i’ve been obsessed with hadestown for years now and finally got to see it yesterday on the west end, so here is a non-exhaustive, mostly in order list of things i loved:
- hermes ‘aiiiight’ ing the audience at the start
- the fates looking offended when hermes says they’re all dressed the same
- orpheus getting distracted and forgetting to greet the audience as he’s introduced
- irish orpheus and midlands eurydice healed something in me
- the fates all the time always, actually
- persephone and eurydice’s little moment of connection as persephone tells her to take what she can and make the most of it
- the trombonist dancing with the chorus during his solo
- orpheus and the cast looking out to the audience in a beat of silence as they toast the world we live in now
- everybody collectively gagging at the wine
- eurydice pushing orpheus right across the stage as she sings how she wants to hold him tight
- orpheus swooping in and popping up like a meerkat between hades and eurydice when she draws his attention
- hades putting on his dark glasses in order to immediately take them off at eurydice in hey little songbird
- eurydice holding the coins/ticket to hell out to hermes twice during chips are down and hermes only taking them on the third time
- hermes and persephone flirting at the start of act 2
- persephone not sharing her hip flask and hermes acting all offended until she gives them some
- every reference to hermes’ gender is gone
- hermes
- melanie la barrie
- hades’ slutty little strut on the revolve
- the absolute raw grief and anger and desperation in if it’s true, dónal absolutely killed it
- hades dad dancing
- hades burying his face in persephone’s shoulder after they reconcile
- orpheus’ adorable delighted ‘yes!!’ after eurydice tells him he’s done it
- the chorus’s cute af reaction when orpheus ’proposes’ eurydice to walk home with him
- orpheus’ fidgety, reaching hands as he walks and doubts (devastating)
- the centre of the revolve dropping away the MOMENT orpheus turns, almost before he’s actually set eyes on her. she’s already gone
- orpheus’ voice break on eurydice’s name as she vanishes (DEVASTATING)
- orpheus just sobbing by the gaping hole where eurydice’s gone as the theatre is in total silence (SHOOT ME ALREADY)
- the stage being set in the last minutes to match how it was when the show began. we’re really going to sing it again, aren’t we. there’s nothing else to be done
also do NOT get me started on the set and lighting design bc holy shit you guys it was PHENOMENAL. i so want to see it again to look for all the little details i inevitably missed
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hadestown, west end - 12 february 2024, evening (previews)
Dónal Finn (Orpheus), Melanie La Barrie (Hermes), Lauren Azania (Worker), Tiago Dhont Bamberger (Worker), Beth Hinton-Lever (Worker), Waylon Jacobs (Worker), Christopher Short (Worker)
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Hadestown notes 9/3/24
EURYDICE PLACING THE COINS ON HER EYES DURING CHIPS ARE DOWN. SHE PUT THEM RIGHT ON HER EYES AND I WAS LIKE I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS-
Hades placing his head in his hands when Persephone leaves for the first time
Orpheus crawling in front of Eurydice and like popping up in front of her in way down when she said kinda makes you wonder how it feels it was actually hilarious
One of the fates laughing when Eurydice mentions shelter
Donals Orpheus is KILLING MEEEE HES SO PRETTY aND HIS VOICE GOD-
ITS LIKE THE GODS MADE HIM FOR THIS ROLE
Hermes looking very disappointed in hades during why we build the wall
Hades’s voice is so powerful, His build the wall was BOOMING
Wait for me. I cried. I’ve never cried at a show like this before there’s just no words
I forgot how long Eurydice and Orpheus make out during All I’ve ever known like they were going AT it 😭
Also the way they held each other in way down was sooo cute he was just always near her in some way or touching her
Persephone is the definition of l cute but will kill you (also I’m obsessed with her voice)
Lauren’s Persephone was definitely drunk as hell and Zack’s Hades was on coke for sure it was perfect
The fates HARMONIESSSS, it’s amazing how they have individuality but also just fit so well together
During Promises, Hades kept his head on persephone’s shoulder the entire time as they swayed, her hand rubbing his back in little circles
Orpheus going “YES” and throwing his hands up excitedly in promises
Hermes kissing persephone’s hand during the start of act two before she starts singing
Orpheus and Eurydice literally brimming with excitement when Hermes says they can be let go and their smiles slowly fading
Dónal’s pure anxiety in Doubt comes in, he was fidgeting so much, tripping, shaking, he was so scared.
Pretty much no gendered terms for Hermes (no ‘Mister Hermes’ etc, just Hermes)
Persephone RIPPING her hands away and groaning when hades says I don’t know
Orpheus came out from the bottom right box when he first appeared in act two, just crawled up on the stage like a true theatre kid
Lyric changes in Epic III! I don’t remember them but I got a recording
Orpheus absolutely sOBBING AFTER LOSING EURYDICE HE WAS ABOUT TO JUMP IN THAT PIT HE WAS SHAKING AND SOBBING
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Hadestown thoughts! 16th Feb, West End
I’ve never liked Doubt Comes In on the album but the staging of the Fates/Orpheus/Eurydice with the mist was hypnotic
Hermes as a woman with her own Trinidadian accent was inspired. Some lines went much funnier (Orpheus… don’t come on too strong) and some much sadder (We sing it anyway). Also her relationship with Persephone was a fun flirty highlight!
All the Fates had their own distinct personalities! My favourite was the Fate who sang the low line. Really took delight in causing Eurydice’s downfall!
Hades as a sleazy presenter/car salesman for his public facing persona til the terror of Why We Build the Wall really worked for me. The audience got QUIET when he entered.
Eurydice’s despair felt very natural and I didn’t find this Orpheus too dim to root for as I have sometimes. He was very much calling for a union in If It’s True.
The workers! God, the ENERGY they brought in. The costumes when they were in the first half were so beautifully worn and holey contrasting to the capitalist uniform in the second half - still worn, still holey, but sharper and less individual.
Favourite song: surprisingly, Wait For Me. The staging blew me away. (With the amount of lights that go into the audience, I think this would be a hard one to bootleg.)
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF. It’s a very warm theatre. Drink lots of water or you may end up having a minor medical event in the foyer afterwards
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