Hadestown - NT / Lyric Theatre

The email I got from Hadestown itself said that anybody going to a show pre press night would be offered a badge. The badge doesn’t have the date just says ‘Feb 2024’ which covers all bases.

Fantastic thank you! Fingers crossed for me and my friend then, haha!

Yes, there was a member of staff with a large tray of badges

Well I hope you enjoy it. It’s quite wonderful !

If anyone could get me a badge I'll be ever so grateful!

Keep an eye on the website, they may add a merch online store eventually

Can't wait to see this, is it a long show?

We saw it yesterday, 16/02. Whoever above said the theatre is hot wasn’t lying - I actually had a minor medical wobble in the lobby afterwards due to the heat.

I don’t know if Eurydice read Theatreboard feedback in the interval, but I thought her voice became a lot sweeter in act 2. The Northernness was great for early flinty Eurydice, but I felt the belief more when she was rescued.

Orpheus was better earlier on. The falsetto in Doubt Comes In didn’t work for me. It was like they’d done more on the staging and less on the vocals there.

I really enjoyed Hades as a bit of a sleazy car salesman turned tyrant! I think the musical suffers from having his character development at the end (His Kiss The Riot etc) but the spin was very fresh from the Broadway version.

Persephone was incredible - a deep well of sadness covered up with bravado, and that voice. My favourite part was her standing behind Hades during Why We Build the Wall and then the beginning of act 2 - her and Hermes have a wonderful relationship.

The workers are an incredible ensemble and deserve all the praise they get and more. Astonishing vocal power, intense energy, and it was just really good to see someone with a limb difference onstage and killing it.

My highest praise is for Hermes and the Fates. The Fates have their harmonies down, their characters slightly different, and are wickedly entertaining. Hermes has knocked the Broadway one down for me - we listened to the album on the way home and it didn’t sound right! Her command of the stage is absolute. Her voice during the ending reprise was heartbreaking. Standing there stony faced as Eurydice begs for help with her choice - GOD. She deserves all the awards.

Also a shoutout to the front of house team at the Lyric - they were lovely and helped me get some sugar and cold water in me after I collapsed (it was a SMALL collapse, and I didn’t faint, I’d just been stupid about eating/drinking and was having a body Thing anyway). But still no tote bags!

4/5 from me. I’d love to see it again in a less crowded atmosphere - maybe I can ask for box seats for Christmas&birthday.

Hi Matthew, very happy to read this, as I am very much in the same boat and it's somehow good to know that I'm not alone.

I saw Hadestown at the National Theatre, fell in love with it and went to New York three times to see it on Broadway (well, I saw other shows as well, but HT was the main thing which I saw a total of five times across these trips)

I also felt that the London production is let down by its performers, although for me Eurydice was the smallest problem, I quite liked Grace's portrayal! That said, while Eva Noblezada has a great voice (and a better voice than Grace) I never really liked her whiny crybaby approach to the part, I so much preferred Solea Pfeiffer when she took over and Grace plays her in a similar "tough lonely wanderer" vein.

As for Orpheus, I wonder if Dónal Finn has already shot his voice with a role outside his range? I've heard from two independent sources that he was pretty terrible and he's been off twice - Friday and Saturday evening so far. I saw the understudy Simon Oskarsson on Saturday afternoon and he was decent enough, as I never expected him to match my memories of Reeve Carney and his insane high notes and I was also aware that it was only his second performance and he probably hadn't had a chance to rehearse all that much yet.

My main problems were Persephone and Hades though. Where one hurt or angry look was enough for Amber Gray and Jewelle Blackman to convey a wealth of emotion, Gloria Onitri tended to ridiculous overacting at times and Zachary James was no match vocally or acting-wise for any of the three Hades performers I was fortunate enough to see in New York.

It was easy for Melanie La Barrie to walk away with this show, but that said, I am not sure what the reasoning behind her casting was. Sure they changed from male to female on Broadway, but I had always thought this was more a one-off stunt casting for Lillias White and more importantly, to give legends like her and before her André de Shields a chance to perform on Broadway again when good roles are SO rare for people that age. I'd rather seen a similarly aged legend get given the role of Hermes in London.

Anyway, I am booked once more for July already and I do hope that Dónal Finn will turn up then, but beyond that I think I will also rather cherish my memories of the amazing people I was fortunate enough to see in New York.  
 

I’m booked and kind of dreading it. I have tried listening to it several times and only a few of the tunes have sunk in. I’ll be alright if they reprise ‘Wait For Me’ a similar amount of times that ‘Moulin Rouge’ does ‘Come What May’. I know that one 🤣

From what I've seen of a naughty Youtube video of the Broadway cast it's got a lot of narration running contemporary with the action, so more storytelling than full-on sung through.  Reminds me a bit of Godspell and Pippin which may be odd references as Hadestown is touted as cutting edge and very 'now', but a folkiness shading into various 'music of Black origin' styles is popular right now; add a klezmer violin and you're laughing.

From the cast board tonight it looks like Dónal Finn is off again.