#look i get to compare her to eurydice in hadestown because she worked with both patrick page and andré de shields /hj

[cerealbishh]

"You get to see her understanding of how things really are. And so that becomes much more present on the surface. (...) In this season, we get to see her fall deeper in love with him but also navigate those challenges. And also becoming an anchor for Rhett but also struggling with his decision, 'Is this what I want for my future as well, as much as I love this man?'." - Isa in an interview with The Knockturnal(x)

[tending-the-hearth]

why hadestown was literally one of the best shows i've ever seen

so i saw hadestown this past saturday for the first time ever and when i tell you i have never been so emotionally wrecked by a broadway show before

so i've compiled a little list of my favorite things from the show!!

act 1:

orpheus doing the stomping cues for the opening with hermes... that's his mom your honor!!!

"his mama was a friend of mine" THAT LINE WHEN LILLIAS WHITE VOICED CALLIOPE IN THE DISNEY HERCULES MOVIE I LOVE LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT LIKE ORPHEUS' MOM REALLY IS ONE OF HER FRIENDS

short king orpheus and tall wife eurydice supremacy

jordan fisher was SUCH a sweet and silly orpheus, like he was fully tripping over himself around eurydice the entire first act

LOVE the chorus so so much

eurydice being so cynical until she sees what orpheus can do and then immediately falling for him

they're the definition of "he fell first, she fell harder"

also during "wedding song", orpheus continues to reach out to eurydice, and then during "all i've ever known", the way she reaches out to him but it's so hesitant and awkward, but orpheus just beams and immediately holds onto her 😭

hades and persephone were playing dominoes up on their little balcony and they actually looked so in love until orpheus started the epic, such good bg character acting

lillias white and betty who said mama bears hermes and persephone supremacy!!!

persephone #1 wingwoman she wants these two idiots to get married immediately

the entirety of "way down hadestown" with eurydice and orpheus being giggly and in love!! they're so so oblivious and focused on each other, just the most innocent love

adding onto the fact that jordan is shorter than both solea and phillip the moment where he jumps between them at the end of the song was so silly

i really love the detail that orpheus stays on stage for "a gathering storm" and the rest of the act, he's so focused on his work and doesn't notice anything

i was worried "wait for me" wouldn't live up to the hype but OH MY GOD OH MY GODDDDDDDD

the little details between hades and persephone, with them shifting from how they were acting in the balcony to persephone barely being able to reach out to hades

act 2:

love that eurydice is naive like orpheus, but in a cynical way

holy SHIT solea my beloved "flowers" was actually godlike

what if i lost my mind at how gentle orpheus was when he found eurydice... what if...

the way eurydice drew back when hades told orpheus that she went with him willingly, like she was ready for him to be angry at her... the way he went right back to her and was checking to make sure she was okay

literally started sobbing during "if it's true", the way orpheus gets angry in a way we haven't seen, and the chorus + eurydice join with him

when the chorus removed their caps and became people again... i was a wreck for the rest of the act ngl

"epic 3" or as i like to call it the "hey look at how hard i can cry" song

orpheus comparing himself to hades, and it being so emotional because we see how innocent and happy he is, how he loves so much, and has so much hope, and seeing how hades had become, and knowing that without eurydice, that's how orpheus becomes, giving up on love and life until he's killed

HADES AND PERSEPHONE DANCING 😭😭 THEY WERE SO PLAYFUL AND HAPPY

jordan and solea were just... the most amazing orpheus and eurydice. they just had such sweet chemistry, and "wait for me" reprise with them reaching for each other UGH

the way you could hear orpheus quietly crying as hermes began to sing the "road to hell" reprise somebody sedate me

IT'S ABOUT SINGING THE SAD SONG AND CONTINUING TO HAVE HOPE THAT IT'LL TURN OUT HAPPY THIS TIME

the only reason i didn't completely decompose is because the knowledge that in the myth, when orpheus dies, hades gives orpheus and eurydice their memories back, and they get to be together, happily, in the underworld.

anyways if i had the money and it was possible i'd fully go see hadestown over and over and over again because it just was so beautiful and impactful plus i'm a sucker for good greek mythology retellings

[thebadchoicemachine]

SBI HadesTown AU That Lives In My head Rent Free

(in fact I probably pay it to live there)

Links at the end under the cut.

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Starring:

• Dream, George, and Sapnap as The Fates  • Philza as Hermes • Wilbur as Persephone  • Technoblade as Hades • Tommy as Eurydice

and

• Tubbo as Orpheus

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Changes to the story - 

Instead of spouses, Wilbur and Techno are estranged brothers.

Instead of lovers, Tommy and Tubbo are best friends.

The focus is still on restoring balance to the world but through familiar and platonic love instead of romantic. Also, the reason the world is so bad is a more social crisis (some people work too much while others can’t work at all) instead of a natural one (the seasons being wack.) 

It takes place during a seething summer drought rather than a frozen cropless winter but its still the same tune of spring/fall disappearing because the the world being out of tune. 

Character Changes -

+ Philza is an old god. He’s not weaker nor stronger than Wilbur/Techno, just fills up a very different role. He’s god of history, of legends, of simple stories and narration. He’s very human compared to most gods, some theorize perhaps he straight up IS human in some way shape or form. He lives a human life to meet people and collect their lives and stories and appreciate them. He can’t really interfere as more than a mortal man but still just tries to give as many happy endings as he can.

+ Tommy’s a scrappy lost child. His problem is similar to Eurydice but a little inverted. Rather than learning to trust people he needs to learn to value them. He’s no issue with interacting with people and enjoying their help/company but he’s a tendency to use them. He doesn’t believe they’ll stick around so he doesn’t bother caring about them.

+ Tubbo is also an abandoned child. Unlike Tommy he grew up in one spot, although still homeless. Philza found him camping in a crate box behind his station and gave him a job and a bed. He’s pretty much exactly like Orpheus, optimistic, sees the world for what it could be instead of what it is, but maybe spends a little too much time looking forward and not around.

+ Technoblade is basically the god of work and motivation. His problem is generally the same as Hades’ in that he misses his family and is too busy working and building security for what he wants to get what he wants. He misses his brother so much he’s hardend himself to the reasons they’re apart so much in the first place.

