#listening to the london live cast of hadestown

[aimfor-theheart]

live recorded albums of musicals are SOOO superior i have no idea why they don’t do it for every single one

[s-cordelia-mae]

There’s something to be said about listening to the full Hadestown album on repeat

Something about themes,something about motifs, something about knowing how how it ends and still begin to sing it again like it might turn out this time

[eerna]

Not to like compare who's better among all the Orpheuses, but who do you like best and in ascending/descending order (not to say that the lowest is the worse) among the Orpheuses?

I've only listened to Reeve and Damon btw hehe

Huehuehue ofc!! I have heard audio boots from quite a few, watched a couple on video boots. I saw Donal Finn, Dylan Wood, and Reeve Carney live.

9.) Reeve Carney (2020-2024). I know you said that lowest doesn't mean the worse, but for me... I can't stand this performance. You'll see my ranking of pre-2020 Reeve super high up, so I have 0 idea why this happened. He became breathy, shrill, started speaking every other line (for a role THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE MEMORABLE FOR HIS SINGING) and his acting turned wooden. His arms do the Bill Cipher thing and I feel 0 chemistry between him and Eurydice. It is painful to watch bootlegs from this period, which sucks because MOST of his bootlegs are from this period. I can't tell if this happened right after the opening night in 2019, but he wasn't like this in the previews, and idk why the change happened.

8.) Jordan Fisher. Idk if this is controversial, but I think he doesn't get the role at all. His voice is good, but I feel no humility or honesty in his emotions, he performs it as he would any other role he is cast in. He plays himself playing Orpheus, if it makes any sense.

7.) Damon Daunno. I like him, but the NYTW Orpheus just doesn't mesh well with me.

6.) Reeve Carney (2017-2018). Similar to Damon, Edmonton/London Orpheus is just not my thing. Ranked higher than Damon because I think he's vocally better.

5.) Nicholas Barasch, J. Antonio Rodriguez. I like them! But it's a little like they are playing Reeve Carney playing Orpheus.

4.) Dylan Wood. I saw him live back in October, and he was super cute! Def one of the naiiive little boy Orpheuses, and those aren't really my fav interpretation, but his vocals are incredible, and he is very very cute! Right afterwards I said he was my fav soft Orphrus, but I had to dethrone him bc 1) Chibueze Ihuoma, and 2) I don't remember much about him but I plan on seeing him again this year so we'll see.

3.) Reeve Carney (2019). The Orpheus who made me fall in love with this show. The bootleg from the previews was my optimal Hadestown experience before I saw it live for the first time. This is where Orpheus as a character became who he is, gentle and romantic, and the way he looks at Eva Noblezada in that bootleg specifically makes me feel faint. My fav version of the couple.

2.) Chibueze Ihuoma. Good lord. He is number 2 by a hair, he could easily share the no 1 spot. The fact that he was never the principal Orpheus even after 5 years of understudying boggles my mind. He is the one who does the "poor naiive little romantic boy" take on the role the best. I believe every expression, every gesture, every line. He is just a confused artistic dreamer who loved this world so much and tragically lost his optimism!!! And his vocals? He glides across that falsetto like an ice skater and makes it seem effortless. His voice feels like an extension of him instead of something he puts on for a show, which is to me one of the best ways to sing in a production - I don't want to be reminded the person onstage is a singer who has done this 1000 times before in different roles. He entirely embodies the clear, perfect voice of Orpheus - truly, "he sang just like a bird up on the line". I feel like he is to Orpheus what Eva Noblezada is to Eurydice, hearing them together would probably forever change my world.

1.) Donal Finn. Completely different take on the character from Broadway, he is halfway between NYTW's charming confident musician and Broadway's gentle romantic dreamer, and somehow this is the perfect combination that makes me personally fall in love with Orpheus. I can't describe how it felt to walk into that theater so sure I know the production inside and out and that nothing could surprise me, and then seeing this performance. He has something that I haven't seen in any other version: he is utterly broken and entirely rageful. If It's True begins with him pressing his face to the floor, heartbroken, and ends with him angrily screaming out rallying calls, and Donal manages the transition PERFECTLY. There's something about seeing Orpheus not only gradually lose his optimism, but also gentleness, while remaining so vulnerable and tragic. His voice is so melodic and beautiful and he can really nail the balance between singing and speaking in ways Reeve never succeeded. Even when he "ugly sings" it is still on point. Like Chibueze, his voice is an extension of him instead of a karaoke-like performance, and his accent is so damn endearing idk how I will ever NOT hear Orpheus as Irish. Also he couldn't stop sobbing during his final curtain call and I've never seen that before which makes him all the more endearing. I hope he will play Orpheus on the West End recording!

