Hadestown, the much buzzed about musical, will make it's way to London's National Theatre before bowing on Broadway.
After a run at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016 (where it received a cast recording), the show went through a 2017 reading before the Canadian premiere later that year. Now it is set to take the stage a London's National Theatre, beginning this November.
Based on a concept album from Anaïs Mitchell, the show was given life by Rachel Chavkin, who transformed it into a "genre-defying new work that blends modern American folk music with vintage New Orleans jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale".
The music was recorded live at NYTW, allowing the listener to not only hear the singing at instruments, but to hear the dancing, movement, and audience response. In my first listen to the album, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. I know the story it's based on, of Orpheus and Eurydice, but I never would have thought that folk music and jazz would be the kind of music to go along with it. However, as with Chavkin's last directorial project (The Great Comet), it works unbelievably well.
Hadestown is something different, and something that isn't present on Broadway at the moment. I look forward to seeing more about the show in the future, and seeing how it when it arrives on Broadway.