+ Wilbur is basically the god of play and rest. In this AU, instead of Hades, Persephone’s role is the biggest reason the world is out of wack. His problem is that he doesn’t face his problems. As the god of such frivolous things as music, games, rest, etc. he is (feels) weak and useless. He’s jealous of Techno and how needed he is so Wilbur retreats away to somewhere he feels needed and wanted, entertaining miserable people. He’s stayed away for longer and longer amounts of time, not realizing his distracting them from their troubles (inadvertently preventing them from fixing them) is a reason they’re so miserable in the first place. All he can do is have a good time so he’s begun forcing it every second of every day and ignoring his brother in the meantime. He needs to learn that he CAN do good, people NEED breaks and fun, but recklessly enforcing it only enforces what he fears, that he’s a liability. 

So, the main problem is a cycle the brothers have spiraled into:

Techno does obviously important things (stirring progress and improvement) and Wilbur feels bad, unimportant, and like a burden.

Wilbur leaves Techno to go distract himself/play with the humans.

Wilbur becomes useless and detrimental without Technoblade there to balance him out.

Techno works even harder, becoming empty and cold without Wilbur there to balance him out, trying to get enough work done so Wilbur won’t have to worry and will come back.

Wilbur sees Techno working so hard and shies away even more so as not to disturb his brother’s important work.

Technoblade has to basically force Wilbur to stay with him now, making it more work.

Wilbur sees Technoblade as both too important for him and now generally unappealing as unnecessary effort. Besides, he’d probably just get in the way.

Technoblade now sees Wilbur as just another part of his endless job. Keep people working, keep things improving, keep the numbers going up, try to keep Wilbur here. Its become work for the sake of work instead of work to the sake of rest.

So even when they’re together neither is relaxed enough to balance the other, both are distant.

Wilbur’s become too carefree, he ignores Technoblade and drops anything that seems challenging, including reconciliation and self-examination. He’s still just playing, even when with Technoblade.

Technoblade’s become too obsessed, focusing more on how to get and keep his brother with him than on being with his brother. The work has become meaningless without the end goal that Wilbur provides. A self sustaining cycle of labor for more labor’s sake.

Now the humans are suffering because they find themselves trapped in an unbalanced cycle of being either incapable of work or incapable of play.

Thematic notes:

- The dancers in the station during the first half are Skeppy, Antfrost, Bad, Eret, and Puffy. 

- The workers (the dancers in the second half) consist of Niki, Fundy, Quackity, Ranboo, and Awsam.

- Tommy is implied to vaguely know/be brotherly to Techno and Wilbur, this is partially how Techno convinces him to leave and go work for him. 

- Likewise, Philza has a few lines about feeling sorry about how Techno and WIlbur have ended up (implying he took some part in raising them) and already knows Tommy when he enters (implying he’s been a dad to helped Tommy out before.

- Technoblade is less malicious than Hades, more just cold and apathetic. In a way, he thinks he’s helping by pulling Tommy away from Tubbo. He, like Wilbur, believes that work is good so more work must be better, even if you’ve nothing to really work towards. At the end he listens to the fates because needs to figure out how to let Tommy go without undoing either all of Wilbur’s power or all of his. 

- Tubbo’s song has a bigger impact on fauna than floral, specifically insects. His first song brings out bees, butterflies, and moths that Tommy goes all star eyed for because pretty bugs but more importantly, living things that don’t want to hurt him!

- Instead of a flower Tommy gets a big beautiful orange moth (named Clementine) that hides in the back of his coat neck whenever Technoblade is near. He remembers in ‘Flowers’ when he goes to wipe some sweat from his neck but its Clementine and she flies around him while he sings. (I thought that’d be much prettier than him just holding her like Eurydice holds the flower.) 

- During ‘Living it Up On Top’ Wilbur dances specifically with Philza (who greets him very much like a father might greet a son who’s been away for a long time) and Tommy (who he teases and ruffles his hair a lot).

- Wilbur does drugs instead of alcohol. He... he makes a lot of drugs so I thought this would be an appropriate swap. Also it’s really funny to me that he sings Our Lady Of The Underground (or, Brother To The Underground) just completely stoned; handing out weed and shit to the workers.

- Instead of a mine Hadestown (Technotown? Technoville?) is a farm in a giant glass case built way up high. Instead of going through the dark that challenge is Tubbo has to climb up its side to avoid the train. Its an unnatural and unwelcoming greenhouse. Everything grows in lines but they’re mismatched and overrun with thorny weeds. Everything is grey and tough and flavorless. There’s so much dust and dirt being kicked up it’s hard to breathe and see. The workers are using various gardening tools during the beats instead of swinging a pickaxe. Half will sharpen while the other half swings (tilling the ground/cutting weeds), it makes a real nice schwing/thunk mix sound. 

- During ‘Word To The Wise’ George sings (“if you tell them no you’re a heartless man”) Sapnap sings (“if you let ‘em go you’re a spineless king”) and Dream sings (”here’s a little tip”) and (“men are fools, men are frail”)

- Tubbo still looks back during ‘Doubt Comes In’ because he's scared of Techno and feels bad about himself (“Who am I? Who am I to think that he would follow me into the blazing heat again”). Techno, Wilbur, and Philza try their best to take care of them but it’s still a tragic ending. 

- Tommy and Tubbo may or may not become (very sad and minor) gods. Unofficially and not in the story, but still... maybe. If they WERE, hypothetically,  they’d be a very tragic pair. Tubbo would help mend relationships and guid people towards good advice while Tommy would help catch/ignore/cut out bad ones. Always working together, never together. 

Lyrical Changes 

> Pronouns are changed, obviously.

> Techno and Wilbur sing “brother” instead of “lover.”

> During ‘The Wedding Song’ (The Friendship Song, I do not care if it’s childish, Wedding is replaced with Friendship) They sing each other’s names instead of “lover.” (Tubbo, tell me if you can...////Tommy, when I sing my song...)

> Anytime they’re complaining about the cold winter replace it with a hot summer

> Tommy’s lines are much sharper. He never loses his edge with Tubbo. Instead of him remembering him and going “my best friend, Tubbo” he remembers and says something more along the lines of “that fucking idiot, Tubbo” but he’s say it with a quivering smile and bittersweet tears in his eyes. Harsh in words not in tone. 

