THE STORY – The live theater capture from the West End production of the hit musical, which won eight Tony Awards in 2019 including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, featuring the five original principals of the Broadway company. The genre-defying musical blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale. Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone
THE CAST – Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne, Allie Daniel
THE TEAM – Brett Sullivan (Director), Anaïs Mitchell (Music/Lyrics/Book), Rachel Chavkin (Theratrical Director)
THE RUNNING TIME – 141 Minutes
“Hadestown” is, arguably, the latest great American musical. From its off-Broadway production in 2016, to its London production in 2018, and the Broadway run that started in 2019, the musical adaptation of the ancient Greek stories “Orpheus and Eurydice” and “Rape of Persephone” has taken the world by storm, winning eight Tony Awards (including Best Musical). With music and lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell and theatrical direction by Rachel Chavkin, these two women transported American and British audiences into the Greek Underworld. Now they place it into Brett Sullivan’s hands to bring it to the world.
What makes a professionally shot theatrical adaptation so special is that it allows a whole new audience to experience a piece of theater as close to as it was originally intended to be viewed as possible. Theater is the oldest art form of storytelling, therefore, it’s important to preserve and support it. But, due to its nature, only a select few individuals within the world have the privilege to be true patrons. While film adaptations of theater are also a great way to expose the pieces to new audiences (take “Les Misérables,” “Wicked,” “Doubt,” “Is God Is,” “Fences,” to name a few), there’s a major element of adapting the piece to fit into a more realistic medium. Here, spectators that don’t live in New York, London, or any touring city can experience not only the story, but the show itself; the film has the potential to introduce the magic of theater to new viewers who wouldn’t get to otherwise.
Director Brett Sullivan is no stranger to the professionally shot musical. In fact, this is mainly what he does (his credits include “Waitress: The Musical,” “Newsies,” “Miss Saigon,” and “Love Never Dies”). Still, it’s a tough job – one needs to honor the original theatrical direction while making necessary adjustments for specific shots and having its audience understand the scope of the theater, and from a production standpoint, “Hadestown” is uniquely hard to adapt for camera. It’s one of those shows that constantly includes the audience and acknowledges that they are players outside of the story as well as the characters within it. In addition, the theatrical lighting, choreography, and set design are so integral to the storytelling that using close-up and medium shots pulls focus away from these elements. But it’s clear that Sullivan is playing a lot here and uses his camera to get as intimate as possible, successfully finding ways around this challenge. We see the cast and band warm up before the show and enter the stage, and he shoots extremely high and low angles to showcase the characters moving from the human world to the underworld (where a rising platform may not be as effective on camera). While certain elements may not be as strong as seeing the production in a theater, these are clever creative choices that Sullivan makes, which are the correct choices for film and also keep Chavkin’s vision alive.
However, when it comes to the iconic moments within the piece, Sullivan allows them to shine. “Wait for Me” is one of the best directed musical numbers where he uses a multitude of different techniques to capture both the character’s emotions and motivations, along with the epic scale of this groundbreaking sequence. Other standout moments are “Livin’ it Up on Top” featuring Amber Gray, “Way Down Hadestown (Reprise)” featuring Patrick Page, The Fates (Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne, and Allie Daniel), Eva Noblezada, and the amazing ensemble, and “Wait for Me (Reprise).”
“Hadestown: The Musical” also signifies the reunion of the Original Broadway Principal Cast reviving their roles, which is such a rarity when it comes to these films, and it’s a delight to see. They all bring their best to this production. André De Shields is full of wisdom, kinetic energy, and charisma as Hermes. Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada are heartbreakingly beautiful as our doomed lovers (who fell in love during the Broadway production and are now married). Amber Gray is wild, desperate, and simply on fire in the best way possible as Persephone. And Patrick Page is haunting, seductive, and pitiful as Hades. Together, they simply create magic through Mitchell’s music, along with Chavkin and Sullivan’s direction. They all just feed off of each other so beautifully to form the perfect ensemble, while also working amazingly well with the London ensemble cast (where this was filmed). But it’s evident that these performances are not identical to their original run. The last seven years have done wonders for these actors, allowing them to dive deeper and play more mature versions of their characters. They’re all playing their respective characters with relaxed expertise but intense passion. There’s something meta about having the original cast back in their roles all these years later. It’s almost like they are the actual players within the piece that also know the ending, who already sang the songs over and over again, yet are willing to try again for a better outcome. This adds another immense layer to the piece.
“Hadestown: The Musical” is another meaningful professional capture of a spectacular musical telling an iconic story in such a beautiful way. One of the first lines of the show explicitly states that this is an old story, a sad story. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice has has been told over and over again all across humanity. Yet, we’re choosing to sing it again because we love it so much (and maybe, it’ll work out this time). Which says so much about life and love; we all know the ending, and the ending isn’t a good one. But we’re going to continue to tell it and celebrate it, because it’s worth it. “Hadestown: The Musical” is a celebration of this beautiful piece but also a reminder to sing the song, love hard, and live it up on top.
