PicksInSix Review: Hadestown - Broadway in Chicago
Brilliant, Haunting ‘HADESTOWN’ “an old tale…”
PicksInSix® | Ed Tracy
Anaïs Mitchell’s arresting, soul-captivating Tony Award-winning Best Musical “Hadestown”—the theatrical equivalent of Hell on earth—opened Wednesday night to a stunning and sustained ovation at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theatre. It’s “an old song” and “a hard road” according to the mesmerizing portrayal by Levi Kreis of Hermes, the high-spirited, all-knowing messenger of the gods. It’s an old tale of love between Orpheus (Nicolas Barasch) and Eurydice (Morgan Siobhan Green) in the domain of King Hades (Kevyn Morrow) and his wife, Persephone (Kimberly Marable)—a vibrant, youthful company performing on a majestic scale that erupts at a rhythmic, urgent and often blinding pace that never stops. No small feat for a show that is scenically and technically complex while transporting the audience along its two hour and thirty minute road to Hell and back.
That old mythic tale of love, conquest and doubt, unfolds when the younger lovers are drawn together during the vivid splendor of Persephone’s seasonal spell. Under the tutelage of Hermes, the young hero Orpheus labors to breathe life into his song of love, while Eurydice, questioning her own existence, is separated by a fateful arrangement that thrusts her into Hades dark and tormented control. As she descends to the underworld and signs an irrevocable agreement behind closed doors, Persephone returns to restore the long-lost love of her husband. What follows is a journey for Orpheus that requires him to pass the ultimate test of trust and fight the Fates from within to meet Hades conditions and save Eurydice from eternity in the underworld.
In the masterful hands of the Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin, “Hadestown” is a visual cyclone, a towering prism of harmony, color and light in the real world and a corresponding dark, steamy, brooding prison below. Barasch’s superb, multi-layered turn as Orpheus reveals a majestic vocal presence that soars to unimaginable heights. Green renders a powerful performance, wide-eyed, vulnerable and heartfelt. Morrow’s gripping, maniacal and brooding Hades, controls destiny and commands his world, and everyone in it, while Marable’s fierce, effervescent and captivating Persephone embodies reason, love, renewal and hope mixed with her own brand of irresistibly sensual charm.
The equally intoxicating and tempting Fates—Belén Moyano, Bex Odorisio and Shea Renne—are perfect as the ever-present essence of the inner conflict of good and evil. Anchored by an eclectic mix of enormously talented humanity, the Chorus of versatile actors and singers are constantly in sync with David Neuman’s pulsating choreography.
Mitchell’s poetic and haunting sung-through score, under music supervisor Liam Robinson, erupts with force and depth courtesy of Cody Owen Stine’s seven-piece combo positioned on either side of Rachel Hauck’s Tony Award-winning multi-level set design, ingeniously modified for the national tour. The visually breathtaking scenes are awash in the grandeur of Bradley King’s lighting design (Tony Award) that provides a formidable backdrop for Michael Krass’s richly stylized costumes.
At every turn, “Hadestown” reverberates now more than ever in our uncertain and fragile times. As the hopeful lyric says: "it’s an old tale from way back when… It's an old song… and they’re gonna sing it again” but only for a limited engagement through March 13.
PHOTO|T. Charles Erickson
BROADWAY IN CHICAGO
presents
HADESTOWN
CIBC Theatre
18 West Monroe
through March 13, 2022
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