Hadestown Cast Ponderings

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Hi!  I'm thinking about going to see Hadestown this weekend, and I was wondering - do the Tony Awards usually impact performers' schedules the weekend of the ceremony?  I remember from Jelani Alladin's vlogs that most of the Frozen cast went on the weekend of, but would that be the case for Hadestown?

Also, one of the cool things about Hadestown is the performances from the five main cast members, who all have rather unique voices compared to a lot of people on Broadway.  While I don't need to see them go anytime soon, any ideas on who could possibly join the show in the years to come? (I was thinking maybe Ben Vereen as Hermes, but that's all I could think of.)

Thanks!

[haterobics]

Yeah, when i went to see Comet and Dolly Tony Weekend the one year, DHP was out of Dolly, and Josh, Lucas and a bunch of others were out of Comet, and all of them were the people singing on the broadcast, so it seems related.

[JBroadway]

I’m still hoping and predicting that Damon Duanno will come in as Orpheus at some point down the line. It only makes sense given that he’s played the role before, and now he has more notoriety from his Oklahoma performance. Plus I thought he was much better in the role than Carney.

However, I wonder if there might be some bad blood there, considering he didn’t continue with the project after NYTW. I don’t know what the reasons were for that, I’m just saying whatever it was, it might be a hindrance to him joining the cast later on.

[Call_me_jorge]

Hopefully not Ben Vereen....

[GeorgeandDot]

I'm also interested in seeing who steps into some of these roles. Heather Headley would be a perfect Persephone and it's way below his pay grade and it's not going to happen, but Stellan Skarsgård would be a great Hades.

[Valentina3]

GeorgeandDot said: "I'm also interested in seeing who steps into some of these roles. Heather Headley would be a perfect Persephone and it's way below his pay grade and it's not going to happen, but Stellan Skarsgård would be a great Hades."

Stellan is a great idea. I was thinking Michael Cerveris could be en excellent replacement too.

For Persephone, I would love to see MJ Rodriguez back on Broadway, even though she's a bit on the younger side. She has some name recognition from Pose, and has that unique stage presence which I see in very few other actresses (an energy I sense from the likes of Amber Grey, Carmen Cusack, and Katrina Lenk).

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Thanks for all your comments - just interjecting because I realized that Auli’i Cravalho would be a really good Eurydice, as would Rachel Zegler. Also, if the show ever needs a pick-me-up in sales (although I don’t foresee that happening anytime soon), I could see them bringing in Tom Holland as Orpheus. He has some musical theatre experience as Billy Elliot, and it would be a fun little in-joke considering what Reeve Carney’s last leading man outing was.

[Valentina3]

^ I like  Auli’i Cravalho idea. Rachel Zegler's about to break out with WSS, I doubt she'll do replacement roles anytime soon.  All roles in this show are exceptionally demanding, vocally and emotionally. I don't think they'll be able to stunt cast and maintain the artistic integrity of the show. I'd like to see Damon be Reeve's replacement (which hopefully won't be until next year).

[Hot Pants]

I like the idea of Michael Cerveris as Hades. Although they’ll need to raise the part up quite a bit, but I suppose that’s going to happen with everyone not named Patrick Page

[uncageg]

Valentina3 said: "GeorgeandDot said: "I'm also interested in seeing who steps into some of these roles. Heather Headley would be a perfect Persephone and it's way below his pay grade and it's not going to happen, but Stellan Skarsgård would be a great Hades."

Stellan is a great idea. I was thinking Michael Cerveris could be en excellent replacement too.

For Persephone, I would love to see MJ Rodriguez back on Broadway, even though she's a bit on the younger side. She has some name recognition from Pose, and has that unique stage presence which I see in very few other actresses (an energy I sense from the likes of Amber Grey, Carmen Cusack, and Katrina Lenk)."

MJ hasn't done Broadway yet. 

I also would love to see her take over the role.

 

[bwayobsessed]

Norm Lewis for Hades

[Music_Maker42]

Robert Cuccioli for Hades

[BroadwayBoy24601]

I've actually thought about replacements quite a few times, and here's some ideas I've had; Rachel Bay Jones for Persephone, Gideon Glick for Orpheus, Terrence Mann for Hades (if he can sing that low), Taylor Iman Jones for Eurydice, and Joshua Henry for Hermes (they've had some younger actors play the role in previous incarnations of the show).

