Nathan Schmidt Week 9: Hadestown

Hadestown

Nathan Schmidt

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity of going to New York City to see the Broadway show Hadestown.  The reason that my family and I went to New York was actually that my brother was playing with his School of Rock Band at a bar called The Bitter End.  That show was very good, but I had heard that band play those songs at least ten times before, so I would say my favorite part of the weekend was getting to see Hadestown.  In this post, I am going to tell about the experience that I had without spoiling the show, for any of you who have any intention of seeing it.

Hadestown is a spin-off musical of the greek mythology story of Orpheus and Eurydice.  In Greek mythology, Orpheus was known as a songwriter, poet, and prophet.  Eurydice is his wife in the Greek myth, but the two are not married in the musical.  In the musical, after the couple falls in love, they have a difficult time finding means for survival.  Every six months, Persephone, the wife of Hades, God of the underworld, returns to Earth.  Her return brings the days of summer and spring.  When she must return to the underworld, Hadestown, cold weather, winds, and storms steal the foods and supplies from an already struggling Orpheus and Eurydice.  Eurydice is, therefore, forced to sell her soul to Hades and live the rest of her life as a brainwashed worker in Hadestown.  This is a decision she makes out of her need to survive.  Furthermore, Orpheus, who is distracted by his songwriting, hoping to write a song that will bring back the days of spring, is unable to help Eurydice.  Orpheus must then take the dangerous trip to Hadestown in an attempt to get Eurydice back.

For me, the highlight of this show was definitely the visuals, acting, and vocals.  Walking into the theatre, I was surprised to find that it was smaller than I would have imagined it to be.  The stage, however, was separated into three rings that could rotate in different directions.  During the songs, the actors could stand on these rings and swing around the stage or walk on them like treadmills to give the effect of movement.  This effect was done a number of times throughout the show, each time with stunning timing and choreography.  The cast size was fairly small, but every character played their part extremely well.  My favorite character was Hades, played by Patrick Page.  I went into this show already familiar with the actor Patrick Page, who played the role of Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Page's demeanor, as well as his incredibly deep and gritty vocal style, seemed to match the character so well.  Page was not the only actor with incredible vocals.  Every one of the actors on stage had a unique voice and style to add to their character.

Getting to see this show was definitely an awesome experience for me.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to see a broadway show, especially if you are looking for a more emotional show.  Now the theatre may not be for everyone, but if any of you get the opportunity to see a broadway show, I would definitely take it.  Even if you do not consider yourself a person who really enjoys theatre, you will likely be pleasantly surprised by what plays and musicals have to offer.  I feel very lucky to get to go to see a show on Broadway, and I hope that I will get to experience some of the other fantastic shows that are being performed.  It seems like there is never enough time to see them all.

Have you seen any musicals or plays?  If so, what were they and what was your favorite?  Are there any shows that you would like to see?  If so, what are they?