A show with phenomenal energy, a world that draws you in, and stunning music that’ll have you bumping the soundtrack the whole way home.

My review debut is one I couldn’t be happier to discuss. Hadestown combines two wonderful Greek myths, the stories of Orpheus & Eurydice, and the marriage of Hades & Persephone, and infuses them with a modern, jazzy and soulful soundtrack. It explores love, longing, overindustrialisation and greed, and the human desire to hold onto hope for a better world.

For us theatre fans who are technically inclined, Hadestown is worth the price of admission on its production design alone. From the gorgeous pub where the setting begins, to the subtle but utterly magnificent transformation into Hadestown itself, you’re never unsure of where the characters are with masterful transitions covering any changes in setting.
The lighting, however, is what elevated this show from great to incredible. Initially, seeing the ring of truss overhead, I was nervous about how production-heavy this show was going to feel and how diegetic these elements would be forced to be since almost all of the flown electrics were visible. But none of this was distracting. Every fixture had its purpose and was used brilliantly. The added set electrics in ‘Wait for Me’ were immersive and awe-inspiring, the workers’ mining helmets were a brilliant addition, and Orpheus and Eurydice’s journey out of Hadestown during ‘Doubt Comes In’ was a masterclass in not only lighting design but in the artful use of a revolving stage.

For those who know the myth, the script may reassure you that it will end exactly as originally told, but with every song, with every moment of heart and heartbreak, you really do think they’re going to pull the rug out from under you and change it. The fact that I had forgotten that all-important lyric “it’s a sad song, it’s a tragedy” by the end speaks to the connection you build with Noah Mullins’ Orpheus and Abigail Adriano’s Eurydice. Though Mullins is stuck with a character that is somewhat of a blank slate and uninteresting until his journey to Hades(town), once he begins chasing after Eurydice he comes into his own, his vocals shining in songs like ‘Wait For Me’ and ‘If It’s True’ with ‘Doubt Comes In’ allowing him to show off the depth of character he’s able to access when the script demands it, which seemed to be lacking in a lot of the show up to that point.

Adriano brings such a vulnerability to Eurydice that is immediately compelling. She manages to perfectly display Eurydice’s wariness of the world around her and her hunger for stability, which leads to her descent into Hadestown.

The cast as a whole brought a phenomenal amount of energy to the show, especially during Persephone’s (played by Elenoa Rokobaro) numbers. A delight to watch as she clearly got to have a blast on stage while nailing every note. The band, who are mostly onstage, was tight with every note nailed, with the trombone player quickly becoming a massive highlight, getting to have energetic solos that immediately bring a smile to your face. For a sung-through show, it never feels stale and no part of the ‘dialogue’ ever feels forced. They take the appropriate breaks from pitched singing to keep the flow of the show feeling natural.

Though a lot of the choreography in the show was meticulously executed, notably during numbers like ‘Chant’ where the workers’ rigidity is brilliantly deliberate, the dance break in ‘Livin’ It Up On Top’ was somewhat underwhelming, with some of the lifts and “tricks” performed being overly simple and didn’t match the energy of the song at all.

While we’re discussing underwhelming, Christine Anu’s Hermes is a regrettable weak link in an otherwise phenomenal show. Her consistently inconsistent accent and flat performance undermined her role as narrator and detracted from the show’s emotional impact, feeling more like a distant aunt to Orpheus rather than a friend or mentor. It got to a point that I would get actively irritated every time she came onstage to speak. Whether this was a failing of Anu or the directorial team isn’t abundantly clear, but one would hope that producers can learn that these stunt castings don’t deliver and aren’t necessary to carry promotion and sales. There’s no doubt in my mind that there is talent out there that could’ve comfortably met the show’s needs in its narrator and would not have sacrificed the show’s marketability.

The above critiques notwithstanding, my absolute highlight in this cast was The Fates (Sarah Murr, Jennifer Trijo, and Imani Williams)! From the solo lines like a chorus of our worst thoughts rattling through the minds of any character they got near, regardless of if it was Orpheus, Eurydice or Hades, to their ominous harmonies that left every hair on me standing. They were perfect from start to finish.

All this to say that if you somehow haven’t already, you need to make your way down to Hadestown before it closes because it is a 2-hour delight that will have you bumping the soundtrack the whole way home (which, as someone who takes the train, brought me many deservedly dirty looks).

Rating: 🚙🚙🚙🚙/5

Hadestown plays at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne until July 13th.
Book your tickets here.