> Wilbur still pours a glass for a toast during ‘Living It Up On Top’ but the rest of the time he’s smoking something instead of drinking. (Who gives breaks when the work is hard?//That's right, Wilbur Soot!//Who makes the music? Who’s your bard?//(Wilbur Soot!)//Thank you//Who makes a rough life fun again, in spite of a pig//(You do!)//Who’s the most awaited gig? Eh? Wilbur Soot, that’s who!)

> When Wilbur shows up during ‘Chant’ he complains about how cold and dark it is. (Colder than a tundra) Techno explains it away as having set up shades/coolers to counter the glare from the sun through greenhouse glass and how he did it to protect/comfort Wilbur. (Brother when you feel that chill, it’s my protection from the kill, its my protection that i’ve built for you.)

> In the Chant Reprise the workers are singing about why they’re working if they can never enjoy the security and safety they keep making. Technoblade, instead of telling him to buy Tommy’s love, tells him to make himself needed. He, instead of warning Tubbo about Tommy leaving, scolds Tubbo for being too light and fluffy and spinelessly letting Tommy go. He scolds him for trying to take Tommy away, back into uselessness and empty fluff, when he’s found a good purpose because clearly Tubbo wasn’t point enough. 

> Philza’s still the narrator, but diegetically his lyrics show more clearly that he knows everyone in the story already. I really like the idea of him giving Tubbo advice on making friends that gets shown in ‘Come Home With Me’

> When Tubbo sings about Techno, instead of singing about minework, he’ll sing things like ((from the second stanza of Epic II) “Technoblade, king//of power and pain//of a hard days work//that never ends//and for half of the year when Wilbur’s away//the strain and the stress just won’t give way//he thinks of his brother, light and carefree//and is taken in a rage of obligation and need//to ensure wants are met and safe//so there will be time for play//so his bother//his brother comes home) 

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This post all started because I was thinking of Tubbo singing the “La lala laaa” that was originally Wilbur’s song. 

Also, I realize this entire AU is just one big punch in the gut to Philza, like, “HEY, ALL YOUR SONS ARE SCREWED UP, NOW SING ABOUT IT.”

[itskyleeyo]

hadestown brain dump (songs)

SPOILERS FOR HADESTOWN/THE STORY OF ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE

ok so it may have been more than a few days, but what're you gonna do about it?

so i wanted to do another brain dump, and i wanted to listen to hadestown, so i'm doing a song by song brain dump as i go along. this means that my thoughts are going to be even more stream-of-consciousness style (if that's even possible.) also i'm talking specifically about the original broadway cast recording bc i haven't listened to any other version. (also this was completed across multiple months so it is even more chaotic lmao).

also i highly recommend that you listen to the musical and/or pull up the lyrics as you go along! enjoy!

road to hell. the way andre brings in the chorus is flawless please. also the way that hermes is both a narrator and a character in the story he's narrating? beautiful. "the king of the mine." he sounds so nice here for some reason. also love his self-introduction "maybe it will turn out this time" no it won't but thank you for trying. also breaking the fourth wall to acknowledge the chorus and crew is so nice, here comes reeve ;) mans sounds like an angel. you can hear amber's voice stick out of the chorus and i literally love it so much. i'd die for amber gray but we'll get to that later.

any way the wind blows. the fates literally sound so perfect together. Eva's intro throws me off every time, she sounds so pretty. dear god the harmonies with the fates hit so different. can this cast please narrate my life? there's the wind comparisons ;D the "ooos" are so good. "and it ain't because i'm kind" idk i just like how andre sounds here. oh and the funny behind "so i took him underneath my wing" because hermes has wings on his helmet and shoes.

come home with me. orpheus is so oblivious but i love it. also eurydice is literally such a mood. the wordplay with "come again". the "oh, he's crazy" is my favorite part of the whole song. also eva's voice acting is so good.

wedding song. the way she says "lover"? my ass cannot handle this. eva sounds so smug in the beginning of this song and i love it. "sing the song ;)" eurydice is so fantastic. the chorus of "la" is so pretty. eva joining in during the end is just. so perfect.

epic i. hell yeah introduce the king and queen (both literally and figuratively). reeve's falsetto <3 the way orpheus looks to hermes for approval throughout the musical. hermes narrating over orpheus singing.

livin' it up on top. HELL YES THE QUEEN HAS ARRIVED. i love amber gray so much. the gravel and the rasp. please step on me. also i love the idea of persephone being the wine aunt, especially because media usually portrays her as soft and breakable. the way she says "haaard". the way the music gets more upbeat and energetic when hermes says "the world came back to liiife!" the instrumental/dance? break is so good. please kill me with that trumpet good sir. the leadup to when amber starts singing again. orpheus really knows how to give a speech. "i will ;)" amber please step on me i am not joking.

all i've ever known (intro). thank you for the intro king. the music is so pretty. the way it picks up with the piano part <3

all i've ever known. eva sounds so pretty dear god. yay more wind references! the wordplay with "hold". and also the references to hot and cold throughout the musical. "i don't wanna ever have to let you go." lol ironic because she ends up going with hades. "i knew you before we met, and i don't even know you yet." the fucking wordplay. like holy shit. the "love at first sight" feelings. this line gets me every damn time. the wordplay from 2:10 - 2:38 is so fucking incredible. i lose it every time istg. the instrumental portion is so pretty. the wind! "we'll always be like this" i fucking love irony so much. its so underrated and adds so many layers to the story.

way down hadestown. amber gray. that's it. "you either get to hell or to hadestown, ain't no difference anymore". i fucking love this line so much. not really sure why but the delivery is perfect. also the whole thing with it being a train? i love that so much. all the allusions and comparisons they can make are fantastic. more amber gray appreciation. and ofc. the fates. more fantastic instrumental breaks. "and you better forget about your wishing well." this line is so good but so sad because its literally persephone saying that "hey, fair warning, life is shit down there" and i feel bad for her. like the way she's super sassy and shit, but just stops singing when hades gets there, you can tell that she's definitely not ok. speaking of hades, holy shit patrick page. sounds so fucking fantastic. thank you for existing good sir. eva with the breathtaking single lines. and eva's voice standing out when she sings "ground".

a gathering storm. the constant references to weather and nature throughout the whole musical. eurydice with the common sense. the wind again! "did you hear me, orpheus?" he did not, in fact, hear her.

