Both Paul & myself react to the new HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL which is now making its cinematic debut!
About: The live theater capture of the hit musical Hadestown, which won eight Tony Awards in 2019 including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, featuring the five original principals of the Broadway company. The genre-defying new musical blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale. 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.
Paul’s Reaction: It is a sad reflection on the state of the Hollywood musical that a long-running Broadway hit such as this one can not be adapted into a real feature film. Despite the success of Wicked, the list of underperforming musicals in recent years shows how audience tastes have turned against one of Hollywood’s most successful genres (along with the also largely defunct western). From Dear Evan Hansen to Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, too many flops have meant that people who like musicals today have to content themselves with animated features or Bollywood productions. And so it is that Hadestown, a long -running and very successful Broadway musical (with 14 Tony nominations and 8 wins, including Best Musical and Best Original Score) is probably never going to be adapted into a feature film. This is especially true given its rather esoteric storyline, telling of the love between Orpheus and Eurydice, and how abject poverty has her choose a life of subjugation in Hadestown, and how Orpheus risks all to try to extricate her from the bowels of misery. Sounds grim but the musical score by Anais Mitchell is truly sublime, mixing in jazz and blues motifs into a classic tale of yet another great love for the ages. And so, we will have to content ourselves with this pro-cam capture of (three) live shows taped at the Lyric theatre in London’s West End. Five of the original Broadway cast members were brought in for this taping, including the charismatic Andre de Shields as the narrator Hermes and Patrick Page as Hades. They are both getting a bit long in the tooth, but the film celebrates their defining stage roles. In fact, Page is performing with an injured hip and a cane, and it is wonderful to see how this production accommodated him by changing the choreography and the dance moves in a way that still works perfectly. It must also be said that by the standards of National Theatre stage captures, this taping tries very hard to be cinematic, with closeups, cross editing and fluid camera movements clearly designed to honour the storytelling of this production. The history of Hadestown also has a bit of a Canadian angle to it, as a pre-Broadway version very successfully played at the Citadel theatre in Edmonton in 2016. So, if you are a fan of original musicals, this is your chance to celebrate a piece of Broadway history with five of the original cast members. It may not be the feature film that this musical deserves, but it’s sure better than nothing.
Jason’s Reaction: Like with Paul’s reaction, I can’t ever see this movie seeing the light of day as a feature film. Yet after watching this live-capture, I can completely live with this, as I was delighted to see a fully entertaining and enveloping presentation. I’m a huge fan of concert films, National Theatre Live presentations and more live events being recorded and placed into cinemas, and this is wonderful to expand its initial audience.
And with HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL, it’s an absolute treat to see a beloved Broadway musical get the cinematic treatment and the filmmakers, led by Brett Sullivan, use the Lyric Theatre in London very carefully to showcase a great presentation of this love story told that matches Greek mythology with the deep south. There’s so much to say about this love story along with the near flawless presentation of our narrator Hermes (Andre De Shields) that if you are not familiar with the storyline and how it’s portrayed, I will leave it for you to discover.
The musical runs at a terrific speed of nearly two-and-a-half-hours with an intermission included, which is a really nice touch here (as one gets older and with my adjoining coffee or water bottle, it’s nice for a restroom break). The play is nearly endless song & dance numbers with little dialogue and believe me, my toes were tapping and I know there may be some dancing in the aisles at points.
Perhaps I react more to just the presentation and access of it all, sure, but I champion it when it’s done very well, and HADESTOWN is a near perfect way for viewers to enjoy the musical without having to line up for tickets and the costs AND if you can’t get to London, which I am assuming is a lot of people.
And if anyone in power is listening – I will be the first ticket buyer for the recent ROMEO & JULIET West End play featuring Sadie Sink & Noah Jupe if that ever sees a cinema screen!
Rating: 9 out of 10
HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL is now in limited release. Our thanks to Mongrel Media for providing us access to the film before its release!