Buckle up, because “Hadestown,” winner of eight Tonys for both Best Musical and Best Musical Score, rolls into the Saenger Theatre this weekend in a limited run.
It’s the modern jazz retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. But, if you’re not a student of Greek mythology, don’t let the subject matter scare you.
This story is completely relatable to the times we’re living in now, even though it’s set in Depression-era New Orleans. It’s a post-apocalyptic world where love, art and hope are pitted against fear, poverty and authoritarian power.
The story unfolds in a divided universe. The surface world is harsh, unstable and weather-ravaged. People are hungry, work is scarce, and survival is uncertain. The otherworld below, known as Hadestown, run by Hades himself, consists of a hellish factory where workers are promised safety, shelter and steady work — but at the cost of their freedom.
Hovering between these two worlds is the performance’s narrator, Hermes, who invites the audience into this tale of star-crossed lovers Orpheus and Eurydice. As Hermes says, “It’s a sad song … but we’re gonna sing it anyway.”
“I’m not particularly studied in mythology, but I remember reading the Orpheus and Eurydice story in a children’s illustrated book of mythology as a kid and being very taken by it,” Anaïs Mitchell said in 2021 when the show first played the Crescent City. “It’s a story that’s been told many times in music, because it is ultimately about the power of — and the limitations, I guess, of — music.”
Drawing heavily from the local timbre of jazz, with the “call and response” elements of Southern Black gospel thrown in, the show keeps the beat of New Orleans and will resonate with locals.
“New Orleans is a sort of musical mecca,” Mitchell had said. “I love finger-style folk and blues music, and our orchestrators (Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose) come from the world of jazz and art rock, all of which are definitely on display in your beautiful city.”
And, speaking of songs, “Hadestown’s” score is a composite of jazz, folk and blues that will have you clapping along throughout. The band is an integral part of this musical and interacts onstage with the cast for the entire production. While this orchestra brings down the house, it’s the trombonist who steals the show.
“I am the loudest person on the stage without a doubt, so I need to be 100% all of the time as far as energy is concerned,” said trombonist Haik Demirchian. “I am trying to be more entertaining than TikTok and Netflix because people have left the comfort of their homes and spent a lot of money to be here. They deserve the ultimate in entertainment.
“My favorite number from ‘Hadestown’ is ‘Our Lady of the Underground.’ Not only do I get one of the most epic solo moments, but our Persephone (Hades’ wife) kills it every night.”
“Hadestown” will have you tapping your feet to the beat of the music, while you’re being swept up into a political allegory. Hades builds walls “to keep out the enemy,” but the walls symbolize nationalism and isolationism, fear-based politics and the illusion of safety through control.
His underground may not be fire and brimstone, but it is labor camps with fluorescent lights, reminiscent of prison labor systems, sweatshops and modern debt-strapped factory employees. There’s no argument here for party or ideology, but it dramatizes loudly and clearly, while set to amazing music, how fear-based power works.
Political allegories aside, this is a master class in jazz, which swirls throughout the plotline, and softens the blows of the dire circumstances the characters on stage find themselves in.
“Whether it’s Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong or Ellis Marsalis and all of his children, New Orleans’ jazz scene is an institution that has pumped out some the greatest to ever have done it,” Demirchian said. “I spent a lot of time studying the music of New Orleans in the ’80s and ’90s. I studied the old gut bucket or trad jazz style when I was younger, but New Orleans is much more profound than just street musicians playing glissandos and fast clarinet lines.
Trombonist Haik Demirchian, the soul of the orchestra which is on-stage with the actors in the Saenger’s “Hadestown“
“It is a profound way of playing/placing each note. The art is in the nuance. Ellis Marsalis’ legacy left an impact on me, and I hope it comes across in my playing. I am humbled to be performing in this city.”
Live performances are known to come with their share of “oops” moments. Demirchian recalled how a performance just months ago saw his slide falling off his slide trombone, while dancing in front of 3,000 people. As he tells it, he spent the rest of his solo reassembling his instrument. Just one of the surprises of live theater.
Demerchian was in New Orleans in 2024, but the St. Louis native had no time then to explore the city. He plans to remedy that this time around and hopes that theater-lovers turn out for this extraordinary musical.
You’ll feel the love story, you’ll hear the jazz music, but you’ll also recognize the quiet moral questions humming underneath every lyric.
Hadestown is at the Saenger Theatre from Jan. 23-25. Tickets are available at saengernola.com.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