epic ii. the different names for hades in each epic make me so happy. hades thoughts: "i think my wife might not come back cause i'm super controlling. whatever shall i do? oh, i know! be even more controlling!" lmao dumbass motherfucker. that might not work out so well. i fucking love the transition into "chant" so much.

chant. this is one of my favorite songs from the musical. the wordplay within the entire song is so fucking fantastic. hades singing about desire and then orpheus singing the "song of love" was definitely done on purpose and i'm living for it. every single one of eva's lines make me emotional. ma'am why are you good at everything?? the band! more weather references! patrick page singing "lover" hits different. orpheus singing about hades and persephone being blind and deaf. lmao irony because he's not paying attention to anything around him. the wind! weather! "the song of love" is what brought orpheus and eurydice together, but orpheus' devotion to finishing it is what drives eurydice to hades. "did you think i'd be impressed" i was right ;) it didn't work out so well.

hey, little songbird. the strings <3 patrick page is a god (lol i'm so funny). how does he manage to make manipulation sound so good? bird references! the vocal contrast! eva's voice has this kind of "innocence" to it. especially compared to patrick. not sure if that's on purpose or not, but i love it. also the low note kills me every time. the octave jumps between patrick and eva's voices is just. ugh. and also eva's entire second verse is so fucking good. the emotion she portrays in her voice is so spectacular. seriously hades with the manipulation is so interesting and its so good. (manipulation is not a good thing i just mean that its done so well in the show. do not manipulate people!)

when the chips are down (intro). "your ticket ;)" yes pls sir i'll take a ticket cause life sucks ass.

when the chips are down. i fucking love the fates dear god. gambling references! eva has literally one line and still owns my heart. the band! "shoot to kill" sounds so good like i love it so much pls. also this fucking line "cast your eyes to heaven, you get a knife in the back" is so good. i'm gonna have to get into quite a few lines throughout the musical in a different brain dump because i have so much thought.

gone, i'm gone. darling eurydice. its not your fault that you're starving stop apologizing. "talk of sin" lol she do be going to hell. that's funny. the harmonies.

wait for me (intro). the piano. heremes trying to change the subject hurts my heart. and orpheus' reaction is so sad please. "no.." just rip my fucking heart out, why don't you?

wait for me. the transition. andre coming in clutch with the narration. reeve sounds wonderful, as always. the fucking fates. just kill me already. they literally sound so good. the strings' build up between the "la"s. the chorus. the buildup at the end.

why we build the wall. the total 180 in the vibes. call and response has a special pace in my heart. mr page killing it again. god, hades is such a piece of shit and its perfect. he really is a master manipulator. fuck capitalism. the chorus sounds so good. i want to platonically smooch all of them. jesus fucking christ burn capitalism to the ground. the end is amazing. also the not-so-subtle references to slavery/forced labor.

why we build the wall (outro). i'd die for andre. "anybody want a drink?" yes ma'am. yes please. (don't drink, kids) i love you so much.

our lady of the underground. its so jazzy! jesus fucking christ. oh my fucking god. i would literally sell my soul for amber gray. what did we ever do to deserve her? god the raspiness fucking kills me. also love that she breaks the fourth wall to acknowledge the band. when she comes back in after the instrumental break? consider me dead. "what the boss don't know, the boss won't mind" she sounds so good here. also i love that she straight up doesn't give a fuck about hades here.

way down hadestown (reprise). hell yeah i love reprises. the fates. andre. the chorus. i love them all. i'm such a whore for reoccurring lyrics. the strings! fuck capitalism! eva's emotions are just so fucking good. "you've already forgot?" holy shit. this shit hurted. the "ahh ooh"s are so good.

flowers. the intro <3. eva sounds so pretty. the fucking symbolism in this song is incredible. i'm gonna get into this in another brain dump bc it's a very sensitive topic. the fact that she can't actually fully remember orpheus makes me so sad. so pretty <3

come home with me (reprise). hell yeah another reprise. the way the music is much more upbeat when orpheus shows up. their excitement! eva's vocal emotions are literally so fantastic pls.

papers (intro). "young mannn" kill me patrick. train references! hell yeah persephone. the way andre gets louder when he says "raised up his voice." eva <3. reeve just always sounds so pretty. ohmygod the laugh. kill me good sir. mans straight up admits to owning people and is like "it's cool tho cause they signed a piece of paper. def not taking advantage of people that are literally starving or anything. it's fine." fuck you hades. go step on a fucking lego. orpheus is so sad :(

papers (instrumental). yes. sounds so good. i'm imagining an epic chase scene. the transition into nothing changes <3

nothing changes. respectfully? the fates could kill me any day and i'd thank them. the weather reference! that "anyhow" is so fucking good istg.

if it's true. another one of my favorites. pop off intro. the broken "is this how the world is?" sadly, yes. "but everybody knows that walls have ears." is literally such a powerful line to me for some reason. it does a great job of bringing in the chorus. and by calling the workers "walls" it shows that hades views them as "less than." they aren't even referred to as people. "what's the use of his backbone if he never stands upright." oh my god. because they literally cannot stand upright. anais mitchell is literally a fucking genius. fuck the 1%. gambling references! the chorus backing him is just so pretty. the way orpheus looks to the chorus for advice and support. "we're standing." ugh its so good.

how long. oh my fucking god. amber fucking gray. (that's it, that's the post). the way she sounds resigned/disappointed when she says "i've had enough" makes me so sad. there are no words to describe how i feel about 0:25 - 0:41. like their relationship is strained, and super mega fucked up, but it's obvious that they still care about one another. the emotion in their voices throughout this song is fantastic. the play on light and dark. also more bird references! how they view themselves/their self importance. hades is a most importantly king. persephone is most importantly a wife. it really show that hades views power as more important than anything else. "nothing comes of the songs people sing." holy fucking shit. cause their song is the "song of love," but they can barely stand each other and their relationship has fallen apart. persephone commenting on his love of power over his love of her. amber's voice during "the earth must die" is so nice and for what? god i love her. they sound so nice together <3

chant (reprise). another favorite hehe. the strings! it's all just so pretty. when the piano comes in i die a little. the self realization coming from the chorus when they're like "oh shit, this is wrong. i don't deserve to be treated like this." is so fucking fantastic. the "young mannn" again! hades really be like "manipulate her! make her depend on you financially! i've been ding this a while kid! i know how to successfully control women!" reeve sounds so pretty pls. the way that eurydice has basically become part of the chorus (since she's just another worker now). more self realization! the different ways that hades and orpheus view the "song of love." "sing before i kill you so i can use it to manipulate my wife and make her feel like shit." patrick's voice tho.

