The Road To Hell!

Back in London again; and like the summer, I have fitted in as much as I can - in fact, 4 shows in 3 days!

This time, we have of a much-talked about revival of a classic, a musical adaptation of one of Shakespeare's greatest works, and an 80s cult hit (try and guess what all these are); but first, my first night pick, Hadestown, a retelling of the Greek myth/tragedy Orpheus and Eurydice, currently running at the National Theatre until 26th Januray.

Originally a concept album by Anais Mitchell, it got turned into a proper musical in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop, and it is now making its UK premiere before a rumoured transfer to Broadway itself. What intrigued me was the original story it was based on. As a kid, I had an audio book of Greek myths, including Orpheus and Eurydice, which I loved; the tape (shows my age!) was one of my favourites to play in my room when I was sick.

Secondly, it was the chance to see the National Theatre itself, located on the South Bank - let me tell you, with 3 theatres under 1 roof, it is HUGE!!! *Side note, I went on a backstage tour the day after in which I got to see some behind the scenes action, including their scene making workshop - very well worth doing and thanks to Matt our guide; anywho, I digress*

And thirdly, my final decision was made when I head who was going to be involved in the project, but more on that later.

I should also say that I saw one of the previews, so if you guys do decide to go and see it, there may have been little changes, as they always tweak the show all the way up to press night.

Onto the show itself, the show is entirely sung through, but I want to really talk about the score itself. Musically wise it is unlike anything else you'll hear - the closest I can think of is maybe Once, but that's just with one genre of music. Truth is, Hadestown has many different styles and genres built into its score, including folk, country, rock and jazz influences. For example, it would go from a lively jazz number like Livin It Up On Top, to Orpheus doing some seriously high (and difficult) falsetto such as in Epic II.
I should also say at this point that the set (at the beginning at least, and is also based on a triple revolve) is set to look like a jazz bar, possibly with influences to New Orleans, complete with the incredibly talented band play amongst the cast on stage and Andre De Shield's Hermes acting as an Emcee throughout the performance.

Now onto the cast: as the two lovers were Reeve Carney (who had appeared in the Spider-Man musical on Broadway as well as Riff Raff in Fox's The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do The Time Warp Again) and the incredibly talented Eva Noblezada (Les Mis, Miss Saigon), both of which vocally knocked it out of the park. As you would have guessed, Noblezada was artist #1 who I was excited about, and Eurydice was a perfect fit for her.

The statue of Sir Laurence Olivier 

outside the National Theatre

Artist #2 in question was in fact the King of the Underworld himself: Patrick Page as Hades. He may not seem a familiar name, but it is one project in particular I know Page for - as Frollo in the stage adaptation of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Getting the opportunity to see him in action was fantastic, and he suited Hades' cold persona. It's a very hard part to sing as it is LOW!! In fact, the only other role I can compare it to is Jesus Christ Superstar's Caiaphas, as it is so low Page is almost growling throughout the show. If you don't believe me, he also plays Hades on the cast recording, so check that out if you're curious.

Finishing off the little bit about Hades, I do need to give a mention to Amber Gray, who plays Our Lady of the Underground (haha!), aka his neglected wife Persephone, drinking herself right throughout the summers she would spend on Earth away from Hadestown.

If you think this could be for you, whether you're a fan of Greek tragedies like this one, or a fan of country/folk/jazz music, or just want to try something new, this could well be worth a try. I didn't really know anything about this musical, and I'm glad I gave it a whirl - or a train-ride...