It’s the future of the planet as we know it.

For it’s not just Orpheus and Eurydice we weep for. One would be wise to hear what it has to say. Without question, “Hadestown” is one of the better musicals of the last quarter-century. Her prescience makes her something of a modern-day oracle. While the song about the wall may remind you of a certain former president, it was actually written more than a decade ago: Mitchell began work on “Hadestown” in 2006, seeing it through variations incarnations from concept album to off-Broadway production to the current iteration. How clever to make Hades responsible for upsetting the natural rhythms of the planet. Speaking of that bedlam, Mitchell does a masterful job of weaving in the political, without being too heavy-handed. The orchestra populates the stage (rather than the pit), joined by the three Fates (the excellent Dominique Kempf, Cecilia Trippiedi and Nyla Watson) and a chorus of strong-armed, muscular, workers - the human machines that fuel the dirty work of Hades. (The device reminds me yet again of “Sweeney Todd.”)

The town of Hades is accessed via train, and the portal is a gaping mouth (or furnace or abyss) that swallows the condemned with shrill finality. The design scheme - Rachel Hauck’s sets, Michael Krass’s costumes, Bradley King’s lighting - reinforce the structure. Throughout this material, the proverbial circles of hell are a central motif. As Hermes tells us, we know how the story will end, but we watch it again and again, hoping for some last-minute salvation. While Mann doesn’t always hit the mark - his words were a bit hard to discern at the outset - and West has a tendency to overplay the part, Ihuoma and Lauster are heartbreaking as the tragic myth-fits, who almost escape the darkness, but can’t quite. Mann’s sinister Hades and West’s debauched Persephone are the loud and lusty foils to Ihuoma’s angelic Orpheus and Lauster’s cooly despairing Eurydice. Looking down on this scene are the king and queen of the underworld, Hermes and Persephone (Brit West), the one-time goddess of spring who finds herself nearing obsolescence but imbued with a powerful thirst for wine (”Livin’ It Up On Top”). He’s taken the beautiful Orpheus (Chibueze Ihuoma) under his wing, and goads him to engage with the edgy and dismissive Eurydice (Courtney Lauster). In the role of Hermes (created for Broadway’s Andre De Shields), Nathan Lee Graham gives an indelible performance as our slithering and seductive guide and provocateur. I have not seen the Broadway version of “Hadestown,” but a careful listen to the cast recording suggests this touring production may come near to surpassing the original. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright.

Orpheus and eurydice hadestown