telling the story again & again...
a tale of two hadestowns: one live on stage; one in a movie theatre. one a local, all-teen cast; one a cast of professionals in london. and the need to see it again and again and again…
in all the hullaballoo of all the things (which haven’t ended, naturally), i don’t think i got to tell you about seeing
HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION at the south carolina children’s theatre.
and since then? i got to see the film capture of the (nearly all-original) west end cast performing it live: but at my local movie theatre.
and since theN? i got to see SPAMALOT* live. (which has um, nothing to do with HADESTOWN except it is a popular broadway musical?)
so let’s do a teeeeny tiny recap of hallie thoughts on each because i just found the little notebook in which i wrote down feelings and thoughts in the dark while watching each show.
*i’ll cover this in my next blog post HERE because it was a lot of info for one post. ;)
i promise not to start a rant right here about e-playbills, but i miss paper. i went to the theatre and all i got was this flyer in the lobby for the show i was seeing. yes, it went in my junk journal. but i needed a few internet searches to find the cast to acknowledge them. because where do the qr codes go after you scan them at the door? no body knows. (okay, i guess that was my rant.) ;)
HADESTOWN: TEEN EDITION
so, fun fact: i had NEVER SEEN HADESTOWN before this. i know a LOT of people are (rightfully so, i now understand) obsessed with it. but, you know—there’s LOTS of great stuff to be obsessed about. so i hadn’t gotten around to this one yet. (even if i had bought my pal rachel a copy of anäis mitchell’s WORKING ON A SONG from the drama bookshop last time i was in nyc.)
the short version of the tale: orpehus is “a poor boy,” working on a song. for, like, way too long.
eurydice arrives, he falls in instalove. times are tough and orpheus, the artistic poet is so distant and focused on finishing his song to bring back spring, that eurydice has no choice but to accept a token from hades to travel to the underworld to work work work with the workers. (persephone, queen of hell and goddess of spring is the unhappily married wife of hades; think a drunk and grown-up bitter version of blair waldorf.)
since it’s greek mythology, we already more than likely know it’s not gonna end well. and our narrator/hermes tells us that up front.
and so we tell the story again.*
*it’s like every time i watch disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989) and eric and ariel are about to kiss in under the willow tree and flotsam and jetsam, ursula’s minion eels, upset the rowboat EVEryTIMe. and EveryTIMe i expect things to turn out differently.
well, here are the things i was MOST impressed with of the teen edition at the children’s theatre. (sorry: it wasn’t the benches; they usually only do an hour or less plays for the younger audiences in this stage space; they were not built for 40+ year-old behinds for a 2.5 hour show!) ;)
no. 1: orpheus’ range.
played by mathew molina, i just: well, i’ve seen the “broadway version” now, and this kid was JUST AS GOOD a singer as the PRO. unfriggin’ believable.
no. 2: eurydice
i know they had two different teen actresses take turns in the role during the run of the show, but i happened to see it the night mary catherine brunson was in the role.
she gave a grungy sandra bullock presence: with an absolute perfect voice. again: the PRO in the b’way production didn’t have a better range.
no. 3: the costuming and the choreography
the boots. the suspenders. the vests.
the chorus was larger (yay, experience for young actors!) than in the “pro” version, and it was SplenDifERous. (ohhhhh why do synchronized stomps thrill me so?? although watching all the teens dance made my knees hurt; and reminded me my booty hurt, too.)
no. 4: the actress who played hermes
madie grove gave this amazing lanky physicality to the role. and her vibe was everything. her energy with the on-stage band and wandering musicians + the workers was just vibrant and illuminating.
no. 5: the band.
they were on stage. and one of the fates had The Most Beautiful accordion i’ve ever seen. it was mother-of-pearl and she had the wide-set sparkling intense gaze of rory gilmore x wednesday addams and it was incredible. (although you know me: DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT with THE CAST/the dancers/the audience members on the benches across from you if the lighting suggests they can actually see you!) ;)
honorable mention to:
how hella creepy (er, that’s on-brand, no?) hades was (played by zehlan dahm) —and how his physicality/songs gave off intimidating western vibes.
overall:
i’m SO glad i finally got to see this incredible show LIVE. (the few songs i’d heard when i’d borrowed the music on hoopla make So muCH more Sense now!!) and i am constantly overwhelmed with the absolute abundance of talent in this small city i live in.
and if the kids are this good? we’re gonna be alright.
learn more about the south carolina children’s theatre, their upcoming season, classes for kids and adults, outreach programs, and their incredible mission on their website here:
HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL
(as seen in movie theatres for a limited run this july!)
i think i mentioned most of everything i had to say about this show above.
this version, the one filmed in the west end approximately 7 years after it opened? (but with the five principle actors reprising their originating roles?) this HADESTOWN was a smaller cast (a dozen and a half fewer “workers,” anyway) than the TEEN version.
but bonus: it’s pretty dope cool that the two leads from the west end production debut are NoW MArriED (reeve carney as orpheus & eva noblezada* as eurydice; yay successful showmance!!)
was reeve & eva’s acting “stronger” than the teens? yeah.
was the scenic production of higher quality than a black box theatre in greenville, sc? yeah.
did i want to marry the trombone player based on his beautiful face and costume? maybe.
do i want the guitar player’s fedora? also yes.
were the swinging lamps a staple of the show i didn’t know about until swooning over the effect? yeah.
but otherwise? i just need to finally see this show live on stage. again.
whether here or nyc or in london shall be fine as well. :)
and as orpheus sings:
“wait for me, i’m coming.”
and we keep telling the story.
bonus (relevant, although a v. different context) quote i heard on the TRUE SUNLIGHT podcast on my way to writing group this morning:
“if you are going through hell, keep going.”
~ winston churchill
*i desperately need eva to give me eyeliner lessons. and she might be the prettiest human i’ve ever seen on stage.