Okay, that's it for the lineup! But wait..... who is that........ could it be...... IT'S

1.b) REEVE CARNEY (2025) WITH A STEEL CHAIR!!! This one is so weird for me which is why I am putting him at 1b instead of definite 1 until I calm down a little and can think clearly. Acting-wise, I prefer his 2019 take on the character, but. Oh my god. Oh my GOD. His VOCALS. I saw him live on the second night of the West End OBC run, and honestly I couldn't believe wtf I was hearing. He was ethereal, he was magical, it felt like listening to an otherworldly being. He and Eva matched each other so perfectly. He didn't take a single breath during the Epic III final lalala run. He opted up in If It's True. Once again, I felt like I knew what to expect, I knew these performers inside and out, and YET. When he didn't do his silly wave in Road to Hell I thought he was just playing it cool bc it was the night after the premiere and he went OOC, but no, that was just first in the long line of totally different acting choices. Interpretation wise, there are bits and pieces of the Broadway run I dislike (such as ending every line of Epic I speaking instead of singing), but the rest is a mix between Broadway and Edmonton/London. This Orpheus is more serious, not very giddy or smiley, which separates him from the other performers, and yet he is still so optimistic and so in love it's beautiful. The comedic jump in Way Down Hadestown is the smallest and chillest I've seen and I hope it means it's dying oh my god someone remove that stupid comedic jump from the show already. No Bill Cipher arms in sight. And the best part is, he and Eva FINALLY have chemistry again, and it was a delight to witness it. I am so so so excited to see what the proshot will look like because I wonder how the end of the run will compare to the beginning. Basically it is the total opposite of Donal's emotional, floor-ridden, breathless take, but somehow made me feel even more... Idk man IDK IDDDKKKKKKKKKK

[disastergenius]

Observations/my favorite things in Hadestown Live from London:

Act 1:

Melanie La Barrie's interpretation of Hermes really works for me, it's my favorite version so far

Caribbean Hermes! Irish Orpheus!! Northern Eurydice!! love that they got to keep their accents

Orpheus's "Yes..." in Come Home With Me

Orpheus's laugh as Eurydice accuses of him being a liar and player; the playfulness of the interaction is so cute and helps balance their dynamic (you get why she would actually want to give him the time of day), and she returns the laugh at the end

Grace Hodgett-Young and Dónal Finn both have absolutely gorgeous singing and speaking voices

"and the sugar from the maple" line sounds so good

the voice crack "Yes!" (Wedding Song) gets me every time

more giggling from Orpheus and Eurydice

Gloria Onitiri's Persephone is so good! Her characterization is fun and I like her vocal choices

singing "who has finally returned to us / with wine enough to share" (Livin' It Up On Top)

I've loved every single version of All I've Ever Known I've ever heard

knowing that Dónal's favorite line is "But when I saw you all alone against the sky/It's like I've known you all along"

the strings solo is beautiful (All I've Ever Known)

Zachary James is really good as Hades, I like that he's not trying to do a Patrick Page impression

Removing Epic II means we miss the best transition of the show of Epic II into Chant I

Grace Hodgett-Young has such a strong and consistent voice; Eurydice's desperation in Chant really comes through

I have also never heard a bad version of Now That the Chips are Down

Dónal's Orpheus sounds significantly sadder and more angry at himself when he realizes why Eurydice left and as such, he sounds much more desperate to go after her. He also sounds more unsure as he starts walking but the strength in his voice is perfect

not gonna lie, I usually skip Why We Build the Wall. It's fine as a song and well sung, and I understand why it's there narratively and it helps worldbuild Hadestown before we see it through Eurydice's eyes, but it just does nothing for me (Act I functionally ends at Wait For Me)

the chorus getting quiet at the end of Why We Build the Wall is a good choice

Act II:

jumping straight to If It's True on this album is crazy. I'm aware that since it cut songs it's not meant to be fully representative of the show, but it really changes the listening experience if you skip to the middle of Act 2

Dónal's If It's True is devastating. What can I say that hasn't already been said: it's the perfect mix of sad and angry and unifying for the workers. Righteously angry union leader Orpheus is the best

Epic III fantastic as always

Epic III lyric rewrite is fine. I still like the og version (from the off-broadway version) and I get why it keeps changing but I do think the lyrics are not as inventive

Epic III They Danced instrumental/vocal is also beautiful I love it so much

giggles in Promises! Getting flustered as the audience cheered

Promises is the last time we see Orpheus and Eurydice happy together and Grace Hodgett-Young and Dónal Finn play it so well, the emotions are all there

Wait for Me Reprise

Leaving off Doubt Comes In is criminal, I'm so sorry, Dónal's version is great and equally devastating and this is the song I'm the saddest was excluded

Road to Hell Reprise continues to be sad and the emotional whiplash without having Doubt Comes In is wild

Overall:

Fantastic album, I love this cast and glad they got a recording. Mourning the cut songs (also they cut so many Hades and Persephone songs; they have none of the ones they sing together), living in denial that they have them recorded from this performance and will release them someday.

[aidoneusmusic]

any thoughts about hadestown? i'd be interested as to how you feel about it

hi hi thanks for your question!

The issue is I have too many thoughts about Hadestown lmfao it’s so hard to summarise without essentially writing a novella, but I’ll be as brief as possible!

A year after it came out, I was introduced to the 2017 version on Spotify (+ Anaïs Mitchell’s demos) and I instantly fell in love. Tbh, to this day, that is still my all time favourite rendition.

As someone who’s been hyperfixated on both Greek Mythology and musical theatre since I was 6 y/o, discovering Hadestown was like a dream come true. I really enjoyed Mitchell’s take on the story, and thought she did a fantastic job expanding on the motives and overall development of every single character.

In the original myths of Hades/Persephone + Orpheus/Eurydice, it feels like things just “happen” to both Persephone and Eurydice, so I loved that they’re each given stronger personalities and a sense of agency, even if they’re trapped in their circumstances. Persephone is just how I’d imagined her — a weathered, witty, and powerful delight that provides warmth to everyone she meets, but hides a deep discontent and grief within her.