epic iii. reeve coming in with that falsetto like nobody's business. orpheus really about to bite you in the ass with your own damn song. amber gray <3. the "ooo"s in the background. the way the music picks up when reeve gets to the "la"s. it's just so fucking good. that falsetto again. orpheus really looked at the king of hell, a literal god, and said "i want to ruin him psychologically" and it fucking worked. which is some of my favorite irony because hades wouldn't have shit if it weren't for that fact that he's a good manipulator and takes advantage of the needy. that last line <3

epic iii (instrumental). i have no words for how fucking beautiful this is. i so desperately want an extended version. like for real love this so much. if i get married, i want this to be the song for the first dance.

promises. eurydice is so proud of him for finishing. the way that eurydice realized that she cares about him more that material objects. wind and weather references! "if we can do it so can they!" she sounds so excited. :( "hand-in-hand" lol nope. not them refencing wedding song, anyway the wind blows, and then giving their "i do"s. absolutely heart wrenching.

word to the wise. the fates. pls step on me ladies. the lyrics throughout this are so fucking good. lol hades being damned. cause he's the king of hell. honestly its solid advice tho. humans are really fucking stupid.

his kiss, the riot. give us them adjectives king. " how dare people want rights! >:(" hades is really trying to make himself the good guy rn. the music! 2:15 - 3:03 is so good pls. the lyrics are just so spectacular.

wait for me (reprise) (intro). hello again andre! hermes literally says "he's trying to psych you out and manipulate you. he wants you to doubt everything" and orpheus says "are you sure tho?" and then procedes to doubt everything. the way the music changes is <3. the song transition.

wait for me (reprise). my absolute fucking favorite song in this musical. the first fucking lyric is so good. it really sets an expectation for the song and i am not disappointed. lyrics that talk about how fucked up any single person's brain is are so fucking cool to me. god i love this song. how soft the first set of "wait for me"s are. the support/pressure from the chorus. the entire exchange between hades and persephone. the way amber's voice sticks out of the chorus. the fates coming in clutch again. train references! more brain talk! amber gray please end me. eva sounds so pretty. and the final note is so good!

doubt comes in. the long intro that builds up suspense. the first time that orpheus's "la"s aren't echoed by the chorus/music. wind! weather! the fates sound so pretty like always. reeve genuinely sounds so scared. the way the music picks up and the chorus joins in when eurydice starts singing. the music is so unsettling and i love it. god i love his voice. 3:44 - 3:57 always hits so different. you realize just how much she means to him. how it all goes to shit when the music reaches the climax. the fact that the music clashes on purpose. the sadness in their voices.

road to hell (reprise). it all comes full circle. god andre sounds so sad. the way you come to really hear the lyrics because there's no upbeat music to distract you this time, "its a tragedy" lol because the actual written story is a tragedy. "i learned that from a friend of mine" poor orpheus :(. the way the chorus slowly joins in and the music slowly picks up. the "can you feel it" is literally so fucking powerful. fuck yes amber. fuck it up queen. amber and eva sound so nice together. the "its a love song, its a sad song" is so sad. the final lyric is just. ugh.

we raise our cups. yes pls amber. this song is so pretty. good night queen.

[equalseleventhirds]

if you want to talk about hades town you can do so on this because i am very much interested in your thoughts about it!

fdsfjdskfds oh anon i am at Work and when i get out of work i will be Homework but......... listen. listen.

(ok a lot of this i’ve already rambled abt in my hadestown tag but. BUT). i got into hadestown pre-broadway, which means i listened to the original cast recording from 2017 a BUNCH. and while i adore both version, there were... changes. which i feel did orpheus a disservice, and the overarching plot a disservice, but in some ways treated eurydice better by filling her out more and making her more of a revolutionary. 

anyway, i defos don’t have time for a full song-by-song comparison, and also some of the songs available for the broadway version never made it onto the release of the 2017 version, not bcos they weren’t in the show, just bcos.... idk they weren’t released? weren’t recorded? i do not pretend to know the inner workings of the music industry.

BUT of note: the major changes to epic ii. in the original, orpheus was mocking of hades (’king of a kingdom of dirt’ yo), while in the broadway version, orpheus is just singing abt hades and persephone’s history. epic iii also removes that like, ‘a king who loves everythign like a hammer loves the nail’ and ‘he comes down heavy and hard on us’, so it’s MUCH less about the workers’ resentment of hades and just. about hades and persephone.

btw fuckin miss me with that narrative abt orpheus solving global warming by reminding the ruling class that they’re in love with each other? like, i’m sure that’s more appealing to ur standard can-afford-broadway audience, and as a LOVE story it’s cool, but. just not a good lesson actually. 

also ‘living it up on top’ completely cuts out his ‘why would a man of his own free will go to work all day in the mine and the mill’ which is, y’know, callous when considering the people (like, later, eurydice) driven to work for hades, but is TARGETED at hades, who for real does not NEED to work the way he does. miss that....

we also, throughout the broadway version, get a LOT of hermes speaking for orpheus. in the original, ‘come home with me’ is orpheus convincing eurydice, while the broadway version has hermes telling her that orpheus will make her feel alive. ‘living it up on top’ also changes from persephone speaking directly to orpheus and letting him take up the ‘bless this round’ bit, to having hermes volunteer him. blah blah ‘under my wing’ blah, but having a god (again, member of the ruling class, even if this one’s helpful) speak for him? when we have a version where he speaks for himself? come ON. i am not a fan of orpheus being made helpless! let him make his decisions! let his voice be one of persuasion even BEFORE he goes to the underworld!

