The 2019 Grammy Award-winning musical Hadestown comes to the big screen for five nights only this July, reuniting the original principal cast for a one-of-a-kind theatrical event.
Reeve Carney (Orpheus), Eva Noblezada (Eurydice), Amber Gray (Persephone), André De Shields (Hermes), and Patrick Page (Hades) reunited for a special five-week engagement in London’s West End. At the same time, the supporting West End company remained in place. Filmed over three performances, this cinematic presentation captures the Tony-winning and Tony-nominated performances that helped make Hadestown one of Broadway’s defining musicals.
Hadestown is a modern retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, told through a rich blend of folk, jazz, blues, and New Orleans-inspired music. At its heart, it’s about a young couple separated when Eurydice is lured into the industrial underworld ruled by Hades, prompting Orpheus to risk everything to bring her home. Running alongside their story is the deeply complicated love affair between Hades and Persephone, whose fractured marriage mirrors the show’s larger themes of love, trust, power, sacrifice, and hope. Because the original myth ends in tragedy, the musical asks whether Orpheus can somehow change a fate that everyone believes is inevitable. Ultimately, Hadestown is less about whether he succeeds and more about why we continue to believe that love is worth trying anyway, even when we already know how the story ends.
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The performances are every bit as extraordinary as they were on Broadway (and I can attest to that, having seen the original cast). Carney brings an earnest sincerity to Orpheus, embodying a hopeless romantic whose faith in love and music never wavers. Noblezada begins as a hardened survivor simply trying to make it through another winter, wary of the boy who falls for her almost instantly. Watching her guarded exterior slowly give way to hope is one of the show’s greatest pleasures, and her stunning vocals only deepen the emotional impact.
De Shields, who deservedly won the Tony Award for his performance, serves as the show’s charismatic storyteller, guiding us through the tale with warmth, wit, and just the right amount of knowing judgment. Gray is a delight as Persephone, delivering humor, sensuality, and heartbreaking vulnerability in equal measure, making several of the musical’s standout numbers entirely her own. Meanwhile, Patrick Page is magnetic as Hades, using his impossibly deep baritone to create a ruler who is both seductive and terrifying, while still allowing glimpses of the wounded heart buried beneath the surface.
Incidentally, Page suffered an injury during rehearsals but recovered enough to perform for the filmed production. Interestingly, the foot brace he wears almost enhances the character, giving him the appearance of a satyr, or perhaps even the Devil himself, which only adds to Hades’ imposing presence.
Rachel Hauck’s breathtaking scenic design remains one of the production’s greatest triumphs. The revolving turntable and towering elevator continue to transform the stage into a living, breathing underworld. At the same time, the swinging lamps during “Wait for Me” remain as breathtaking and emotionally stirring as ever. Rachel Chavkin’s Tony Award-winning direction retains all of its theatrical brilliance, and Anaïs Mitchell’s extraordinary score continues to haunt long after the curtain falls.
Director Brett Sullivan deserves enormous credit for translating the stage production to the screen. Rather than simply filming a live performance, he finds cinematic intimacy through carefully chosen close-ups and camera movement while never sacrificing the scale, energy, or communal experience of live theater. The result feels less like watching a recording and more like experiencing the musical from the best seat in the house.
As the company reminds us in the show’s closing moments, some stories endure not because they change, but because we need to believe they still can. Few musicals embody that sentiment more beautifully than Hadestown, and this remarkable filmed production gives audiences around the world the chance to experience its magic together.
Hadestown: The Musical is playing in select theaters for 5 nights only, starting July 24.
