Broadway in Chicago Presents HADESTOWN Review

To persuade high school freshmen to plow through Greek mythology, a teacher recently explained that “stories last thousands of years because they don’t suck.” If anyone gazing at the bleak set of Hadestown – a musical based on the 2,500-year-old myth of Orpheus and Eurydice – has doubts at the outset, they may agree with the teacher by the end. The story of these young lovers invites retelling and reimagining in any era.

Hadestown, Broadway in Chicago’s current downtown offering, is the creation of singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. Developed and directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show begins with silver-suited narrator Hermes toying with his contemporary audience as he riffs on ancient characters in The Road to Hell. With an opener like that, it’s clear Hadestown will not be a toe tapper.

The plot retains the structure of the myth. Orpheus, a singer of hypnotic power (sung in sweet falsetto by Nicholas Barasch) falls instantly in love with Eurydice (played by Morgan Siobhan Green as a feisty survivor). They marry but are separated when Eurydice falls prey to the Underworld controlled by Hades. Orpheus endures a dangerous journey down the River Styx to reach Eurydice and persuades Hades to loosen his grip long enough to bring her back to the living. Of course, as Hermes has already revealed, it doesn’t end well.

Broadway in Chicago’s HADESTOWN Creates Its Own Vibe

At first, Hadestown gives off a New Orleans vibe: acoustic string, piano and horn musicians on risers to each side, the Workers Chorus -- a variation on the traditional Greek Chorus -- dancing with café-style chairs and Persephone in a Mardi Gras green dress seated on a wrought-iron balcony. As it moves forward, the piece combines elements of jazz, blues, folk, rock and a sing-through libretto to create its own vibe.

Like the myth itself, Hadestown uses simple stage techniques in ways that refresh and surprise. Tables become a path for Orpheus; a centerstage revolve becomes a storytelling merry-go-round; piercing follow spots bear down from above; ominous fog rolls in and out; and an entry to the Underworld opens and closes like a massive dumb waiter. Most striking is the Workers Chorus, here conceived as miners with helmet lamps – slaves in Hades’ industrial autocracy.

Night And Day Of The Soul

Opposites attract in Hadestown. They also define it, the hell and heaven of the soul divided between down below and up above. Three Fates deliver weighty news about human destiny with light-footed verve. Hades, a bruising dictator, feels his age when confronted by Orpheus’ purity and hopefulness. His wife Persephone, the goddess of spring whom he kidnapped years earlier, aches for the early days of their own blooming love

For this writer, the piece dwelled so much in darkness that it sometimes lost its effect. Allowing a fuller musical and visual release from the gloom to celebrate Orpheus’ sunlight might make his loss even more tragic. Nonetheless, Hadestown will appeal to those seeking an original take on optimism doing battle with pessimism. Mitchell and Chazvin, aided by the superb touring cast, prove that teacher’s faith in the staying power of great stories.