Regarding Eurydice, her worldliness contrasts beautifully with Orpheus’ misguided hope and naïveté, and I thought it was so clever to use themes of poverty and famine as a means drive her towards the temptation of Mitchell’s industrialised version of Hades(town) — which I’m also obsessed with.

Tbh until listening, I’d completely forgotten that Hades is the god of wealth, so to see these themes built upon and then integrated into political commentary was incredible. The idea of a man in power scaring people into submission with threats of poverty if “the wall” isn’t built especially resonated with folks at the time of its release, and unfortunately still applies today. But we eventually learn that he wasn’t always this way, and that wealth + power corrupts people over time, so much so that he forgot “the melody,” aka the central motif.

and HOLLYY SHIT am I a sucker for motifs. if a musical doesn’t have motifs, I don’t wanna hear it.

I especially love the ones throughout Hadestown, though, whether it’s the “La la las,” or the “Doubt comes in” melody, there are motifs everywhere in this musical. All of them work so well to make a cohesive story that, after my first listen, I felt like I’d already seen it live.

And then I did see it live !

I was blessed enough to attend its London premier run at the National Theatre twice in 2018 and got to meet Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, and Patrick Page at the stage door — all of whom were as sweet as they are talented! I saw it again in 2024 with a different cast, but I’d definitely say I’m biased towards the original. Nonetheless, it’s fantastic on stage and I think I cried almost the entire time lmfao

I could keep going on and on because I have a million things to say, but I’ll stop myself here. Overall, I personally think it’s the best musical that’s made it to the stage in this last decade. It’s provided me with so much inspiration and encouragement to keep writing the stories I want to write, even if they’re old or have been told a million times before.

[aaronstveit]

this has jack to do with anything except that top 5 books you've read this year ask but seeing that made me want to ask top 5 musicals. i don't think we've had a chat about mt for a while and wanted to check in on your mt journey!!!

arwen!!! obviously i have, well. i've been on a bit of a musical theatre journey this year, as you can probably tell by my url and my header and just the everything about my blog. let's see what are the five musicals that have lived in my head the most this year...

company 2006 proshot with raúl esparza coming in at number 1 for sure. i've known company for a few years now but i watched his proshot a couple months back and it rewired my entire brain so that's cool.

pippin! so very very dear to me, if i think about it too much i will begin to weep.

les mis. even though i always forget that les mis is a musical i think that i am legally required to mention her because of, well, everything about me. i really need to listen to some more versions of les mis soon, like the original london cast recording <3

sweeney todd... sorry to the haters but i really enjoy aaron's sweeney. very fun for me personally.

catch me if you can! idgaf what anyone else says, that musical was fun. someone else's skin kinda the song of all time 2 me. i am going to GET aaron the tony for that one i swear.

honorable mentions to wicked, which i somehow managed to go my entire life without knowing anything about until this year, and hadestown, which you know is always on my mind <333 oh and we are the tigers, who will live in my heart forever and ever.

can't wait to become even less normal about musical theatre in 2025 hehe <3333

[al-mayriti]

END OF THE YEAR LIST

i swear i also did this in 2023 but i cannot find it for the life of me. anyways. i have very little memory so since 2022 i decided to make a list over on twitter of everything i do / watch / read etc during the year. and i wanted to have it over here as well just cause <3

so here's my 2024, you can also see everything in this thread here where you can find pics and such, i hope you enjoy it <3

BOOKS:

11/01. anthology of catullus (bilingual edition in latin and spanish by josé carlos fernández corte & juan antonio gonzález iglesias)

28/01. symposium by plato (spanish edition by juan david garcía bacca)

11/04. my uncle napoleon by iraj pezeshkzad (in spanish)

26/05. anthology of sappho (bilingual edition in ancient greek and spanish by aurora luque) [RE-READ]

03/06. the duke and i by julia quinn (in english)

23/06. the viscount who loved me by julia quinn (in english)

08/07. the invisible weevil, by mary karooro okurut (in english)

28/07. the old man and the sea, by ernest hemingway (in english)

16/08. treasure island, by robert louis stevenson (in english)

20/08. genio de oriente, by joaquín maría córdoba (in spanish)

23/08. around the world in eighty days, by jules verne (in spanish i think?)

30/08. jazz, by toni morrison (in spanish)

14/10. the communist manifesto, by karl marx and friedrich engels (in spanish)

18/11. the spoilers, by rex beach (in english)

TRIPS:

13-14/01. valència (spain)

16/03. bolzano / bolzen (italy)

30/03. innsbruck (austria)

11-14/04. london (uk)

27/04. mantova (italy)

04/05. padova (italy)

01/03-09/05. trento (italy) [idk if it counts as a trip as i was living there but whatever]

25-26/05. lisbon (portugal)

10-11/06. firenze - bologna - venezia (italy)

29-30/08. pisa (italy)

THEATRE PLAYS AND MUSICALS:

19/01. desencantadas, at teatro lara (madrid)

12/04. hadestown, at lyric theatre (london)

VIDEOGAMES:

29/01. pentiment (pc)

08/03. summer house (pc)

21/03. showrunner (pc)

10/05. influent (pc)

31/05. urbo (pc)

11/06. fantasy town regional manager (pc)

02/07. toem (pc)

03/07. planet zoo (pc)

13/07. persona 5 royal (ps4) [REPLAY]

29/07. forward escape the fold (pc)

21/09. inazuma eleven 2: firestorm (nds) [REPLAY]

01/10. sword of convallaria (pc)

31/10. anno 1800 (pc)

23/11. pokemon café remix (switch)

20/12. two point campus (pc)

TOP 5 MOST LISTENED TO SONGS PER MONTH:

JANUARY.

