Underworld Musical Underwhelms
“And think of death as my embrace.”
Hades
This musical re-telling actually began as a concept album by American singer-songwriter and musician Anaïs Mitchell in 2010. Working with director Rachel Chavkin, Mitchell has developed her songs into a full blown musical. It went to New York Theatre Workshop in 2016, was staged at the National Theatre in 2018 and returned to New York in 2019 where it picked up eight Tony Awards including Best Musical.
The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice has been much retold. It doesn’t actually have that much depth. In the original the beautiful Eurydice was bitten by a snake and Orpheus rescued her from death in the Underworld. He followed her to the Underworld and his beautiful song was heard by Hades and his wife Persephone. Orpheus was given permission to lead Eurydice out of the Underworld providing he didn’t look back. At the last minute, he did and Eurydice died.
In Hadestown, Eurydice (Grace Hodgett Young) is bored by the famous singer (Dónal Finn) searching for his ultimate song and she is hungry and takes a job in the subterranean industrialised complex which is full of slaves. In a piece of amazing foresight written long before Trump’s wall, Hades (a very tall 6 feet 6 inches, deepest voiced bass Zachary James) is building a wall to keep the needy living mortals out, “Why We Build the Wall” is the strong song.
Instead of Persephone (Gloria Onitiri) being Hades’ forcefully abducted wife she and he are here a long married, once much in love couple. Persephone sings “Livin’ It Up on Top” as she seeks relief from the boredom in the Underworld. This is a very different Persephone from Demeter’s Nature loving daughter who brought spring and summer to the world.
Anaïs Mitchell’s music has its roots in folk, jazz and blues and is not without charm but I longed for more light in the musical and less of the drudgery of hell. Rachel Hauck’s design has been squashed into three levels making hell feel like a smaller place, maybe based on the New Orleans French Quarter with an ironwork balcony. Michael Krass‘s costumes in hell of slave workers are grim. The Hell celebrities are Hades in leather coated, pin suited Nazi gear and Persephone in black with an iota of red.
I liked our guide to the story, Hermes (Melanie La Barrie) in a glorious silver suit, silver hair and silver boots with a personality and powerful singing voice to match. The Three Fates who support her are Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne and Allie Daniel, strong singers and stylishly costumed.
Choreographically there is too little space for more than the depressing trudge of slave miners or railway workers with stilted geometric moves, circling with Eurydice as one of them. I believed in Orpheus’ magical voice as Dónal Finn gave us his beautiful falsetto, truly capturing the beauty of Orpheus’ music. I think I might prefer to listen to the album rather than seeing this incarnation on stage.
Musical Numbers
Act One
Road To Hell
Any Way The Wind Blows
Come Home With Me
Wedding Song
Epic I
Livin’ It Up On Top
All I’ve Ever Known
Way Down Hadestown
A Gathering Storm
Epic II
Chant
Hey, Little Songbird
When The Chips Are Down
Gone, I’m Gone
Wait For Me
Why We Build The Wall
Act Two
Our Lady Of The Underground
Way Down Hadestown (Reprise)
Flowers
Come Home With Me (Reprise)
Papers
Nothing Changes
If It’s True
How Long?
Chant (Reprise)
Epic III
Promises
Word To The Wise
His Kiss, The Riot
Wait For Me (Reprise)
Doubt Comes In
Road To Hell (Reprise)
Production Notes
Hadestown
Music Book and Lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell
Developed with, and directed by Rachel Chavkin
Cast
Starring:
Dónal Finn
Madeline Charlemagne
Melanie La Barrie
Zachary James
Allie Daniel
Gloria Onitiri
Bella Brown
Lauren Azani
AJ King-Yombo
Grace Hodgett Young
Creatives
Director: Rachel Chavkin
Set Designer: Rachel Hauck
Costume Designer: Michael Krass
Choreographer: David Neumann
Musical Supervisor and Arranger: Sarah Travis
Lighting Designer: Bradley King
Sound Designer: Jessica Paz,
Nevin Steinberg
Orchestrations: Liam Robinson, Michael Chorney,
Todd Sickafoose
Musical Director: Tarek Merchant
Information
Running Time: Two hours 30 minutes with an interval
Extended and Booking until 23rd December 2024
Theatre:
Lyric Theatre
29 Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1D 7ES
Box Office: 0330 333 4812
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge
at the Lyric Theatre on 21st February 2024