Theatre Kid Reacts to "Hadestown"

After watching ”Hadestown” on Prime Video, I can see why the musical has received so much attention. Being a former theater kid of 12 years, it was one of my most highly anticipated watches.

Something that immediately caught my attention was the folk-jazz style of the music. The music style made the musical feel fresh and modern despite the ancient storyline. It gave the musical a different sound than what I normally expect from theater and made the story feel more unique. The music also helped create the atmosphere of the show, especially with the darker themes surrounding “Hadestown.”

I also really enjoyed the characters of Hades and Persephone. They specially made the story more interesting. Persephone had a lot more fire and personality than I expected, but I liked that about her character. It felt like that was an important part of who she was rather than something randomly added to the character. It better showcased the complicated relationship between her and Hades which added to the overall story.

Spoiler alert: I thought the ending was extremely abrupt. We spend roughly two hours watching Orpheus build this story, travel to Hadestown, convince Hades to let Eurydice go, and finally attempt to bring her home. Then, within seconds, he turns around, Eurydice disappears, and the story ends. As a viewer, it still felt frustrating. With that said, I think there is a deeper point behind Orpheus’s decision. In a way, he is a hero simply because he has the courage to attempt to save Eurydice. He travels into the underworld knowing that he could lose everything and still chooses to go after her. The problem is that he cannot trust that she is behind him, even though he has been given one simple instruction: don’t look back. Knowing that looking back is the one thing that could ruin everything makes his decision especially frustrating.

I think the logic behind the ending is there, but I still struggled with it. If Orpheus knows that the only way they can both make it out is by looking forward, why would he suddenly doubt Eurydice at the very end? At the same time, that doubt is what makes the ending meaningful. His biggest challenge was not physically getting Eurydice out of Hadestown; it was trusting her and trusting that the promise would be kept. It emphasized how the vulnerability of human doubt can destroy us and the things we love. In the beginning of the story, the characters sing “it’s an old song, a sad song, but we are going to sing it again,” which is repeated right after Eurydice is sent back to the underworld. So while I was frustrated with the abruptness that line reminded me there was a reason. You are supposed to feel almost betrayed by the story in a sense, because Eurydice was betrayed when Orpheus looked back and Orpheus was betrayed by his own doubt riddled mind.

Overall, I enjoyed ”Hadestown” even though there were parts that frustrated me. The folk-jazz music, mythology, and unique characters made it stand out from other musicals I have watched. I especially liked how the characters had their own personalities and how the mythology was adapted into something that felt modern and entertaining. While I thought the musical dragged in some places and the ending was much more abrupt than I expected, I think those choices also gave me something to think about after it was over. ”Hadestown” may not have been perfect for me, but I found it to be a story worth watching.