5. la edad que tengo by la paloma

4. the ballad of lucy gray baird by rachel zegler

3. when the party's over by paul thin

2. de charco en charco by samuraï ft. belén aguilera

mía (unplugged) by belén aguilera

FEBRUARY.

5. muchas cosas by natalia lacunza

4. paenamorar by paula cendejas

3. enchanted by taylor swift

2. si quieres by cariño

quedará en nuestra mente by amaia

MARCH.

5. as it was by harry styles

4. la camarera by paul thin

3. i drove all night by cris b ft. álvaro mayo

2. can't catch me now by olivia rodrigo

la_original.mp3 by emilia ft. tini

APRIL.

5. femininominon by chappell roan

4. felixità by svetlana

3. so american by olivia rodrigo

2. good luck, babe! by chappell roan

no m'estima + by mushkaa ft. julieta

MAY.

5. nunca te voy a olvidar by bechamel

4. dónde by paul thin

3. torna a casa by måneskin

2. muchas cosas by natalia lacunza

aquí by izaro ft. duda in the sky

JUNE.

5. l'amour de ma vie by billie eilish

4. hot to go! by chappell roan

3. all too well (10 minutes version) by taylor swift

2. who's afraid of little old me? by taylor swift

24 rosas by aitana

JULY.

5. but dady i love him by taylor swift

4. tu novio es subnormal by kalipotxo ft. nko, krivex

3. girl, so confusing by charli xcx

2. alondra by paul thin

x by paula cendejas

AUGUST.

5. girl, so confusing featuring lorde by charli xcx ft. lorde

4. villano antillano: bzrp music sessions, vol. 51 by bizarrap ft. villano antillano

3. alondra by paul thin

2. please please please by sabrina carpenter

new woman by lisa ft. rosalía

SEPTEMBER.

5. 96,000 from the in the heights original cast recording

4. ya no siento nada by blackpanda

3. in my bed by sabrina carpenter

2. cardigan by taylor swift

punto de partida by rocío jurado

OCTOBER.

5. misil by carolina durante

4. happier by olivia rodrigo

3. la_original.mp3 by emilia ft. tini

2. normal by carolina durante

people watching by conan gray

NOVEMBER.

5. cayetano by carolina durante

4. hamburguesas by carolina durante

3. 24 rosas by aitana

2. nuestro nombre by natalia lacunza

gente corriente by jordana b.

DECEMBER.

5. santos que yo te pinte by amaia

4. me gustabas así by burgas vandal ft. stivijoes, sick vaira

3. tengo un pensamiento by amaia

2. barbie de extrarradio by melendi

mazo raro by valentino

CONCERTS:

03/02. valeria castro in teatro circo price (madrid)

09/02. pipiolas in sala paqui (madrid)

25/05. taylor swift & paramore in estadio da luz (lisbon)

29/05. taylor swift & paramore in estadio santiago bernabéu (madrid)

09/06. olivia rodrigo in unipol arena (bologna)

12/06. bruce springsteen in civitas metropolitano (madrid)

27/06. ot 2023 in wizink center (madrid)

03/11. jacob collier in wizink center (madrid)

MOVIES:

25/02. ballad of songbirds and snakes [REWATCH]

02/06. the eras tour

10/07. inside out 2 [CINEMA]

29/07. bottoms [REWATCH]

21/09. death in the nile (2022)

31/10. olivia rodrigo: guts world tour

24/11. the wizard of oz [REWATCH]

01/12. wicked [CINEMA]

TV SHOWS:

07/03. queen charlotte (2023)

10/03. the bear (2022) - FIRST SEASON

13/03. the bear (2023) - SECOND SEASON

25/03. heartstopper (2022) - FIRST SEASON

29/03. heartstopper (2023) - SECOND SEASON

13/05. paquita salas (2016) - FIRST SEASON [REWATCH]

20/05. paquita salas (2018) - SECOND SEASON [REWATCH]

30/05. paquita salas (2019) - THIRD SEASON [REWATCH]

12/06. abbott elementary (2023) - THIRD SEASON

16/06. bridgerton (2024) - THIRD SEASON

29/09. lucía en la telaraña (2021)

29/12. el ministerio del tiempo (2020) - FOURTH SEASON

[pastelcryptid]

Ten People I’d Like To Know Better (meme)