[DoTheDood]

JBroadway said: "However, I wonder if there might be some bad blood there, considering he didn’t continue with the project after NYTW. I don’t know what the reasons were for that, I’m just saying whatever it was, it might be a hindrance to him joining the cast later on. "

I wouldn't jump on the drama bandwagon just yet, as I found this neat NYTimes interview with both him and Amber Gray on why they were in both workshops of the OK! revival and Hadestown but ended up on different ends of Broadway this season.

"[Daunno:] [Gray and I] went on different paths — I went to England and worked with Kneehigh for six months, and then toured Russia and Eastern Europe with a jazz singer friend — and by the time 'Oklahoma!' came back, I had grown quite fond of Curly."

I'm not behind the scenes so I can't speak for Daunno, but there seems to be no bad blood from what I can tell. He just really seemed to be into Fish's OK! and the timing just didn't work. I hope that means we could see him take back on the role because I would kill to see that, but time will tell. Also this interview is super fascinating and is worth a read.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/22/theater/hadestown-oklahoma-amber-gray-damon-daunno.html

[SFFrontRow]

Valentina3 said: "GeorgeandDot said: "I'm also interested in seeing who steps into some of these roles. Heather Headley would be a perfect Persephone and it's way below his pay grade and it's not going to happen, but Stellan Skarsgård would be a great Hades."

Stellan is a great idea. I was thinking Michael Cerveris could be en excellent replacement too.

For Persephone, I would love to see MJ Rodriguez back on Broadway, even though she's a bit on the younger side. She has some name recognition from Pose, and has that unique stage presence which I see in very few other actresses (an energy I sense from the likes of Amber Grey, Carmen Cusack, and Katrina Lenk)."

Just reading through the comments, and you really hit on something... I think Katrina Lenk would be a great fit if the opportunity arose. And I know this seldom happens, I saw Amber Grey's understudy (Kimberly Marable) last week and she was pretty awesome.

[Valentina3]

uncageg said: "MJ hasn't done Broadway yet.

I also would love to see her take over the role."

You're of course right. I should have said back on stage :)

For Hermes, the obvious and glorious replacement would definitely be Billy Porter, but I doubt he'll available for anything but a small run.

One thing with some of the wish lists above - yet again, Orpheus is one of the most vocally demanding roles on Broadway right now, so suggesting people who might not have the range is...a bit pointless. (Not that anything we do on BWW has a point but still).

 

[Call_me_jorge]

With his gaining name recognition, I wonder if they’d ever consider bringing back Chris Sullivan as Hermes. I agree that most of the roles in the show will be difficult to stunt cast, but hopefully they never need to. Hermes seems like the safest character to do so and they can even gender bend it if they wanted.
Listening to the cast recording just makes me want to be back in the theatre. It’s so ridiculously amazing to hear the different kinds of voices. It’s like melting pot of different training techniques and I’m so in love.

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Thanks for all the replies - Im loving all your ideas! I just got out of Hadestown, and it was incredible! The entire original cast performed, but I was too busy sobbing half the show to notice. What a wonderful experience.

[Robbie2]

MollyJeanneMusic said: "Thanks for all the replies - Im loving all your ideas! I just got out of Hadestown, and it was incredible! The entire original cast performed, but I was too busy sobbing half the show to notice. What a wonderful experience."

Glad you had a wonderful experience. It is the BEST Musical this season and will WIN the TONY!

To the world we dream about. #Hadestown

https://twitter.com/hadestown/status/1134493729807581186

[Lot666]

Valentina3 said: "For Hermes, the obvious and glorious replacement would definitely be Billy Porter, but I doubt he'll available for anything but a small run."

As soon as I started listening to the recently released Broadway cast recording tracks, Billy Porter popped immediately into my head as the next Hermes.

 

[broadway213]

Always a fan of some light stunt casting, but lets not stunt cast this show into the ground like Great Comet (and probably soon to be Waitress)...

[doanut]

Definitely agree that Rachel Zegler would make a great Eurydice, but I also think Solea Pfeiffer would absolutely nail the role!