(this also ties into my personal take that as a demigod, the son of a muse--and you know how those muses are--orpheus’ carelessness is what originally loses him eurydice. he does not care about eating through the winter, he’s never had to worry about that bcos hermes looks after him, while eurydice has had a harsh life and knows they DO need to worry. art is all well and good, but it is also important to care for the people in your life. it’s later, when orpheus loses eurydice and must venture into the harshness of the underworld, meets the workers/the wall and has to find SOLIDARITY with them in order to stand up to hades, that he finally recognizes the value of working with others to create a better life for all. in this essay i)

i also rly miss the original ‘promises’ bcos like, while orpheus & eurydice as always-in-love is sweet, i really enjoyed the fighty version where they are both resentful & angry abt broken promises, and both acknowledge that what they originally claimed to want from the other & give to one another was both unrealistic and not what they actually wanted, eventually coming to a conclusion that was more based on reality. like. communication resulting in a healthier relationship after dealing with unrealistic expectations.... we stan.

now that i’ve gone over how i think the original was better, i did still LIKE the broadway version, and there were some improvements! most notable, eurydice’s stronger role as like, an active revolutionary (or attempted one, anyway) rather than a more passive rescue.

i genuinely adored the change of ‘anyway the wind blows’ from an intro song by the fates to eurydice singing (with the fates backing her up/singing in her ear), bcos it sets up eurydice as an average sufferer of the world the gods made, and lets us hear it in her voice, her experience, and her opinions. she is the one to say weather ain’t the way it was before--and when we later get persephone telling us ‘some might say the weather ain’t the way it used to be’, she’s dismissing eurydice’s suffering (and the suffering of all humans), bcos she’s more concerned with her own issues with hades than with how she’s impacted the world.

(also the changes made had some Interesting Implications abt persephone’s complicity in that whole ‘keep your head low’ thing, that i think is p cool, actually? like afaik the 2017 version didn’t have ‘no spring/no fall’ going on, so the fact that the broadway one DOES and yet keeps her having spring flowers & autumn leaves only to the ppl in the underworld when she arrives.... inch resting. something something the ruling class provides ‘charity’ of resources people should already have as a reward for ‘good behavior’ something.)

eurydice at the beginning is isolated. she falls in love with orpheus and decides to stay with him, but even them being together does not mean he understands her, or values the same things she does. this is evident in both versions, but in the broadway version, when eurydice goes to the underworld, she does something interesting; she tries to introduce herself to the other workers. now, i never saw the 2017 version in full, only heard the album, but in the album she signs the papers and is rejoicing that she’s ‘free’ and has to be told that she isn’t. she doesn’t really speak to the other workers, beyond this exchange about ‘freedom’. in the broadway version, she’s dejected--she did what she had to do. she knows that’s what the other workers did. and she goes to talk to them about it, bcos in spite of where they are, she wants to create a connection with her fellow workers (building solidarity! my girl!!) (also interesting: at the start of the show. she’s alone. she’s always been alone. she sings about how people always turn on you and she’s better off alone before she meets orpheus, but even after she has to leave him, she tries to make a connection with other people. oh...... character development, we love it.) she doesn’t SUCCEED, but she TRIES. which may be important in why they choose to follow HER later.

now we come to chant (reprise), wait for me (reprise), and doubt comes in, the BEST revolutionary eurydice songs in the ENTIRE show. in the 2017 version these were mostly orpheus-focused (and altho i miss the ‘he said he’s shelter us/he said he’d harbor me’ parallels from the 2017 version of chant ii, the company singing with eurydice & orpheus about ‘if i raise my voice, if i raise my head’ fucks SO HARD). eurydice sings with the workers as they’re revolting, and when they walk out of hadestown, the workers follow her. (they don’t follow orpheus, even tho that’s who eurydice is following; ‘if she can do it so can we’. she’s one of them. she’s the one they’re following. can you BELIEVE). eurydice also gets to echo (louder, stronger, and using our instead of my) orpheus’s fantastic fucking ‘i hear the walls repeating the falling of my feet and it sounds like drumming’ bit, with the workers giving her backup. god. so fucking good.

and then, again, i never saw the 2017 version, but ‘doubt comes in’ in that one is still melancholy even on eurydice’s parts; she’s hopeful, but she’s alone, entirely relying on orpheus to lead her. i did get to see the broadway version (and bro.... the production value on that.... the LIGHTS first of all, the LIGHTING, and this song in particular? all dark when orpheus sings so you can’t see eurydice, and then cut to eurydice in lights with the workers following? MY DUDE.) and eurydice’s bits in this song are triumphant. she is sure they will get out, she is dancing and turning back to the workers as she sings she is right behind him (they sing back: we are right behind you). she is following him and sure of him, and she is with the workers and they are with her.

which is part of why ‘sing it again’ does so little for me, actually? like, orpheus had his chance, and he fucked it up, and yes it’s a beautiful story and we want to think he’d do it right, but this is nothing like the end, and singing it again leaves no way to move forward. eurydice led the workers! she gave them her name, she made them care, she was their beacon of hope and what they could become (compare to their previous beacon of hope, persephone, who shows up once a year and sells them remnants of their former lives and does not try to lead them out bcos she’s too caught up in her own anger). eurydice did not make it out with orpheus, but i HAVE to imagine that she and the workers got that taste of freedom, that taste of memory, that taste of solidarity, and would not just forget it again. it becomes more than a love story, it becomes about eurydice’s position of solidarity with the other mortals (something orpheus almost gets, but fails due to insecurity and inexperience and being the outside-savior rather than one of them). and obvs that doesn’t work with the original orpheus and eurydice myth, but listen...... let them bother hades after the end. let them fucking unionize. pls it would be so GOOD i am just! i am just!!

[ghostlypawn]

okay im gonna type up my hadestown costume ideas bc why the heck not hope u enjoy x feel free to share yours/add on if you want.

note: in my production orpheus is female for Reasons (also hades could also be a girl i dont think it rly matter for what i suggest)

overall my vibes are more ~fantasy~ but still grounded in reality ??

Hades: honestly the vibes from the bway costume are great love it and the suit. especially the wall tattoo im stealing that. i do however want more red incorporated for like,, colour analysis reasons bc im a whore for colours that have meaning. have some photos for an idea (the last is my fave i think):

also with that i found this walking stick thing that feels quintessential hades so here that too (along with a cape that i think he should wear during his entrance bc parallels later ig?

overall: similar to the bway costume but more fantastical in a vampirey way?