I was tagged by the lovely @starberry-cupcake I also had to edit this because I started filling it out, got distracted and so some answers changed last song: I've been listening to mostly podcasts recently so hard to say. I've also been listening to a Bob's Burgers song a lot recently, which is Happy Crappy Place, my second fave BB song after This Wedding is My Warzone last book: I'm reading Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism through the Eyes of Everyday People by Julia Boyd, which takes writings of people who lived, worked and travelled in Germany in the lead-up to WW2/rise of Nazis. It's very depressingly timely. last movie: I've finally got into watching a lot of new movies again. Sometimes my mental health doesn't allow me to watch a lot of the new movies I'd like to for various reasons, so I've been watching older ones (mostly 20s-50s) which has honestly been really fun and I've come across some movies I love that I'd never heard of before. One I just finished was The Pirate (1948) which honestly, didn't like all that much but I watched for the Garland-Kelly pairing so I didn't mind dragging myself through it. Was surprised to find that Make 'Em Laugh from Singin' in the Rain is basically plagiarised from a Cole Porter song in this movie. last tv show: Bob’s Burgers, which has sort of become my comfort thing and I watch an episode most days. Love the Belchers, I don't think there's a character I identify with more than Bob. Rewatched the first episode with Nat, the chaotic lesbian limo driver, who I love. sweet/spicy/savory: Really depends, I've gotten more attached to spicy food over the years but I really have a sweet tooth too. last thing I searched for online: the cast for The Pirate because the Nicholas Brothers turned up in it, which I wasn't expecting. current obsession: nothing specific, just been in a real musicals mood recently, listening to a lot of cast recordings looking forward to: March which is gonna be crazy. @abner-krill who is probably my longest online friend at this stage is coming to the UK 💖🥳🥳 and we're gonna spend a few nights in London and see Much Ado About Nothing. I'm seeing the original Broadway cast of Hadestown during their limited run in London, and Oedipus with another of my close friends. Also I'm going to see Taemin in concert in Brussels and this is all in the same fortnight lmao.

I don't think I have enough mutuals to tag this lmao

[gardenofadonis]

Been geting a lot of Hadestown content on social media. Honestly I did not realise how much Reeve's Orpheus changed from the London National Theatre production (which I saw live) to Broadway (never seen live or on video until days ago, before that only listened to on cast album). I loved Reeve's London Orpheus and was totally unaware that apparently people hated that characterisation. I actually want to argue that his apparent cocky and self-centred attitude explains better how he completely blanked out Eurydice during the storm that led to her going to Hadestown. Broadway Orpheus is so sweet and worshipping I don't really understand how he would go so long without noticing her hardship or caring about her (yes I know hyperfixation is a thing but still). And the character growth from wanting the best for himself (come how with me) to wanting the best for Eurydice even if it means her not going with him (promises) is top tier.

Either way Reeve Carney has ruined all other Orpheus' for me.

[kataradora]

Listened to the hadestown: live from London cast recording and cried at promises of all songs so that’s how I’m doing today hbu

[littlespringsongbird]

I’m big Hadestown fan I’ve seen it 14 times in three counties since 2022 have two tattoos related to the show I’m also from the UK. The west end live album is out but I won’t be rushing listening to it anytime soon I’ve seen the show London a four time over this year with that very cast each time i did not like or enjoy watching it personal it’s not my thing i don’t like that version of show, I much prefer the Broadway show and the different cast’s that have seen over the years I hold the Broadway show very close to my heart i follow the goings on of the Broadway show and company closely don’t bother with the west end at all, next time I’m in mood to listen to Hadestown I’ll be picking original Broadway cast, NYTW live album or Anais Mitchel original concept album over the west end album.

[korogie]

okay okay ngl i'm very basic with my musicals knowledge but i've seen hamilton (obv - both the us recording + i've actually been to see the london cast), hadestown (some shitty recording a while ago), legally blonde, dear evan hansen, cats (not the movie, the play), the book of mormon (just listen to it, i really want to watch it one day!!!), newsies obv, wicked, jesus christ superstar and these in the polish version (we have a theater that adapts musicals into polish it's pretty fun): we will rock you (this one i've seen on wednesday), mamma mia, aida, singing in the rain, les miserables, phantom of the opera and polish productions: metro and pilots :D

i basically love all musicals ngl i just like the medium <3 so any recommendation i will be happy to check out :D

OOO those are all pretty good shows (and yes I did see ur other ask abt tick tick boom, double checking my list that show is actually 12 and newsies is 11!!) Honestly, some recommendations I would give are Fiddler On The Roof (a classic, surprisingly really funny), Come From Away (based on a true story when a plane had to emergency land in a tiny town in Canada during the 9/11 attacks and the community of the tiny town coming together to help them), West Side Story (also a classic, really like it, especially the new movie), Spring Awakening (my sister's #1 show!!! It's about early 1900s germany and discussing the harms of censorship and hiding away from topics like sex, really heavy show tho)!!! Just to name a couple more that I really like! Also if u need or want a bootleg of tbom I have a handful but it has been a while since I downloaded them so I'll see if I still have them <- has seen like 8 different bootlegs of this show and live 3 times

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

tagged by @ragnarokhound <3

name: kai (yes im a trans man named kai, its a good name, okay?)

pronouns: he/they

where do you call home: eh the general answer is west of england, midlands and up. theres a sentimental answer but its a pretty small area so im not gonna potentially dox myself in a tag game dhdjsjs

favourite animal: walrus all the way, baby! although my url is actually unrelated to my love of walruses. theyre just the best animals, theyre big old chunky boys with two big front teeth that can grow to over 3ft in length. when on land, they huddle together in cuddle piles. AND mama walruses can use their flippers to pick up their babies and cuddle them to their chest; tell me thats not the cutest thing youve heard today.

