'HADESTOWN' AT THE LYRIC THEATRE

What happens when you mix Greek Mythology with a bluesy soundtrack? You get 'Hadestown', the hit musical that combines all the right elements. It was a Tony award winning smash on Broadway before hitting London, and I was lucky enough to catch it at the beautiful Lyric Theatre in  May.

I had been noticing Hadestown for a while, no thanks to its dark, hopelessly romantic visuals and rave reviews. As a lover of theatre, I also wanted the attractive program in my collection and that did not disappoint. Nestled on Shaftsbury Avenue, in the heart of 'Theatreland', Hadestown made its west end debut in February 2024. Written by singer Anais Mitchell, it tells an old story with blistering, snappy songs that are equally catchy as they are heartbreaking. Hadestown sets itself apart from typical 'happy ending' musicals by bracing us for an ultimately tragic fate-although that's easy to forget in the show's more endearing moments. 

Hadestown centers around the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, two love birds fighting their way through a dismal and harsh world. Orpheus is a hopeful musician while Eurydice is more, understandably, jaded. Other notable characters are Hermes, our entertaining narrator, Persephone, the lively Goddess of Spring (who puts on one heck of a performance), and obviously Hades, ruler of the underworld. All of these characters are intertwined as things become more bleak. When Eurydice chooses to go to the underworld to escape the cold winter, Orpheus follows her there on a rescue mission. Next is a series of agonizing decisions, all leading to that inevitable ending-which I don't want to give away.

Now, let's talk about the remarkable songs and performances. From the fiery 'Road to Hell' opening to the tearjerking 'Wait for Me', the Hadestown soundtrack is a little of everything. One minute I felt like I was in a jazz bar and the next, in emotional distress. This is one soundtrack I would have to recommend live as listening to the songs afterwards did  not do it justice. The performances were truly great. Orpheus and Eurydice were played by Dylan Wood and Desmonda Cathabel, who brought these characters to life so beautifully and have been getting glowing praise, rightfully so, for their performances. Orpheus's songs actually brought me to tears a few times as they sounded like beautiful pop songs. He also kept his Scottish accent which I thought was a nice touch. The entire cast gave their all, almost like they had been to hell and back? Another crowd pleaser was the onstage band who garnered tons of adoration from the audience all night.

My final thoughts on Hadestown is that it was very unique. It had a more grim take, like a lump in the throat. If you are not well versed in mythical tales, you may even feel blindsided. But, there are shimmers of hope as evident in its famous line, 'We're going to sing it again'. So, even if you are an unwavering optimist, please go see this show.

I loved it.