Review: HADESTOWN presented by Broadway Live at The Lexington Opera House

Hadestown has been on Broadway since 2019 where it was (and still is) a massive success. The show has since toured the country, and now its second national tour is making its way to the smaller markets. 

The show was written by Anais Mitchell, and tells the love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice as well as Hades and Persephone, all set to a mix of folk music and New Orleans inspired Jazz being narrated by Hermes,

Having seen this show many times, I was unsure what my expectations were going to be for the non-equity tour. Most things compared to its broadway and equity tour counterparts are understandably parred down, but for the most part all of the changes really worked, proving the strength of the show is in the writing, not the spectacle surrounding it. 

Another place the show absolutely didn’t suffer in this iteration was the talent onstage. I was truly blown away by just how strong this company was. Jose Contreras as Orpheus effortlessly embodies the naïve and pure nature of the character, and handled the score exponentially. Hawa Kamara’s Eurydice was strong willed and feisty, and vocally she was very smart in navigating the score, choosing specific moments where she would break out her fierce and goosebump inducing belt. Nickolaus Colón’s Hades had a strong mix of brooding and longing while also finding small bits of levity to cut the tension. Hades is also one of the hardest roles written for a Bass in the century so far, and Colón makes it his own beautifully. Miriam Navarrete (an understudy) as Persephone was also just brilliant. Her vocals were smooth and seductive, and her characterization was multilayered and nuanced, taking the journey from jaded and bitter to hopeful but cautious with such precision and care. 

Rounding out the cast we have Rudy Foster as Hermes. Foster opens the show with much magnetic energy and never lets up on it as he is with us the entire show guiding us through the story. And finally I must give praise to Gia Keddy, Jayna Wescoatt, and Julia Schick as the Fates. Their playful and mischievous nature paired with their pitch perfect harmonies was almost a thing of sorcery that would consistently leave my jaw on the floor.

Overall I absolutely cannot recommend this new national tour enough. I am always a bit skeptical walking into non-equity tours, because something always feels just a little bit off, but thankfully in Hadestown’s case, they were able to maintain the magic of its equity counterparts, but more importantly create some new magic all their own. 

HADESTOWN

Now - February 8th

The Lexington Theatre Company @ The Lexington Opera House

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