cereal of choice: im not really a cereal person or like a breakfast person at all, but if im having it, golden nuggets or nothin'

visual, auditory or kinesthetic learner: ...all of them? idk, it depends on what im learning. auditory probably less so than the others just because my auditory processing isnt just trash, its trash the binmen wont take.

first pet: my parents had four cats before they had me and my brother so i guess them? they were thomas, alfred, cally and misty. my uncle, who incidentally doesnt believe in seatbelts, named alfred.

favourite scent:

no but seriously i have a very strong scent of smell which is part of why im such a picky eater like im yet to meet a food that smelt bad and tasted good, but i just,,,, dont have a favourite scent?

my brother gave me a lynx body spray of his he didnt want pretty soon after i came out the third time, as trans this time, and its definitely a he got the spirit moment so i guess that.

do you believe in astrology: nah, its not my thing really. all the more to you if its yours as long as you dont try to ascribe my behaviour to me being a taurus, thats the mental illness or the autism or the adhd or the neurological disorder thats pushing my eyes out of my skull very slowly.

how many playlists on spotify/apple music: 28 which is more than i thought i had. right now, theres only like 3 im cycling through named dead reckoning, the old swan, and dutch angle / danish pastry.

sharpies or highlighters: yeah so like, we could never afford sharpies in my house so its highlighters my default. sharpies are like mega expensive in the uk and by mega expensive, i mean unaffordable for a child of a working class single parent.

songs that make you cry: hmm. thats kinda difficult because whether i cry depends almost entirely on my mood. if i had to name some, i guess id go with:

a little fall of rain, turning and empty chairs at empty tables from the london cast recording of les mis (its vital to specify this, okay?); george blagdens secret? recording of drink with me; breathe from in the heights; flowers, doubt comes in, promises, gone im gone, and we raise our cups from hadestown (are you sensing a theme yet?); unruly heart from the prom; here i go again specifically from the rock of ages musical (and NOT the tom cruise movie, i saw this musical live and i cried); i know where ive been by queen latifah, and also from pretty much any hairspray cast recording; if i met myself again, ugly in this ugly world and hes my boy from everybodys talking about jaime and i have sobbed at all three of these songs.

and finally: grandmas song, deep into the ground, he could be a star and once we were kids from billy elliot, and yes i cry at most of act 2, i was raised working class in a working class area that was once revered for its industry and has since been forgotten and left to drown in poverty, how am i meant to not cry at it?

songs that make you happy: hmm again. throw the entirety of the first mamma mia soundtrack onto the list. then welcome to paradise & coming clean by green day (when i was a very depressed teenager, listening to green day always made me feel better, both about the world and about myself); the irony of choking of a lifesaver by all time low because its moms favourite song of theirs and weve gone to see them live five times together; merry christmas maggie thatcher from billy elliot because fuck that bitch; legend of coco chanel from everybodys talking about jaime; sexy from the mean girls musical; do it for your lover by manel navarro; strangers & i dont want to talk about me by stereo jane (the strangers music video is so fucking bisexual yall); king of my heart by sub-radio; ghost ship of cannibal rats by billy talent; carpe diem by joker out; who the hell is edgar by teya and salena; let me entertain you by robbie williams because i sang it in karaoke as a 7 year old who did not know the words and then proceeded to get obsessed with robbie fucking williams for a while; slipping away by materia; and 68 guns by the alarm which is a funny little one because it reminds me of my dad but i still enjoy the song and ive made a conscious choice not to limit my music taste just because some asshole whos not even a good hobby ghost hunter likes it too, you know?

do you write/draw/create: all three! granted i havent done much of the first two in a while, but on my defense, losing 7-8 months worth of your memories kind of fucks you up and its oddly time consuming. also developing fainting attacks and spending a week in hospital while they fail to figure out whats wrong with you other than weirdly low blood pressure does not help. but i do have a drawing planned out to do and while i went a little too much detail on one small detail (i will justify it as soon as i actually finish it), im going to finish it. i also do origami pretty often as well as baking, and i am currently building a wooden replica of the titanic AND LISTEN, i started before the titan submersible stuff happened and i havent touched it yet because it just feels weird to, you know? also, i didnt even want to do the titanic, but like, good luck finding any starter kits that arent a) titanic and b) upwards of a £100. i would love to do a ss malolo or a mts stockholm but that aint happening and while i might be able to find an ss normandy or ss united states, im not gonna be able to afford. its titanic or bust which sucks.

tagging but no pressure: @bottlesandbarricades @vaellusvitutus @rad-roach

[spaciousreasoning]

Another Theatrical Evening

This morning’s blood sugar was back up, way up, to 182! Too much fucking pasta last night for dinner, I guess.

We were up early, and we managed to have our coffee and get our brain games done in plenty of time, but we needed showers to finish waking us up. Given my blood sugar, I passed on eating anything this morning. Nancy had some yogurt.

Today was the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, which, liturgically speaking, is nothing special. Church was a simple service. I did have trouble with the streaming software. I had to start it all over again and did not get it going before the service began. That put me in a not so good mood.

During a brief visit to the parish hall for the post-service coffee hour, I ran into a member I had heard did taxes. I chatted with him and got his business card. We’ve probably got most of our stuff ready for getting the taxes done, so I see if we can get them to him this week. We’ll have to dig out last year’s return for him, if we can find it.

