Hadestown

A crush friend of mine recently recommended Hadestown to me. I wasn't super excited to listen to it because I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I decided to honor my fellow theatre kid and follow through with listening to it on Spotify.

(FYI for uncultured people, AKA people who aren't theatre kids, listening to our favorite musical soundtracks on Spotify is a favorite pasttime of ours.)

I tried to listen to it with my brothers, but they were less thrilled than I was. "We have EPIC," they said firmly. "That's all we need."

So I popped out my off-brand AirPods and plugged them into my ears to listen to it.

And boy, do I have a lot to say.

I loved every minute of the two hours I spent listening to it. And every time since. All of the characters touched my heart in a unique way. Orpheus and his idealism and naievete. Eurydice and her resilience and vulnerability. Hades even found a place in my heart. His struggles with Persephone are realistic and tender.

All the songs are amazing. Some people criticize Hadestown for its repetition- but I love it when musicals repeat songs and themes. It shows what the characters are learning and how they apply what they learn. My favorite song has to be Wait for Me. Orpheus' desperation to catch up with Eurydice is tangible. Girls, find yourself a guy who will follow you as intently as Orpheus follows Eurydice.

Orpheus is literally everything I want in a guy, let's face it. He cares for Eurydice so deeply that he follows her to Hadestown, even though she left him. He looks at the world as a place of wonder. He forgives her so effortlessly and wonders how he deserves her, even though (let's face it) Eurydice is the one who is undeserving of Orpheus.

In his reprisal of Come Home With Me, he says, "Whatever happened, I'm to blame." 💔😭 I need a guy like that!!!

Plus, HIS VOICE!!!

If you read my article about EPIC, (below if you haven't) you know that I have a thing for voices- I say smash to literally about every hot male voice there is.

Orpheus is one that I'd marry. Just for his voice. Like. He doesn't need to be physically attractive. His voice and his personality are just too much for my poor little heart.

And you know what helps the case of my crush? He is performing Hadestown with a theatre troupe in his town this December and his dream role is Orpheus.

AGGGGGHHHHHHHH TELL ME THAT'S NOT CUTE!!!

Speaking of voices, Eurydice's is stunning. She's a new dream role for me. Unfortunately, I can't do Hadestown with my crush because A) he lives forty minutes away and I can't make that commute for practice every day, B) I'm going to be busy with a drama competition in my town and C) in January, there are auditions for The Lightning Thief: The Musical in my town, and I already know that I want to do it (article coming about PJO the Musical soon, so stay tuned).

Another voice I really admire is Hades'. Sure, he's off-key most of the time, but his low notes are so impressive that I can forgive it several times over.

The characters' development breaks my heart. Eurydice learned to trust and see the world like Orpheus did. But Orpheus did the opposite. He became less trusting and idealistic. This leads to the tragic ending- he looks back to see if Eurydice is following him, ending her life.

Hades learns to have a heart and releases Eurydice and the people of Hadestown. He and Persephone remember how much they loved each other and resolve that they will try to grow back together next fall.

Hermes, as the narrator, remains stagnant for the duration of the musical, but I still enjoy his part. He cares for Orpheus, and he tries to keep his heart from breaking after Eurydice leaves. He does a good job of guiding Orpheus.

One thing I think is interesting is that after Orpheus brings Eurydice out of the Underworld, Hermes can't guide and assist him anymore. Which makes me think that Hades' deal blocked Hermes from helping because it was some kind of divine contract. It could be an oversight that they forgot to include Hermes, or Hermes would be too helpful, but I like to think that Hades' and Orpheus' contract kept Hermes from intervening.

Interesting stuff, right? After touching on that, it seems the only place I can go that is equally interesting is the themes. I loved the themes about hope, love, idealism, trust, and trying to make the world a better place.

Orpheus is a shining example of this- in a good way and a bad way. He tries to make the world a better place by giving his gift- a song to bring the world back into tune and remind Hades and Persephone that the world above needs her. Then, at the end, he fails to trust Hades to let Eurydice follow him, and he fails to trust Eurydice to follow him. The world hurt him so deeply that he lost his idealism and his trust.

Eurydice starts out unable to trust, but by seeing the world through Orpheus' eyes, she starts to see "how the world could be, in spite of the way it is." It ends up getting her killed, but she still stood by Orpheus to the end.

There are some other themes that I definitely don't agree with, but I still think that they're interesting to think about. Such as the anti-capitalist themes, if we label it that simply. I'd say it's a bit deeper than that. Capitalism is a good monetary system as long as people have hearts.

As it stands now, big companies don't have compassion for poorer people. By the feel of the musical, that is what Hadestown dwells on. Currently, our Capitalist system certainly doesn't work. And this musical brings it up so well.

Would my ultra-conservative grandpa approve? Absolutely not. But I'm happy to enjoy the musical and speculate about the themes. I will just have my earphones in whenever he is around.

So overall, this is a fantastic musical. I one hundred percent recommend that you listen to it. The characters and plot are heartbreaking, and the themes are thought-provoking. And if you really want to piss off your conservative grandpa or uncle, you should absolutely listen to this around them without your off-brand AirPods in.

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Thank you for reading!! Please drop a like if you enjoyed and let me know in the comments A) if you have listened, what is your favorite song? or B) if you haven't, did I make you interested? Subscribe if you want to see more content about musicals.