troisoiseaux (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
troisoiseaux) wrote2022-06-24 07:40 am
troisoiseaux) wrote2022-06-24 07:40 am
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Theater review: Hadestown
I saw Hadestown last night, and OHHHHH MYYYYY GODDDD?????? Incredible, amazing, spectacular. Literally— it's been at least six years since I've seen a musical, and I had forgotten what a spectacle they are. The choreography! The lighting! The music!
I went back and forth on whether to listen to the Broadway album of Hadestown before seeing the show— I've loved Anais Mitchell's concept albumsince before it was cool for years, but (or rather, for that reason?) I've never listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording— and ultimately I'm really glad that I didn't, because it was such a wonderful experience to watch it play out with fresh eyes (and ears) while mentally cheering in anticipation whenever I recognized the opening notes of one of Mitchell's original songs, like at a concert when the band breaks out their fan favorites. It was interesting to come to this show with the version of the story that's existed in my head for so long; it develops Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone, as characters with backstories and motivations, and adds layers to the plot.
This will definitely seem odd to say about a musical I'm actively enthusing over, but I found the actual songs kind of a mixed bag— besides "Chant" and "Chant (Reprise)", the new material didn't really stick in my head, and I found some of the lyric changes kind of a downgrade. (e.g., But even that hardest of hearts unhardened / Suddenly, when he saw her there was changed to But he fell in love with a beautiful lady / Who walked up above— why???) And, like— in terms of both voice and performance, Eva Noblezada (Eurydice) and Jewelle Blackman (Persephone) were incredible, but Reeve Carney (Orpheus) has a voice... shall I say, better suited to the "sad boy mumbling over guitar" genre of indie music? He wasn't bad when he actually sang, but both he and Tom Hewitt (Hades) tended to, respectively, squeak and growl their "sung" lines rather than...... actually sing... (Look, I did say this was going to be kind of mean.)
What I found so spectacular about this show was the overall production— the way the music and acting and choreography and lighting came together to tell a story, and Be An Experience. I could see a family resemblance to The Great Comet, also directed by Rachel Chavkin— unlike The Great Comet, there weren't audience members seated on the stage, but the band was, and they played an acknowledged role in the show itself. There was a rotating stage - as used in, say, Les Mis and Hamilton - but it was actually made up of three rings: two that rotated, and a platform in the center that could sink beneath the stage or rise up as needed. One song ("Wait for Me") did a very very cool thing with swinging lights that was so beautiful, it's going to live rent-free in my head for a while.
I can't remember the last time I was so emotionally wrecked by such an inevitable tragic ending. D. teased me afterwards for gasping out loud when Orpheus and Eurydice's attempt to leave the underworld ended as all retellings of Orpheus and Eurydice must, especially since I'd already been crying for about five minutes, but the devastating magic of this show is that even as you know they won't make it, you can believe for at least a moment that they will. (Also: the implied time loop????)
I went back and forth on whether to listen to the Broadway album of Hadestown before seeing the show— I've loved Anais Mitchell's concept album
This will definitely seem odd to say about a musical I'm actively enthusing over, but I found the actual songs kind of a mixed bag— besides "Chant" and "Chant (Reprise)", the new material didn't really stick in my head, and I found some of the lyric changes kind of a downgrade. (e.g., But even that hardest of hearts unhardened / Suddenly, when he saw her there was changed to But he fell in love with a beautiful lady / Who walked up above— why???) And, like— in terms of both voice and performance, Eva Noblezada (Eurydice) and Jewelle Blackman (Persephone) were incredible, but Reeve Carney (Orpheus) has a voice... shall I say, better suited to the "sad boy mumbling over guitar" genre of indie music? He wasn't bad when he actually sang, but both he and Tom Hewitt (Hades) tended to, respectively, squeak and growl their "sung" lines rather than...... actually sing... (Look, I did say this was going to be kind of mean.)
What I found so spectacular about this show was the overall production— the way the music and acting and choreography and lighting came together to tell a story, and Be An Experience. I could see a family resemblance to The Great Comet, also directed by Rachel Chavkin— unlike The Great Comet, there weren't audience members seated on the stage, but the band was, and they played an acknowledged role in the show itself. There was a rotating stage - as used in, say, Les Mis and Hamilton - but it was actually made up of three rings: two that rotated, and a platform in the center that could sink beneath the stage or rise up as needed. One song ("Wait for Me") did a very very cool thing with swinging lights that was so beautiful, it's going to live rent-free in my head for a while.
I can't remember the last time I was so emotionally wrecked by such an inevitable tragic ending. D. teased me afterwards for gasping out loud when Orpheus and Eurydice's attempt to leave the underworld ended as all retellings of Orpheus and Eurydice must, especially since I'd already been crying for about five minutes, but the devastating magic of this show is that even as you know they won't make it, you can believe for at least a moment that they will. (Also: the implied time loop????)