a reinforcement of the idea that these stories were told differently by every storyteller because it was all oral.

[Daeranilen]

I think constantly of Orpheus's toast, early in the show. "To the world we dream about. And--" and then that *moment* where the whole cast turns to the audience, cups raised, as he says, "--the one we live in now." It gets me every time. Both timeless and impeccably, gutwrenchingly current, every time.

[testtrack]

me after seeing five stars and "I finally get it": FINALLY!

[therevelers]

I saw Hadestown on Broadway on the last preview before opening night, and I think your point about familiarity with the show rings true for me, because the context /does/ add something: knowing the myth and the story, I started losing it when Orpheus and Eurydice *succeeded* for that brief moment of joy when everyone wants to believe that it will turn out alright. The horror and certainty that their joy will not last: that none of our joy is infinite, and that our tragic fate as human beings is inevitable absolutely broke me, and I sobbed for the last 20 minutes of the show. It was the single most powerful theater experience I've ever had.

I think too, though, that this can make MANY stages of experiencing the show powerful. Someone who sincerely holds the belief that it will work out--who is encountering the story for the first time the way a child on their first life encounters death--will be gut-punched by that ending, and it's logical that many people will reject the story, as children do, if they are not in the right place to receive it. They may see it as "well that was pointless / meaningless" or "this wasn't the show I was set up to believe in" the way that children sincerely hold a belief in their own immortality. The amazing thing about Hadestown for me, is that it is fully aware that the story will be told again and again, and that when you're finally ready: when you, the lens, have changed from experience or time, the show will hold new and ever deepening meaning, and it will linger in its own odd piece of eternity: changing and cycling and true--a tragedy and a strange hope of immortality.

[hanonondricek]

The only way to describe what Patrick Page did with his amazing bass that not everyone else can is he put _soot_ on it.

[helliza_]

In the US context, you can also see the name ‘Hadestown’ as a parallel to original Indigenous place names being replaced with the names of European settlers who claimed the land and the environmental destruction that came with the introduction of capitalist settler colonialism, especially coal mining etc.

[joeevans]

OH MY GOD (HEY) ITS HAPPENING EVERYBODY REMAIN CALM

[MrEjak]

I really enjoyed the range of accents. I want a West End cast recording. Such a sweep into the story from the first “arite”.

[asf]

I love that you had to see the show multiple times to get it, to me it shows how you're someone open to learning something new as you engage with stuff. And it speaks to how rich the show Is, as an interpretation of greek myth and tragedy, society, love, power etc. It's really something you can examine from multiple angles.

[betsyshaw]

Hadestown is 2.5 hours of transcendent humaning -- hope and despair, joy and pain, loss and recovery and loss again. I saw it at the Lyric Theatre last Friday in London, 18 years after my first viewing in Rutland, Vermont when it was just an unexpectedly fun, grassroots rock opera. I am still reeling from the West End experience. I felt completely broken open when the curtain was going down. I cried, a lot (my sleeves were wet from tear wiping) and I can't stop talking about it to anyone who will listen. Sure there are many parallels to today's world and prescient messages about life and people and power and human weakness, but it's mostly, for me, a timeless tragic love story, told through brilliantly clever, melodic, catchy and devastating lyrics. Anyone who has been in love and lost a loved one, be it to death or otherwise, will recognize the universal truths of how everything ends. I have always been a huge Anais Mitchell fan. Anais Mitchell played the part of Eurydice at that original show I saw in 2006. I walked out of that show 18 years ago saying--"that woman is annoyingly talented and that musical will make it to Broadway one day." Like pretty much any musical, other than Lion King, it helps to be familiar with the soundtrack before seeing the show. Even though I had heard the soundtrack through and through, I still picked up on so many unexpected nuances from watching it live, and now I appreciate the lyrics even more. Especially "If it's true, " (Ugh!) "All I've Ever Known, " and "Doubt Comes In." The entire cast nailed it in my opinion. Particularly the fates and Hermes. Donal Finn as Orpheus took a minute to grow on me and boy did he. By the end, I was right by his side in his darkest, doubt-filled hour. Go see it! Bring tissues.

[kirsten]

I went to see Hadestown on Friday with my boyfriend as a first time viewer, and we were both blown away. Couldn't agree more with this review when it comes to the detail put into the storytelling. Loved Grace Hodgett Young as Eurydice, but were mostly in awe of Hades... who we only found out afterwards was an understudy! It looks like he might have been played by Christopher Short - and the charm, personality and take he brought to Hades was scene stealing.

[minirth.maggie]

I'm going to cry, I'm so thrilled to hear you get this show and the catharsis it offers.

[lydia]

I haven't gotten to see the show performed yet, just because of where I live and my life, but I connected with the show immediately when I heard the music. My mom's family is from New Orleans, and that's a culture and a musical language that I have a deep love for and understanding of. I heard that trombone and knew exactly what the story was doing. There are brass bands that walk through certain streets and everyone just joins in the parade and starts dancing, often with hankies and umbrellas. It's called a second line. Jazz is also very much connected to death, since there's a long tradition of jazz bands playing in funeral processions. They start out sad and then become celebratory. Bands will often have a non-musician in a snazzy suit with a sash who leads the parade. Hermes really takes that role here. It's a music tradition really interwoven with oral storytelling, with joy and with deep sorrow. Jazz gets invoked superficially a lot of the time, but this show gets the depth of it right.

[bluebouncybubble]

I finally saw it at the weekend after years of anticipating and (unsurprisingly) loved it. I know the soundtrack back to front at this point but some of the moments of laughter in it surprised me (in a good way), and obviously it hits so much harder seeing it performed. I'm no theatre expert but really enjoyed all the performances and their characterisation, and Melanie La Barrie as Hermes is such a perfect fit. Already planning another visit!!