Nancy’s preferred coffee ran out this morning, but there are a couple of other kinds still sitting in the kitchen cabinet. She decided to give one of them a try tomorrow, and if she doesn’t like what’s available, we can go back to Market of Choice and get more of the Wandering Goat French roast.

When we got home we fixed up some cheesy eggs with bacon bits scrambled in and had toast and jam to go along with them. We listened to the “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” podcast from NPR while cooking and eating.

Then we went out for a walk. It was mostly sunny out, so I put on the big sunglasses the eye doctor gave me before the surgery. It was around 42 degrees when we took off through the neighborhood at 12:40 p.m. We made 1.15 miles in 26:39 minutes, for a total of 2,900 steps. The average pace was 23:13 per mile, though that seems silly since we barely walked more than a mile.

Once home we went down for a nap and slept for an hour, catching up on the sleep we missed out on by getting up so early. I’m glad we walked before napping instead of the other way around.

For our dinner before tonight’s performance of “Dear Evan Hansen” at the Hult Center, Nancy’s daughter made reservations for us at the North Fork Tavern. It is located near Costco, off Coburg Road north of the Beltline. We picked up Kathleen and Ronin on the way and met Kalen and her friend Jody there about 4:30 p.m. It was busy, though not packed, and the food was not bad, but it was not great enough to warrant another visit.

After dining, we made our way to downtown Eugene and parked in the garage next to the Hult Center. Our seats for this show were on the ground level of the big hall, a better location than we had for “Hadestown.” Since the acoustics in the place are so good, though, it did not matter all that much.

The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, who invents an important role for himself in a tragedy that he did not earn. It opened on Broadway in December 2016 after a world premiere in Washington, D.C., in July 2016. It was nominated for nine awards at the 71st Tony Awards and won six, including Best Musical, Best Book, Best Score, Best Actor for Ben Platt, and Best Featured Actress for Rachel Bay Jones.

The film adaptation was released in September 2021, with Ben Platt reprising his performance. The film did not do well due to the COVID pandemic, which also led to live productions in New York and London closing.

The current national tour that came to Eugene launched last September in Houston, Texas. Nancy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The cast was all great and the singing was wonderful, the staging and scenery quite inventive, and the audience was very receptive.

We got home in time to stream an episode of “Still Standing,” in which Jonny Harris visited Middleton, Nova Scotia, so named because it is halfway between Halifax and Yarmouth.

Oh, wait, the Super Bowl was today? Guess we missed it! Who won?

[musicals-and-mermaids]

I'd like to thank whoever greenlit the live London cast recording of Hadestown bc Dónal Finn as Orpheus is heavenly and I'm so grateful I can listen to him as much as I want

[suzannahnatters]

I will co-sign all of this, and also add:

I haven't yet seen Abigail's Eurydice; last Friday the role was taken by Afua Adjei, understudy and chorus member. She was DYNAMITE. Massive voice, incredible expressiveness, second broadest Aussie accent in the cast (after Hermes) - loved her.

Noah was fantastic. I've been listening through the West End recording this arvo and London!Orpheus is doing a great job, but seems far more comfortable in the low range than the high. Noah otoh? Magnificent at both ends of the range.

Tamburini's Hades is a really different take on the character than Patrick Page's - you get a much more classically-trained operatic bass performance which is really fun to hear in a jazzy musical and sets him apart from the rest of the cast in a way that kind of suits his role as the antagonist. But he's also far more emotionally expressive and vulnerable than Page's Hades, who is forbidding and gruff.

Elenoa Rokobaro ate everything and YES Persephone's alcoholism hit much harder in this production. I thought it would be impossible to surpass Amber Gray's take on the character but...Elenoa is wilder, drunker, and more heartbreaking.

Christine Anu was terrific and the way she growls the word "graveyard" in Way Down Hadestown lives in my head rent free.

my thoughts on the australian hadestown cast!

n.b. these are MY thoughts on how i felt and percieved the australian cast's takes on characters that i've seen many versions of. personally, i felt this show presented similtaneously very fresh and very accurate versions of these beautiful characters <3 in this post, i focused more on the differences rather than the similarities to previous performances.

noah mullins' orpheus is very awkward but in such a sweet way. he's clearly autistic-coded - he fully jumped when he turned around during 'road to hell' to 'see' the audience (+ his wave is so sweetly shy rather than over-earnest) and at one point during 'wait for me (reprise)' he started stimming out of stress & overstimulation. he has less of the socially-inept earnestness than maybe reeve carney's oprheus had (more of a socially-inept awkwardness), but it came out properly in 'come home with me' towards eurydice - it seems like he's terrified of socialising with everyone except her. noah is incredibly lanky, and so their orpheus very much has the vibe of his legs and arms being so long that he never quite learned how to use them properly, which suits his orpheus perfectly. their 'is it true' is powerful not because of an extreme emotional performance (see donal finn's) but because he seemed comfortable and in control for the first time. his neurodivergency also feels a lot more pronounced during 'doubt comes in' - the loss of confidence and increased anxiety feels very natural for his orpheus, as devestating as it is. his awkwardness being said, he is very physically comfortable with eurydice - they and abigail were so adorable during 'way down hadestown', the two of them feel like teenagers who have just gotten into their first relationship. i've heard noah talk about how much they wanted to work with abi, and i'm so glad they got that chance!

