Way Down Hadestown
*PSST…check out my reel on IG!
For those who don’t know, I LOVE musicals. While I’ve yet to see a show on Broadway (bucket list item!), I’ve seen over 40 touring shows, mostly at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Wicked (Broadway show—not the movie) is my Number One, but Hadestown is my Number Two and I can’t believe more people haven’t heard of it! It won eight Tonys in 2019, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.
The story is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and also of Hades and Persephone, with an industrial, dystopian vibe that calls back to the Depression Era. The music is folk and blues with some serious New Orleans jazz influence, and songs like “Way Down Hadestown” and “When the Chips are Down” are beyond catchy. Still, my absolute favorite is the show-stopping “Wait for Me,” and if you’ve ever seen it performed, you know why. The music, lyrics, and book were all written by the creative genius Anaïs Mitchell, and I am in complete awe of her talent and the way her brain works.
This was actually my second time seeing the show at DPAC, and dare I say, it was better than the first. The actors playing Orpheus (Bryan Munar) and Eurydice (Megan Colton) were incredible—especially Bryan Munar! I almost cried during “Wait for Me,” which didn’t happen during my first viewing of the show.
Wow, wow, WOW.
These actors were so good that when Orpheus looked back, gasps sounded throughout the audience even though we knew it was coming—that didn’t happen the first time I saw the show. Also, I have to shout out the trombone (and glockenspiel) player, Haik Demirchian, because that man deserves a RAISE. He was playing those instruments like rent was due.
It all boils down to this: if you get a chance to see Hadestown, touring/on Broadway/WHEREVER—do it. There’s something about the show that sucks you in, and if it comes back two, three, four more times, I’m going to be in the audience for each and every one.
