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Thursday, October 06, 2022
Q&A: Anaïs Mitchell couldn't imagine success of 'Hadestown' then or now
www.stltoday.com/entertainment: When Anaïs Mitchell believes in a project, she sticks with it. At least that was the case with “Hadestown,” whose long road to Broadway and beyond began in 2006 with a couple of community theater productions of the musical in her home state of Vermont.
2 comments:
Gaby F
said...
First off, was anyone going to tell me that Bon Iver was involved in early Hadestown, or was I supposed to find out from this newsquiz article?! Anyway, I really love Hadestown, it’s probably one of my favorite musicals. It is so interesting learning a bit about everything that happened behind the scenes. Getting that project on Broadway was an Odyssey and a half; I truly can’t imagine how dedicated Mitchell must have had to be in order to stick with the project for over a decade. I also think it’s fascinating how she just made the leap from being a singer-songwriter to moving into musical theater. The change in her thought process was interesting to see too because suddenly she had to be concerned with things like story progression that didn’t really matter to her before. I didn’t know about the fame of “Why We Build A Wall” though; it’s a great song but I had no idea it was dubbed the popular one.
In a sea of movie to musical remakes and adaptation, Hadestown is a breath of fresh air to the fullest of that extent. I adore its journey that mimics the show and possibly reflects it on purpose. The lonely walks and the people you leave behind in pursuit of artistry. It is painful, it is lonely, it is an anxiety inducing doubt ridden path with no return. But even then, you keep on moving in hopes that maybe one day the world we live in now, and the one we dream about. I will say, I have messy feelings about hadestown. The quote “Follow that dime for a long way down, far away from the poor house door, you either get to hell or to Hadestown”, was originally “you either get to hell or to bordertown”. Ties in Anaïs’ trip to a Mexican bordertown and the struggles of illegal immigrants going to the US for a better life. However, the show itself doesn’t have a large amount of latine actors, and especially, latine principal actors. This goes for black actors too, Due to the heavy influence of jazz in Hadestown, I would expect there to be more black actors. While there are various, they are relegated to Persephone and Hermes. I think the show has thankfully gotten better especially with the tour and its cast change. But that doesn’t stop the question from being asked, why?
2 comments:
First off, was anyone going to tell me that Bon Iver was involved in early Hadestown, or was I supposed to find out from this newsquiz article?! Anyway, I really love Hadestown, it’s probably one of my favorite musicals. It is so interesting learning a bit about everything that happened behind the scenes. Getting that project on Broadway was an Odyssey and a half; I truly can’t imagine how dedicated Mitchell must have had to be in order to stick with the project for over a decade. I also think it’s fascinating how she just made the leap from being a singer-songwriter to moving into musical theater. The change in her thought process was interesting to see too because suddenly she had to be concerned with things like story progression that didn’t really matter to her before. I didn’t know about the fame of “Why We Build A Wall” though; it’s a great song but I had no idea it was dubbed the popular one.
In a sea of movie to musical remakes and adaptation, Hadestown is a breath of fresh air to the fullest of that extent. I adore its journey that mimics the show and possibly reflects it on purpose. The lonely walks and the people you leave behind in pursuit of artistry. It is painful, it is lonely, it is an anxiety inducing doubt ridden path with no return. But even then, you keep on moving in hopes that maybe one day the world we live in now, and the one we dream about.
I will say, I have messy feelings about hadestown. The quote “Follow that dime for a long way down, far away from the poor house door, you either get to hell or to Hadestown”, was originally “you either get to hell or to bordertown”. Ties in Anaïs’ trip to a Mexican bordertown and the struggles of illegal immigrants going to the US for a better life. However, the show itself doesn’t have a large amount of latine actors, and especially, latine principal actors. This goes for black actors too, Due to the heavy influence of jazz in Hadestown, I would expect there to be more black actors. While there are various, they are relegated to Persephone and Hermes. I think the show has thankfully gotten better especially with the tour and its cast change. But that doesn’t stop the question from being asked, why?
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