Hadestown is going from stage to screen!
Hadestown can stir awe and emotion from just listening to the music. However, the upcoming proshot will allow people to experience the movements and set of this show, which will make the emotion even stronger.
Photo courtesy of Bex Walton/Wikimedia Commons
Greek mythology has clearly served as the inspiration for many incredible stories throughout the years. Be it a demigod in summer camp or a series of soundtracks telling the story of the Orpheus, it has served as the springboard for stories that have become instant classics in the minds of many people. One of the greatest examples of this is the hit musical, Hadestown.
For anyone unaware, Hadestown is a musical adaptation of the tragic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. As a myth, it has been retold and readapted many times, but the original story usually consists of Eurydice dying and Orpheus traveling to the Underworld to bring her back to life. He makes a deal with the king of the Underworld, the Greek god of death, Hades, that Eurydice will be allowed to leave the Underworld with Orpheus, but only if Orpheus can make it all the way out of the Underworld without looking back to see if she is really following him. In this test of faith, Orpheus fails—he looks back, and Eurydice is lost to the Underground forever. The same is true in the ending of Hadestown, making the musical a very sad tale.
Hades is more than a simple villain, as the musical also takes information from the Greek myths of Hades and Persephone. The musical presents these two as the King and Queen of the Underworld (which is referred to as “Hadestown” or “Underground” within the musical). However, their marriage is strained as, per the myths, Persephone must leave the Underground for six months to allow for the warm weather to come to the Earth, and it gets colder when she is in the Underground. The natural progression of the seasons are thrown off as Hades tries to bring Persephone back down into their loveless marriage earlier and earlier each year. Because of that, there “Ain’t no spring or fall at all anymore/ It’s either blazing hot or freezing cold,” as described by one of the songs, “Any Way the Wind Blows.” The extreme weather is making life on the surface very hard.
This is where the conflict of the musical begins to stem. See, although Hadestown does not shy away from mythology or the supernatural, it is also an adaptation of the original myths in an American “Depression era” setting, as stated in an article from The Rolling Stone. Hadestown is not the land of the dead, but a factory-like place where Hades is a harsh and demanding boss. It is an awful place to be, where many workers lose their passion and individuality.
Throughout the musical, Orpheus is working on a song to bring back spring, but it is not finished, and he cannot help Eurydice get through the harsh winter in the meantime. She goes to Hadestown willingly after getting caught in a particularly harsh storm. There she is fed and sheltered, but she is not happy. Looking at the order of events, one could even glean a certain societal commentary from it. Eurydice cannot be safe and fed if she chooses a life of love with a songwriter, but cannot have love or passion if she works in Hadestown, essentially becoming a slave to the factory line.
Hadestown has an absolutely beautiful story full of love and tragedy that is easy to fall in love with. It is also an opera, which means that the entire story is told in songs without scenes of dialogue in between, with a music style focusing on genres like folk or swing music, according to an article on The Rolling Stone. This means that people could follow the entire musical just by listening to the music, similar to productions such as Hamilton. However, that also means a lot of people have known and loved this musical without having the opportunity to watch it play out in full.
Luckily, that will no longer be true come Jul. 24, 2026. According to an article on Playbill, this on-stage production will be coming to the screens with Hadestown: The Musical (2026). This is not a traditional film adaption, but instead a proshot—a live recording of the show being performed at London’s Lyric Theatre.
Even better, those performing most of the roles in this production will be the very same who originally brought the play to life on Broadway. In other words, the same voices that many fans heard on the album will be the same they will get to see on the screens! This means Amber Gray will play Persephone, Reeve Carney will play Orpheus, Eva Noblezada will play Eurydice, and Patrick Page will play Hades. Hermes, one of the most important characters who largely serves as a narrator for the show, will also be played by the original Broadway actor, André De Shields, according to an article from Theater Mania.
This is a very exciting development for such a wonderful show, as it means many fans will be able finally see what they have been listening to for years, and many new fans will be able to experience the absolute beauty of this story for the very first time!