Hadestown kicks off the second show of the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh season. This is not your typical feel-good musical but akin to a tragic opera. Like watching an opera, my focus was drawn not to the story, but the music and elaborate set. Hadestown is loosely based on a Greek myth. The songwriter, Opheus, falls in love with Eurydice and tires to rescue her from underworld where Hades, god of the dead, rules with Perephone, goddess of the seasons and flowers. The kick is that the myth is set in a speakeasy. The gospel and jazz ballads like opera’s arias, tell the story and enchant (listen here).
Reflection
The show opens with the narrator, Hermes (Nathan Lee Grahm) in a pinstriped suit and at times caring an open umbrella like the leader in a Mardi Gras parade. He introduces the cast in the gospel sounding song "Road to Hell." The opening was lively with the band on stage, dancing, hand raising clapping and foot stamping. My feet started tapping and I was ready to whoop a “yeah.” The music grabs you under its spell and never really lets you go throughout the show.
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In the story, the earth is harsh and cold when Perephone (Lana Gordon) lives below with her lover Hades. When she returns every 6 months, all prosper singing "Liv'in it Up on Top." Gordon’s powerhouse voice seemed to stop the show with this song in Act 1 and again when she belts, "Our Lady of the Underground" in Act 2. In fact, every vocalist in this show had “a moment” when they sang. It was all about the music.
Opheus (Chibueze Ihuoma) the play’s dreamer, falls in love with Eurydice (Hannah Whiteny) the realist. Chibueze voice is pure when he sings about how the world used to be in "Epic I." He is working on a song to keep the earth always spring. Engrossed in songwriting, he is oblivious to the harsh climate and starvation that prompts Eurydice to sign a contract with Hades to work in Hadestown for food. It’s never a good move to bargain with the god of the underground and of course, the deal is not what she expected singing, "I'm Gone, I'm Gone."
The set transformed to the underworld with smoky light beams streaming from an opening garage door, workers moving in unison on a circular rotating floor, their arms perfectly choreographed to the movement of labor. It seem harsh and oppressive as Hades (Matthew Patrick Quinn) in a deep bass voice sings, "Why We Build a Wall." The company replies, “we build a wall to keep us free-to keep out our enemy. Our enemy is poverty.” It made me pause and think about our world.
Like most operas, Hadestown’s end is tragic but still lends hope. Three “Fates” like fairies, sing the thoughts of the characters or outcomes throughout the show. They reminded us that even though life can be grim, there is hope, represented by Eurydice who had the “gift to see how the world could be in spite of the way it is.”
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| Fates-sing the thoughts or outcomes |
(For tickets to Hadestown or other shows in PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh go to Trustarts.org)
Spiritual Source
Then I saw a new heaven and new earth, for old heaven and old earth had disappeared (Revelation 21:1)
Other sources:
https://trustarts.org/