www.broadwayworld.com: Hadestown, the acclaimed Broadway musical phenomenon by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell and director Rachel Chavkin has made its long-awaited West End premiere at the Lyric Theatre. The show takes you on an unforgettable journey to the underworld and back, intertwining two mythic love stories – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone.
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I have already seen it twice and I’m going to see it again for the third break. I think the story is really, really moving. It is also quite heartbreaking. Even though I already know the end, still really enjoyed the performance. I love all the music from the show. I love how lively a lot of the songs are, and how it really transports us into another universe. I also think it’s cool that even though it’s based off of Greek mythology, it takes us into a really different sort of world, but it still works really well. I saw Eva Noblezada as Eurydice and I think she’s an incredible actor with an incredible voice and she plays a character so well. The set and the lighting design is also incredible. The way the whole stage opened up when they descended into hell was breathtaking and I think it’s so good. I’m really excited that it’s going to the west end so that people all over the world can experience the show.
I am not the biggest fan of Hadestown, and when I saw it on Broadway a few years ago that didn’t really change my mind. I do think that some of the songs are absolutely phenomenal and I continue to love to listen to. I was excited to hear that Hadestown was opening in the West End, as I feel like it will do well over there especially in the more intimate theaters the West End brings. Though Hadestown does some very unique things with their casting as their songs and characters are so specific and I was curious to see how they would transfer it overseas. I’ve now over the past few weeks seen a few clips, mainly of the Orpheus and Eurydice on the west end and they are absolutely phenomenal. Hadestown feels very folky in a way, and hearing such a wide mix of tones and accents in a production makes it feel even more right. I wish them the best of success.
I am a huge fan of Hadestown, and all of the photos and videos coming out of the West End at the moment look fantastic. The reviewers cited in this article (generally) seem to agree with this assertion. One of my favorite things about Hadestown is that every new cast brings in a whole different take, meaning and interpretation of the book and the music to the story they tell every night, and this cast is no different. In particular, Melanie La Barrie as Hermes seems to be an incredible hit, and even through video, her stage presence and power in the role is evident. I’m curious to see how this musical continues its evolution and expansion as one of the more enduringly popular shows of recent times. I’ve been trying to convince my friends who are at school overseas in London to try and go and see this iteration of the show as it seems like something to not be missed.
I remember hearing that Hadestown was going to the West End, that's so exciting! I wonder what the response will be, this article seems quite positive. I think comparing the West End and Broadway is so different, as they are similar in ways but also planted in different countries with sometimes different perspectives - I remember when Hamilton went over and it was apparently a whole different sense, making fun of the British (in one song) for a British audience. I personally like them both, having been lucky enough to see productions on the West End and Broadway, and I also find it super cool when a show moves from one to another, I saw Hamlet at the Park Avenue Armory in New York and it had come over from England previously, which was super interesting when researching it later. Hadestown as a show I think is super fascinating, I grew up obsessed with Greek mythology and hearing stories like that of Orpheus and Eurydice, so when I saw Hadestown it was really cool to see how they interpreted that, especially how they used the rotating and sinking set fully to their advantage to portray their messages.
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