New York Theatre Workshop has long been heralded as one of the city’s top incubators of imaginative, inventive musical theatre. After the spectacular success of last fall’s glittering, cerebral Lazarus (the Ivo van Hove/Enda Walsh/David Bowie collaboration), NYTW is shifting gears to offer something a little more down-home. 
The final show in their 2015/16 season, Hadestown, translates singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s 2010 eponymous concept album into a celebration of community and communalism. Under the scintillating direction of Rachel Chavkin, Mitchell’s score—already crystallized into a narrative of operatic proportions on the concept album—explodes into a meditation on the perils of capitalism, industrialization, and youthful radicalism.
Per NYTW: “This folk opera follows Orpheus’ mythical quest to overcome Hades and regain the favor of his one true love, Eurydice. Together we travel from wide open plains where love and music are not enough nourishment to survive the winter, down to Hadestown, an industrialized world of mindless labor and full stomachs. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and poetic imagination pit nature against industry, faith against doubt, and love against death.”
Standout performances include Patrick Page as Hades, whose thunderous basso profondo summons us down into the depths of hell itself; Damon Daunno as Orpheus, sporting an ethereal, plaintive falsetto reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens; Amber Gray as the sly, insouciant Persephone; and Nabiyah Be as Euridyce, whose unbridled yearning (first for food and work, then for love) bursts forth from a voice that almost seems too big for her slight form. The cast is rounded out by Chris Sullivan as Hermes, serving as the narrator; and Lulu Fall, Jessie Shelton, and Shaina Taub as the Fates, whose omens are delivered in the guise of shimmering three-part harmonies.
The dramaturgical underpinnings of Hadestown are, on the whole, thoughtful and sturdy. This isn’t a purely aesthetic retelling, but rather a parable that harnesses and restructures the timeless truths of classic myths to illuminate the realities of our world today.
Hadestown is an exhortation to action, too, in an age where politicians want to “build the wall to keep us free.” For though the show may end unhappily, with Orpheus left bereft and Eurydice consigned to Hadestown eternally, we’re urged to “raise a cup” to the ingenuous Orpheus, whose stand against Hades’ capitalist machinations inspires posterity even as it fails.
To get a taste of this remarkable confluence of magic and myth, you’d best come “way down, Hadestown / way down under the ground” at 79 East 4th Street.
Live, Love, Learn,
Olivia & The Write Teacher(s)