These days, being a proud theater kid is not for the weak-egoed. I’ve learned that there is a certain kind of pride you must set aside to embrace the wonderful world of musical theater. Over winter break, my friend and I purchased two orchestra seats to Hadestown on a whim in order to take advantage of Broadway’s two for one deal which promptly rolled out after the holiday tourist rush. Though I had most certainly heard of the show, I went into Hadestown mostly blind. The one thing I was not blind to was the fact that To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before actor, “Elsa please I know you’re in there” singer and all-around icon Jordan Fisher is in it, and just for him, I was excited enough. While there’s a unique sense of exhilaration that comes with seeing a musical that you know all the lyrics to, I decided to not spoil anything for myself in order to have the true viewing experience, and boy did I get that.
Hadestown was equal parts intimate, moving and devastating. Unlike many other Broadway hits, it showcases a small (but powerful) cast of only five principal members and eight supporting actors, minimal props, little non-musical dialogue and a handful of musicians. The bare-bones-ness of it all, coupled with the fact that the Walter Kerr is a very small theater with narrow seats resulted in an extremely intimate viewing experience, both physically and emotionally.
There are no curtains, there is no pit orchestra. The show began with the cast walking onto stage and Mrs. Hermes (Lilias White) From the opening song “Road To Hell,” Mrs. Hermes makes it known that the play is a tragedy. It follows the classic Greek mythology story of Eurydice (Solea Pfieffer) and Orpheus (Jordan Fisher), so plot-wise, it is nothing innovative or extraordinary. However, Hadestown’s tasteful use of the fourth wall break is what captivated every single audience member and what elicited the (spoiler alert) gasps across the theater when Orpheus turned around during “Doubt Comes In.” The story culminated during “Wait For Me,” a song in which Jordan Fisher powerfully captured the sheer determination Orpheus had to reunite with Eurydice while lamps came down from the ceiling and swung over the audience. For a Broadway show, audience interaction was not few and far between. Everything from Hermes asking the audience if they’re ready to start the show to the cast singing the last song, “We Raise Our Cups” after curtain call (where the audience is confused if they should stay standing or sit), added to the charm only elucidated by live performance.
I attended the Wednesday matinee and my expectations for evening-show-level performance was low. I was hopeful in seeing Jordan Fisher, but wasn’t expecting the rest of the powerhouse of a cast that I was met with. Fisher’s chilling vocals were a standout alongside Pfeiffer, who portrayed a jaded and edgy Eurydice. Persephone, played by pop singer Betty Who, was spunky and almost punk-rock. In some ways, Hadestown lacks what usually makes it “big” on Broadway; shows with grandiose flying mechanisms like Wicked or huge franchises such as The Lion King or Aladdin. It’s one of only four shows to reach Broadway that have been written solely by a woman. Ultimately, the ruggedness of it all was what made it touching. It has no revolutionary plotline, no grand ensemble or shimmering lights, yet Hadestown’s use of the revolving stage almost rivaled Hamilton’s, and with each step that Orpheus took towards the Underworld, the audience went with him.
Theater is losing relevance amongst our generation and Broadway knows it. Recent castings of Joe Locke as Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd and Lola Tung as Eurydice in Hadestown are good-faith efforts to increase Broadway’s relevancy on younger generations. This, combined with recent musical movie releases Mean Girls and Wonka featuring advertising campaigns that conveniently left out the fact that the movies were, in fact, a musical, unveil a perception that musical theater is only enjoyed by a specific group of people, and that group is not Gen Z. However, after seeing Hadestown, I believe that live theater is alive, and there are no bad seats in the house (in both figurative and literal ways). Most importantly, I believe that theater is alive for our generation.
Hadestown transcends whether or not you listen to the Glee versions of 2010 pop songs or religiously say “THEE-A-TOHR” instead of “theater.” While Jordan Fisher as Orpheus may not be everyone’s favorite character he’s played, and live theater may not be what you choose to indulge in on a Friday night, the communal sense and emotion that only live performances can bring is something that will resonate with everyone, even if you don’t know all the words (but I will!).
Eirian Huang is a second-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences. They can be reached at [email protected].