Persephone: okay for the most part i was just seeing pretty dresses with florals and sticking them in her board. but they all have the same vibe which i still think i would like. also her colour is still green (complimentary colour to red). have some pictures:

and then at some point i got a GREAT idea. but i dont know how to implement it exactly yet. okay so similar to how broadway has a green and then black costume for the different acts; in the first act her skirt is more ballgown-y and poofy which should resemble flower petals in bloom (possibly more structured so its obvious unlike the more flowy dresses i showed although i think the ideas would still be seen with the skirts above) and then in act 2 the dress is much more slim-fitting against her body so it looks like the flower petals have wilted and are clinging to her body?? does that make sense?? i love it anyway.

overall: more fairy-queen whimsical vibes than broadway and a lot more emphasis on floral details.

Orpheus: okay i dont know why but i get major farmery/cottagecore vibes from orpheus like they just wanna vibe to music and forget about the real world?? so naturally i wanted to get those vibes. i wanted it to have similar vibes to bway with the white shirt and suspender type look so heres some pictures i found:

orpheus’ colour is that ochre yellow (similar colour family to persephone -> shared values). i liked the idea of the apron too (same as bway) but yknow,, cuter. i also wanted more details on the shirt so i liked the flowery embroidery details (on both the shirt and shoes) to really tie orpheus to the overworld. i did however want orpheus to have a cape when they go into the underworld bc i feel like thats what all fantasy adventurers do when they ~adventure~. so i was looking at capes until i found one that i think went with what i imagined for the dress.

the first cape is what i originally imagined but thought that it was almost too big and thick for orpheus so then i found the one on the right which i LOVE as its shorter and lighter and goes better with the dress underneath which is similar to the ones i showed at the beginning. (also there could be some analysis between hades and orpheus about how hades’ cloak covers his whole body as if hes hiding himself whilst orpheus’ still makes them look vulnerable especially as they both wear the cloak in the world theyre not familiar with.)

bonus costumes: the guitar!! i found some rly cute guitars which i love the idea of orpheus having a doodled guitar especially with motifs found within the show: 

pretty tree/floral/naturey designs !! you get what im putting down.

overall: cottagecore orpheus is what we deserve

Eurydice: okay eurydice was hardest all i knew is that her colour would be a dark purple (complimentary to yellow and similar to red). at first i was think more london eurydice with jeans or overalls because i knew i wanted her in trousers. but i thought this made her look too pedestrian in compared to the others (idk mayb that would work considering theyre gods and shes,, not?) i didnt entirely like it so went to the fantasy drawing board and found these (but pretend theyre shades of purple): 

i like that they like theyre made out of materials found on hand and just thrown together for warmth but they also look agile as hell which is good for eurydice imo as i see her as a lil pickpocket just tryna get by. so something similar to this. i think i would keep the act 2 worker outfit pretty much the same, especially if we remove any hints of colours (espc purple) to remove any identity similar to what bway does already.

also bonus accessories:

still boot wearing but more steampunky? possibly still with some natural elements but more about the moon/sun rather than flowers, i cant quite explain but to me they give of different meanings?? idk. also the CUTEST pouch that resembles a flower which would be the only thing resembling a flower. like she would associated orpheus with the flower but she also has this other association between money and a flower so its like theyre her two major conflicts and theyre assoicated with the flower idk man i think u understand what im getting at.

overall: steampunk/fantasy thief vibes

bonus prop for hermes simply because i love it and want you to see it:

flower/leaf umbrellas !! yknow like in way down?? its cute thats all (dont think they close tho but we can work it out its not as if im actually making them.

thank you for reading my accumulated thoughts and feelings if u got to the end i hope you enjoyed/liked my ideas n opened ur brain to endless potentials with this show. once again feel free to tell me anything u liked/would change/a whole new outlook wherever !! its interesting to see people think creatively !! i love it !!

(also as for set i feel like everyone now on my blog knows im an advocate of a great comet-esque interactive set where the set IS hermes bar/speakeasy thing)

[hollywoodx4]

You all asked for another set of my trash human Hadestown hot takes so.....

I think maybe I should just start from the beginning and go from there, and sprinkle some details in when I think about them. And since you’ve mentioned before that detail is a good thing, I’m going to try really hard to articulate the 500 versions of “I can’t” and “She did that” and “UM” and “GIRL” Also as always, I apologize, but this is honestly a lot of Eva and Reeve heavy content. I love all of the cast, they are all so phenomenally talented and wonderful, but as usual my mind has chosen to hyper-focus on two things so this is what it is.)

(So. I’m thankful for this platform because before my notes were ALL “Um” and “Girl” and now you guys are motivating me to actually write what I’ve been thinking about non-stop all day on my one hour of sleep. So. Thank you! I went about labeling every song-and I actually end up having thoughts for every one, because I went back and listened through and wrote down what I could remember/the things I thought were relevant for the people that won’t be able to see it outside of the boot that literally everyone but me has at this point).

This is only act I. This is a loooooong hot take. This is a lot of Eva and Reeve specific commentary. This is just a lot of commentary. I think it’d be cool/beneficial/whatever to listen as you read? LOL thanks for coming to my actual, legitimate 5 page essay on Act I.

So. My overarching thought of the night (and, actually, I think I mentioned this when I was there two weeks ago too) is that Eva has been playing an incredibly soft Eurydice lately. Compared to when I was there for previews in April, or even back in August, it seems like each time I’ve gone back she just gets softer and softer, and it’s made me so incredibly happy to see her characterization grow. I do see Eurydice as someone who has been through a lot, and does have that tougher skin, and I think that Eva does a fantastic job in representing that in Any Way the Wind Blows. She keeps her voice strong and consistent, and has this look on her face that’s a cross between worry, wavering confidence, and just this tough shell of a girl who’s trying not to look like she’s given up. And this works so incredibly well when she meets Orpheus. Because I’m telling you, the flip in her demeanor happens in the most noticeably beautiful way during Wedding Song. But first, let’s talk about the fact that I’m not sure who decided that it’d be a good idea that Eva play with fire during this song, and aesthetically it’s just such a MOMENT to see Eurydice looking bored, head down on her arms on the table, eyes wide and uninterested/exhausted/hungry as she runs each of her fingers through the flame (and, at times, pauses to inspect the finger she’s just put into the fire, rub it against another finger or the table, and then begin her game again) I don’t know why this has become one of my favorite things about the staging but? I imagine this being something Eurydice just does sometimes to keep herself from thinking about how hungry she is, and it becomes a habit so that in the iteration where they both make it out of Hadestown and live happily ever after Eurydice just does this one time and makes poor Orpheus jump out of his skin worried that she’s somehow going to send herself back down by doing this. Because they still are walking on eggshells about the fact that they made it out and here she is playing with fire, LITERALLY. Okay, moving on....

