The Club Car at the McKittrick Hotel in New York. Photo by Lia Chang
Last week, the atmospheric and moody setting of the Club Car at the McKittrick Hotel in New York was the ideal backdrop for the intimate sneak peek of Hadestown, the new musical by celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, developed with innovative director and Tony Award nominee Rachel Chavkin. Preview performances for Hadestown begin Friday, March 22 ahead of a Wednesday, April 17 official opening night at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
André De Shields, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney. Photo by Lia Chang
Hadestown stars Reeve Carney stars as Orpheus, André De Shields as Hermes, Amber Gray as Persephone, Eva Noblezada as Eurydice and Patrick Page as Hades, fresh from the National Theatre production in London.
André De Shields. Photo by Lia Chang
Guests sipped on prosecco and Sidecar cocktails while the cast performed three songs from the show. – “Our Lady of the Underground” featuring Amber Gray, “All I’ve Ever Known” featuring Eva Noblezada and “Way Down Hadestown” featuring André De Shields, Amber Gray, Patrick Page, Eva Noblezada, Patrick Page and the entire company. In between numbers, composer Anaïs Mitchell and director Rachel Chavkin shared their collaborative process with SiriusXM’s Julie James.
The cast also includes Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer and Kay Trinidad as the Fates. The chorus of workers will be played by Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, Kimberly Marable and Ahmad Simmons. The full cast also include swings Malcolm Armwood, T. Oliver Reid, Jessie Shelton, and Khaila Wilcoxon.
Hadestown marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics, and book, and is the fourth woman in Broadway history to accomplish this creative feat. The show originated as Mitchell’s indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, Hadestown has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that 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. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.
The creative team for Broadway features Drama Desk Award nominee Rachel Hauck (set design), three-time Tony Award nominee Michael Krass (costume design), Tony Award winner Bradley King (lighting design), Tony Award nominee Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design), three-time Bessie Award® winner David Neumann (choreography), Liam Robinson (music direction and vocal arrangements), Michael Chorney, Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations), Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy), and Stewart/Whitley (casting).
HADESTOWN Director Rachel Chavkin, Music Director and Vocal Arranger Liam Robinson, Creator Anaïs Mitchell and Amber Gray. Photo by Lia Chang
Hadestown electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop before receiving its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 2017. This winter’s sold-out engagement at the National Theatre in London recently ended its run at the Olivier Theatre. Hadestown was developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center and was further developed by The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Hadestown was co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.
Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney and the Company of HADESTOWN. Photo by Lia Chang
Patrick Page, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields, Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney and the Company of HADESTOWN. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields and Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia Chang
Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, Kay Trinidad and Jewelle Blackman. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields and Eva Noblezada. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields, Patrick Page, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney and the Company of HADESTOWN. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields, Patrick Page, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney and the Company of HADESTOWN. Photo by Lia Chang
The Hadestown live original cast recording is available in stores and digitally. For more information on where to get the album and to sign up for email updates for Hadestown, please visit www.hadestown.com.
Eva Noblezada, Anais Mitchell, André De Shields, Mara Isaacs, Patrick Page, Amber Gray and Reeve Carney. Photo by Lia Chang
André De Shields to Helm Duke Ellington’s SOPHISTICATED LADIES at NJPAC, March 21 – 24
Lia Chang
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia is also an internationally published and exhibited photographer, a multi-platform journalist, and a publicist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman and Hide and Seek. She is profiled in Jade Magazine and Playbill.com.
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