Hadestown

A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

Hadestown

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  5f, 3m

Book, Music & Lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell

Anaïs Mitchell's haunting, jazz-inflected folk opera follows Orpheus’ mythical quest to overcome Hades and regain the favour of his one true love, Eurydice.

Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    5f, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Fantasy, Adaptations (Literature), Fables/Folktales
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • Winner! Eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Orchestrations
    Winner! Four 2019 Drama Desk Awards
    Winner! Six 2019 Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding New Broadway Musical
    Winner! 2019 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical
Hadestown

Details

Summary
This intriguing and beautiful folk opera delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience. Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of immortal King Hades and Lady Persephone — Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell’s beguiling sung-through musical pits industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.
History
After its origins as a DIY community theatre project in 2006 and a studio album in 2010, Hadestown electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, becoming the longest-running show in that celebrated theatre’s 40-year history. The production then received its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 2017 and then a 2018 sold-out engagement at London’s National Theatre. Hadestown opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Apr 17, 2019, developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, and starring Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada and Patrick Page.
Cast Attributes
Principals (5f, 3m) + Ensemble

ORPHEUS – lyre-playing poet, gifted and naïve
EURYDICE – a runaway, tough and vulnerable
HADES – compulsive industrialist, boss-king of Hadestown
PERSEPHONE – queen of nature and the seasons, a lush
HERMES – charismatic guide and storyteller, mentor to Orpheus
FATES – three sisters, vicious and delicious, voices in the head
WORKERS – spirits of labor and community, a physical and choral presence

In the Broadway production, the WORKERS were performed by five ensemble members.
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Achingly beautiful, thought-provoking, powerful and prophetic” - Newsday

“Sumptuous... Gorgeous... As good as it gets... You wish you could live in the glowy moment forever.” - The New York Times

“Utterly fabulous... arrives on Broadway with a furnace-like blast of creativity.” - The Hollywood Reporter

“A transporting musical hit... Anaïs Mitchell’s score is a joyful combination of folk, pop, Dixieland and blues that will make you want to rehear it as soon as the lights come up.” - Time Out

“Unforgettable. Simply one of the most exquisite works of musical storytelling I’ve seen in my more than 25 years as a theater critic. In its supple convergence of story and song, Hadestown represents a step forward for the art form.” - Los Angeles Times

“Visionary and ravishing. An intricate and gorgeous feat of songwriting, a vehicle for dynamite performances and a courageous experiment with form, Hadestown is cause for celebration.” - New York Magazine

“Heavenly. Haunting. Exquisite.” - WNYC

“The songs are gorgeous, the band is hot, and the lyrics are eerily apt for the times.” - The New Yorker

Hadestown feels like something more intuitive, elemental, and finely woven than a traditional musical.” - The Guardian

Videos

  • Hadestown - Come See How The World Could Be

  • Hadestown Cast on Good Morning, America

  • "All I've Ever Known" Music Video

  • Hadestown: The Creative Process

  • "When The Chips Are Down" Music Video

  • From Hadestown, With Love

More videos +

Photos

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Hadestown

    Image: 2019 Broadway Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

More photos +

Music

Music Samples

Act I

"Road to Hell" - Hermes and Company
"Any Way the Wind Blows" - Eurydice and Fates
"Come Home with Me" - Orpheus, Eurydice, Hermes and Workers
"Wedding Song" - Orpheus, Eurydice and Workers
"Epic I" - Orpheus and Hermes
"Livin' It Up on Top" - Persephone, Hermes, Orpheus and Company
"All I've Ever Known" - Eurydice and Orpheus
"Way Down Hadestown" - Company
"A Gathering Storm" - Hermes, Orpheus, Eurydice and Fates
"Epic II" - Orpheus
"Chant" - Company
"Hey, Little Songbird" - Hades and Eurydice
"When the Chips Are Down" - Fates and Eurydice
"Gone, I'm Gone" - Eurydice and Fates
"Wait For Me" - Hermes, Orpheus, Fates and Workers
"Why We Build the Wall" - Hades and Company

Act II

"Our Lady of the Underground" - Persephone
"Way Down Hadestown (Reprise)" - Hermes, Fates, Eurydice and Workers
"Flowers" - Eurydice
"Come Home with Me (Reprise)" - Orpheus and Eurydice
"Papers" - Hades and Company
"Nothing Changes" - Fates
"If It's True" - Orpheus, Hermes and Workers
"How Long?" - Persephone and Hades
"Chant (Reprise)" - Company
"Epic III" - Orpheus and Company
"Promises" - Eurydice and Orpheus
"Word to the Wise" - Fates
"His Kiss, The Riot" - Hades
"Wait for Me (Reprise)" - Hermes and Company
"Doubt Comes In" - Orpheus, Eurydice, Fates and Workers
"Road to Hell (Reprise") - Hermes and Company

In the Brodway production of Hadestown, Orpheus and the three Fates were performed as actor-muso ("Actor-Musician") roles. Licensees should utilize the following scores for those onstage instrumental parts:

1   Orpheus Score – Guitar
3   Fates Score – Violin, Accordion & Percussion

The band instrumentation is as follows:

1   Trombone – doubling Glockenspiel
1   Drums
1   Piano-Conductor – doubling Accordion
1   Guitar
1   Violin
1   Cello
1   Bass
  • Musical Style Pop/Rock, Jazz, Folk, Contemporary Broadway
  • Dance Requirements Easy
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Chorus Size Small

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

Concord offers a full suite of resources to help you put on the show of a lifetime!
14   Vocal Books
1   Piano-Vocal (rehearsal)

1   Orpheus Score – Guitar
3   Fates Score – Violin, Accordion & Percussion

1   Trombone – doubling Glockenspiel
1   Drums
1   Piano-Conductor (performance) – doubling Accordion
1   Guitar
1   Violin
1   Cello
1   Bass

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Anaïs Mitchell

Anaïs Mitchell is a Vermont-based singer-songwriter, and the Tony and Grammy Award-winning creator of the Broadway musical Hadestown. She was named to the TIME100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2020, and her first book, Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Ha ...

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