abigail adriano's eurydice is a tough little thing. abigail is quite small in stature, especially next to noah, and so she seems to be twice as thick-skinned and aggressive during the opening couple of songs to make up for it. at the beginning she is flighty and quick with the way she runs away from the fates, hades & even orpheus at the beginning of their relationship, super determined to protect herself, but she's got a real baby face which makes you just ache for her and the pain she's clearly already experienced. it also means that when eurydice gets more comfortable during the summer (during 'way down' and 'all i've ever known'), this sweetness just blooms out of her. her and noah have incredible chemistry, and she just turns into a little schoolgirl with a first crush during 'way down'. her 'wait for me (reprise)' is INCREDIBLE, such a powerful voice out of this small girl, and her 'flowers' is SO emotional. also just before the turn, she is like swinging along the set, as if she has so much trust in orpheus and is so excited to leave hadestown and spend the rest of her life with him, which just makes the turn 100x more painful.

christine anu is just the perfect choice for an australian hermes. she has a brilliant Aboriginal aunty vibe about her (we love seeing First Nations people in australian theatre!) - especially as some of the more spoken lines, she really leans into the aussie vowels (e.g. 'we're gonna sing it again' and 'don't come on too strong'). she's got an incredible voice & stage presence, and even though the way she holds herself onstage felt at times as if she perhaps has less musical theatre experience and more experience performing as a singer in her own right (i haven't looked at her resume), that seems to work pefectly for the narrator character, who straddles the fourth wall the entire show. it really has the vibe of her telling all of us a story around the campfire, and she really milked the beginning of 'road to hell (reprise)' for all it's worth. this hermes seems to LOVE telling this story, as painful it is - she's joyful & hopeful in her telling, it's much less of a tortured narrator and much more of a 'this is an important story to tell and it's a story of HOPE despite tragedy' type of vibe. her and elenoa's persephone are girl besties, and she has a real aunty type of love & care (like the aunty who you're not related to, but has always been there) for all the workers + orphy & eury (as noah & abi call them). she honestly feels like the oldest and most mature presence on the stage - older than hades & persephone (read on for my thoughts on a slightly younger-feeling seph & hades), and so able to tell this story from a more mature & knowledgeable position.

elenoa rokobaro's persephone is so much fun. she plays persephone a lot drunker (during 'our lady' and the other underworld scenes) than i'd seen before, which made her alcoholism a lot more obvious and powerful, especially the 'i've had enough' line in 'how long'. she feels a lot younger than amber gray's persephone, which i think makes her story a lot more powerful - almost like a younger sister to christine's hermes at times, and similarly, i felt more of a big sister vibe to eurydice rather than the aunty vibe which i get from amber gray's persephone. i think her overt drunkeness represents her take on the character well - she's a lot looser with her movements, less of the awkward jerkiness of amber's persephone and more of a free, all-encompassing movement (in my opinion). i loved it - her 'our lady' is so much fun, but also a lot more confronting (due to how clear her alcohol-induced numbness is covering up a pain). her and adrian seem almost playful during 'epic III - they danced', which i think contributed to the fun, younger vibe.

adrian tamburini's hades has a similarly younger vibe to him - almost sleazy but not quite (and by younger, i mean compared to patrick page, not to the rest of the characters - him and persephone are still clearly older than orpheus & eurydice). he gave real business ceo vibes at times. this hades really struck me with that insecurity leading to immaturity that every hades textually has, but the immaturity of his behaviour really comes out in adrian's choices. he seems really petty in the way he treats the workers & persephone while he's upset about her being away from him. also, his 'hey little songbird' is much more melodic than patrick page's, which is super powerful when you're used to the low growl, and is very alluring in a different way - a much more similar allure to orpheus'. his 'why we build the wall' and 'chant (reprise)' were SO powerful, though, a real power and anger present in that low voice. they were also slightly more explicit about the subtle sexual connotations of 'he closed the door behind' in 'why we build the wall' and 'the girl means nothing to me' in 'how long' which just made you the right amount of uneasy. i think overall, the younger vibe that adrian and elenoa both have leads to a real pettiness in their anger at each other and a real playfulness in their reunion (e.g. when he grows the flower in 'epic III'). they don't so much have that 'ancient' vibe that patrick & amber had, but i think it upholds the insecurity & immaturity in their actions rather than undermines it (which it absolutely could have if done wrong). i feel like instead of it saying 'here's this ancient couple who are failing at communicating and caring for each other in the way they should, an ancient couple who are still insecure and immature', they are an incredibly powerful couple who are still figuring out how to love each other, despite the length of their relationship and their ultimate power over the workers & the seasons.

conclusion: GO SEE THIS CAST. like i said at the top, these performances felt both new, as well as true to the text and to the original concepts for these characters. they didn't make a single choice that i felt undermined the characters or any other interpretation of them, and they all perfectly enhanced the themes & narrative of the story. by comparing this cast to the original broadway or to the west end casts, i feel like i just understand the chraracters and the text even more then i already did, bringing out new nuances or new ways of representing the same experiences within the same story. i'm going to see it again in april, so if i see these guys again (i would also love to see any of the swing's takes on the roles) then i might add to the post <3

professional photos of this cast: 1 | 2 b-roll: 1