Hadestown - NT / Lyric Theatre

I think it is a bit of a cult show, having said that, try listening to the cast recording - if you like the music then give it a go!

I totally get what you mean about the Rent thing. For me, Hadestown had aspects that reminded me of Hamilton; clever staging and tight choreography. It sounds great when the cast is all singing at the same time. There is a story that is easy enough to follow and which is metaphorical for much wider themes. The main thing I think will be whether you can get into the folksy style of music. If you can, the show should just fly by. There aren’t the big showstopping numbers like I Dreamed A Dream but the tracks still pack an emotional punch when you watch it live (in part because of the staging). I did hear some audience members say Wow! after one of the songs toward the end of Act 1.

I prefer listening to the cast recording than watching it, but my first viewing I found it hard to follow in bits, and my 2nd viewing was with a cast and understudies which I wasn’t convinced on.

The cast at the moment is absolutely hideous, with the exception of Melanie. I'd wait for cast change personally and hope they take it seriously this time.

Same - I’ve only seen the current cast, but I think “hideous” is a bit of a dramatic descriptor!!! I didn’t find any performances subpar at all, my gripes with Hadestown are all with the piece itself.

The majority did from opening (Feb this year) to Feb next year, it's only been the 4 'leads' who have switched mid way. I'm not convinced they always planned all of them to leave considering the short notice of it (Rachel and Trevor were hired about 3 weeks before they started performances!), but that's just my own speculation. Makes sense to have all the contacts line up again at full cast change

A bit dramatic, surely? went into this blind last weekend (albeit knowing the melody to a few numbers) and thoroughly enjoyed it. Cried a bit, pacing is good even though act 2 is a bit jumpy on the emotional rollercoaster. Madeline was great, and Melanie is definitely the strongest out of all (not surprised). Very happy to have seen Tucker in this too, she was a delight. Todaytix rush gave me a rear stalls £30 seat. Moved A LOT closer after act 1 and felt like I got the best experience out of that price point too… would happily see this again with a new cast

For what it’s worth - my thoughts on the four new leads:

- I preferred Dylan Wood as Orpheus to the original (who was slightly overegging the naivety the night I saw him).
- Madeline Charlemagne as Eurydice gave quite a different performance to Grace Hodgett Young but I really liked it.
- Persephone (Rachel Tucker) was technically fine (though I think she went up on the lyrics during Our Lady of the Underground) but didn’t seem 100% in the character - though it was only her second performance so would love to pay a return visit to see how she’s settled in.
- Hades (Trevor Dion Nicholas) was the only one I didn’t get on with. Again it was his second performance, but I felt his vocals weren’t convincing and most of his acting consisted of frowning at various intensities.

I saw her when she was still the understudy for Grace, and found her to be amazing. 0 notes, I even found her to be better than Grace. And I have seen 8 different Eurydices. But maybe she has problems taking on the roll at full. I'll see her again this weekend if she is not out, so I might change my opinion on her.

They certainly didn’t plan on that. But by the end, the rifts between the Hades and Persephone were becoming untenable. I went multiple times with the original cast at the Lyric and by the end of their times there you’d see one and the cover for the other. And vice versa. But they rarely, if ever, were together in a performance. I was hoping when the first one left the other might stay, but sadly they ended up departing early too. It’s been a mess.

Did the actors not get along?

I was at the matinee on Thursday. I hadn't seen Hadestown before, so I can't compare the current leads with anyone else. I thought they were all absolutely fine. I'm not sure the show was totally for me, though, although I really liked a couple of the songs which stuck in my head.

There were a lot of empty seats around me, near the front of the stalls on the side. I don't think it has captured the midweek matinee coach party market, which is a shame, but there were a couple of school parties in.