Interview: Megan Colton of HADESTOWN at Hollywood Pantages Theatre

When Hadestown rolls into The Pantages this month, audiences will be reunited with one of the tour’s breakout performers: 22-year-old Megan Colton, who stars as Eurydice in the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical.

The show, which premiered on Broadway in 2019 and launched its national tour in 2021, is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice—a tragic story of love, trust, and a perilous journey to the underworld. It plays in Los Angeles from October 21 through November 2. 

A Southern California native from Arcadia, Colton’s journey from local children’s theater to the national stage has been nothing short of a whirlwind—one that, she admits, came without a clear roadmap.

“There is no path for this career,” she told BroadwayWorld. “You just have to do what you think is right for you.”

Now, after nearly a year on tour,  Colton reflects on her evolving relationship with Eurydice, her SoCal roots, and the advice she’d give to her 10-year-old self (and every other young performer out there dreaming of Broadway).

I saw you in the show last year at Segerstrom, by the way, and you were amazing. You have such a gorgeous voice! 

No way. You saw that? So you saw one of my first shows. 

How does it feel now, having done the show so many times? Do you still get nervous? How do you keep it feeling fresh?

It’s really interesting. I can imagine if I were doing a standard musical theater show, the material would become tiresome. But since Hadestown is like one big, long poem, it’s so malleable, and the intention and the meaning of the words change for me every single night. With 200, 230 shows or something like that, I still feel like I’m just getting to know the character and changing the character. The version of Eurydice you saw last year could not be more different than the one I’m playing this year.

How do you think your interpretation of Eurydice has changed?

Hadestown is my first tour, my first big show contract, and so when I started, I was just eager to be everything for everyone. I knew what the world wanted to see from Eurydice, and so I would try to play that side of it. As time has shifted and gone on, I’ve really settled into the roots of the character, and something completely personal to me has blossomed from that. So I think that’s what’s changed. I’m not performing anymore.

That’s such a powerful place to get to as a performer.

Yeah. And our creatives, that’s the space they create for us. When we rehearse, they ask us to bring ourselves to the character, not to play Eurydice necessarily, but to play Megan. They create a space of artistic liberty. 

When I saw you last year, Orpheus was played by someone else. How was it adjusting to a new scene partner?

Not really hard. I mean, the story is the story, so it’s always going to be told the same way. And I love both of those boys so much, so it wasn’t a hard shift at all.

It was a really cool experience, too. When José came on the tour, he didn’t get a rehearsal process or anything. He rehearsed in New York with the creatives, then joined me, and we didn’t have anything to rehearse together, so we really hopped into it.

Now coming back for this year two of the tour, we’ve had a month of rehearsals together. So we already had a connection, and then we got to fine-tune it with the Broadway creatives, which was so cool because we already had something built together, and then we got to keep building with the director.

So, you’re from LA—where, exactly? Tell us how you got into theater and where you trained.  

I’m from Arcadia. I grew up in a sports family—soccer, all of it—no one was in the arts. My sister was a year older than me, and I would do everything she did. So when she started doing theater, I was around 10 or 11 and asked my mom to sign me up for some classes as well. I started taking voice lessons at this community or children’s theater in Monrovia called Centre Stage.

Arcadia High School has—for being a high school—an insane program. I was going to high school classes doing, like, Meisner techniques, which is crazy. I got really good training at Arcadia High School. They call their program Arcadia Stage. That was my training when I was in high school.

Did your sister keep doing theater, too? I’m only asking because she must have been a little jealous that you went on to such success. 

No, she’s my biggest fan. When we did the show at Segerstrom last year my mom made buttons—she has a button maker—and she made buttons with my face on them. My sister collected all of them, like sixty of them, and she wears them out. She’ll always text me, being like, “Megan Fan Club today.”

That’s so funny. 

[Laughs] They’re awful photos of me. Awful! 

You’ve returned to Centre Stage a few times to talk with young performers there. What’s that like to go back, as kind of a celebrity to them?

Well, I don’t know about that. I’m no celebrity! Center Stage is my family. I was there every single day growing up, but I haven’t been back to the studio in two, maybe three years. So going and seeing my photos on the walls and everything was crazy.

Speaking of inspiring kids—my ten-year-old daughter,  an aspiring stage actress herself, wanted to ask you this: What was your biggest challenge at that age, and how did you overcome it?

Hmm. When I was 10, I was in the fifth grade. If I think back…I never really figured out the whole fitting-in thing until I was like 19 years old. But when I was 10 and in the fifth grade, that is when I became super self-aware of it. I wanted to be part of the cliques so badly. 

If I could go back to my 10-year-old self and tell her something, I think I would just tell her: Be your own group. You don’t have to fit into someone else. You don’t have to try to be someone else for other people. Who you are is perfect, and the right people will flock to you. The people who see your light and share that light will come to you, and then you guys can make it brighter, right? 

I think I was just so obsessed at that age with being seen the right way. I guess that’s the performer aspect of it all—maybe that’s why I do the job I do, because I want to be seen a certain way.

That’s such perfect advice. Thank you! My daughter will definitely appreciate that. Back to Hadestown—What’s your favorite moment or song in the show?

My favorite song in the show is “Flowers.” It’s so dynamically interesting to sing, but also that song is guttural. It’s so emotional. It’s so raw and so good. It’s such a great song. My favorite moment in the show is probably “Come Home With Me.” I love being, like, snarky and flirty with Orpheus.

Is there a fun behind-the-scenes secret you can tell us about? Or, maybe a detail audiences might not notice but you wish they would?

Good question. I mean, I’m not a dancer, so look for me being out of breath during “Livin’ It Up on Top,” trying to catch my breath before doing the greatest love song of all time, “All I’ve Ever Known.” That’s hard.

In my boots—I wear cute little black boots—they have hidden pockets in them. Not to carry anything important. I put charms in them. On one side, I have a lion charm, and on the other side, I have a ladybug charm. The ladybug is to remind me of my friend Hannah, because that is, like, her symbol, and she’s such a ladybug. The lion charm is to remind me of my power and just to remind myself to step into it.

I love that. Okay—rapid-fire round! First musical you ever saw?

I feel like it was Wicked. Oh, wait, that was a touring show. First Broadway show? Something Rotten.

Favorite musical besides Hadestown?

Come From Away.

Dream role?

Carole King in Beautiful.

Go-to song at a karaoke bar?

“Is This Love” by Bob Marley.

Favorite post-show snack?

Right now I’m on a pizza kick. I had it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner yesterday—which I know is gross—but I hadn’t been grocery shopping and that’s all I had.

If you could duet with any artist, who would it be?

Olivia Dean.

Fun fact about you people might not know?

I love to do woodworking stuff. Like, if you see my apartment in New York, the majority of the furniture there is custom-made.

If you could steal anything from the Hadestown set or costume department, what would it be?

My black dress.

Finally, what advice would you give to young performers dreaming of Broadway?

There is no path. I didn’t go to college. I don’t have any of the connections. Two days after I turned eighteen, I moved to New York City. I didn’t know a single person there. I was just like, ‘Let’s do it.’ There is no path for this career. You just have to do what you think is right for you.

Catch Megan Colton as Eurydice in the national tour of Hadestown at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, October 21 through November 2. Tickets are available at broadwayinhollywood.com. 

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