Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown is officially back in London, marking opening night at the West End's Lyric Theatre February 21—and now the reviews are in. See what critics had to say about the folk opera's encore below.
Mitchell's underworld-set musical, which premiered Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016, made its London premiere at the National Theatre in November 2018. The production subsequently opened on Broadway, where it continues at the Walter Kerr, in April 2019.
The new London company is led by Dónal Finn (The Wheel of Time) as Orpheus, Grace Hodgett Young (Betty Schaefer in the Broadway-bound London revival of Sunset Boulevard) as Eurydice, Grammy winner Zachary James (Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway) as Hades, Melanie La Barrie (Mary Poppins, & Juliet) as Hermes, and Gloria Onitiri (Cinderella, Hadestown at the National) as Persephone.
Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne, and Allie Daniel play the Fates, and Lauren Azania, Tiago Dhondt Bamberger, Beth Hinton-Lever, Waylon Jacobs, and Christopher Short play the Workers, with Lucinda Buckley, Ryesha Higgs, Miriam Nyarko, and Simon Oskarsson as Swings.
Read the reviews below.
All Things Theatre (Tom Hollins)
BroadwayWorld (Cindy Marcolina)
LondonTheatre1 (Chris Omaweng)
London Theatre (Marianka Swain)
The Telegram (Dominic Cavendish)
Time Out London (Andrzej Lukowski)
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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
The creative team features set designer Rachel Hauck, costume designer Michael Krass, lighting designer Bradley King, sound designers Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, choreographer David Neumann, music supervisor and vocal arranger Liam Robinson, arrangers and orchestrators Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, and dramaturg Ken Cerniglia. Casting for the London production is by Jacob Sparrow.
Following two intertwining love stories—that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone—Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.
The show, featuring a book and score by Mitchell, won eight 2019 Tony Awards: Best Director of a Musical (Rachel Chavkin), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (André De Shields), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Bradley King), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Rachel Hauck), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Jessica Paz and Nevin Steinberg), Best Orchestrations (Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose), Best Original Score (Mitchell), and Best Musical.
Hadestown is produced in London by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, Tom Kirdahy, and the National Theatre in association with JAS Theatricals.
Visit UK.Hadestown.com.
Donal Finn and Grace Hodgett Young in Hadestown
Grace Hodgett Young and Donal Finn in Hadestown
Gloria Onitiri in Hadestown
Grace Hodgett Young and Zachary James in Hadestown
Donal Finn and Grace Hodgett Young in Hadestown
Grace Hodgett Young, Melanie La Barrie, and Donal Finn in Hadestown
Zachary James and company of Hadestown
Donal Finn in Hadestown
Grace Hodgett Young in Hadestown
Company of Hadestown
Company of Hadestown
Company of Hadestown
Bella Brown, Allie Daniel, and Madeline Charlemagne in Hadestown
Company of Hadestown
Allie Daniel, Bella Brown, and Madeline Charlemagne in Hadestown
Allie Daniel, Bella Brown, and Madeline Charlemagne in Hadestown
Company of Hadestown
Donal Finn and company of Hadestown
Melanie La Barrie and company of Hadestown
Donal Finn and company of Hadestown
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