So. What I like about Wedding Song live is that her speaking voice just. It’s a bit higher, softer. She still carries the teasing tone, but there’s just this incredulous lift in “is he always like this?” and a lot of laughter in “Oooh, he’s crazy.” and Reeve plays Orpheus so sweet and innocent that you can’t help but feel bad for this bumbling idiot stumbling over himself at this beautiful girl sitting there looking completely cool and collected. But. There’s a beautiful thing about the composition and balance Eva is able to maintain in that you can see that Eurydice is openly intrigued, but keeps herself guarded in a playful sort of way. Almost like she can’t keep herself guarded and wants to let her guard down. Her smile kills me over and over again during this scene. Again, Eva’s Eurydice has turned into quite the small, beautiful romantic and I just am so in love with everything that she has subtly changed and morphed, the girl is an absolute QUEEN.

Also, I can’t go any further without saying a big THANKS to Eva for making me cry the SECOND I heard her start to sing Any Way the Wind Blows and just continue that train all night long. What a fucking night.

Okay, so my favorite thing about Epic I is the sheer power that small boy Orpheus has in singing his la laas for the first time. I remember distinctly having the most goosebumps the first time I witnessed this back in April, and every single time it just. Leaves me breathless. And I think now that it’s been a few times, the goosebumps come from knowing how significant this melody will be throughout the show. But Reeve’s facial expressions as he sings them? Make you believe that la is the most important syllable in the dictionary. He closes his eyes and just feels the music and plays his guitar and he is just so phenomenally talented that WOW. Also my favorite small part of this song is that during my favorite line “with them the cycle of the seed and the sickle, etc.” he spins in circles while playing and singing and just. It’s the smallest amount of choreography that feels the most necessary, as if it’s Orpheus becoming so enraptured with the music that he has to move! And it’s in the middle of the tables that are in the “bar,” with the workers and Eurydice looking on and watching him tell this tale. It all feels so incredibly genuine-it makes you believe that Orpheus singing to the workers is something they’ve witnessed, almost something they look forward to when they come to the bar. I think it has to do with the fact that they’re all just watching him, intrigued but also settled in? As if this is routine, this is comfort, his songs are meant for them and for this little community he has. Even when he plays the first note of the Epic they’ve settled in and are sitting up watching him and listening intently. It gives his character a lot of soft power and dynamic without having to say anything, establishing him as an integral part of this life without so much as a word.

Uhhh Living it Up On Top is just my most favorite feel-good bop. Why? Because of the ensamble. Watching them dance is a blessing. It honestly feels like watching a fucking family reunion freestyle dance party every single time. You can physically see and feel how close this cast is; they make faces at each other, they laugh, and also this instrumental break included the Eva Noblezada booty drop which is EVERYTHING. And she also did a full leg extension kick this time which. Girl. Save some talent and cuteness for everyone else. I also find it extremely appropriate that during all of this kickass dancing and partying our boy Orpheus in all of his gangly, limbly qualities can be found sort of flitting around the stage, taking Persephone’s coat, then Eurydice’s, then putting things away and moving around giving out the cups to toast- like. It’s lowkey established in this scene that he’s 10/10 not the cool and effortless one in this relationship and is the cute small boy child. And I don’t know if that’s because I think that Eva’s really cool and charismatic and Reeve is a bit more shy in a crowd situation, but that’s 100% how this comes off to me/how I perceive the characterization and I’m here for it. And when the line “to the patroness of all of this, Persephone” came up Reeve was like 10 octaves higher than the cast recording, all squeaky and flustered. And then between that and his next line, he took a breath and smiled the big stupid baby Orpheus smile that makes him so charming-if you weren’t rooting for him before now you’re messed, but after the smile? And the high-toned, flustered rambling toast? Makes it impossible not to love him. (Also “to the world we dream about…” is my most favorite Hadestown quote so. I choked because every time I hear it, especially as genuine and sweet as Reeve says it as he looks out at the crowd, and then at the audience, is just. It makes you feel the reality that this show crosses with its messages and its story as a whole). And then after they drink their toast they all sputter and cough, and then the ending when they all sing “HOW ARE WE LIVING IT” it literally is so powerful and dynamic, I love this ensemble so fucking much. Their energy truly fuels the show. We are blessed.

OOOOHKAY CHILDREN BUCKLE UP FOR ME BEING DECEASED. Because All I’ve Ever Known? Um Eva, what the fuck? In a good way. In the way that the second she started singing I started crying immediately. Because I’ll say it again, she’s just become so soft and romantic that I can’t even handle it. The distinct memory I have from this song (where I literally almost hit my cousin because I went from heart-eyed staring with no breathing and my head in my hands like the stupid hopeless baby lesbian that I am to breathing everything in all at once and coughing a BIG cough of just. Literally just love.) During “You take me in your arms, and suddenly there’s sunlight all around me” Orpheus holds Eurydice with her back to him, and she opens her arms and sings about the sunlight. And I fucking SWEAR TO GOD the smile on her face. Like. Big, wide, eyes closed, you’d 100% fall in love with her the second you saw it too. I don’t know how you couldn’t. She just looks so incredibly happy and peaceful and this is the moment she completely drops her guard (although I’ll say that I believe a lot of it is dropped earlier along. But this moment is a transcendental experience) OH ALSO during the violin instrumental she literally does this like. Handstand split Over Reeve’s head that is so poetically beautiful (that entire choreography is, like. It really just makes the love feel so incredibly palpable, and the fact that this is the turning point of moments where suddenly there are NO MOMENTS where they’re not all over each other is just. It’s a moment.) And then they kiss and it’s flawless and I sob profusely at how beautifully done this entire choreography/moment/existence of two souls happens.

Way Down Hadestown also includes two of my favorite moments; Amber Gray dancing with her body at a 90 degree angle, head looking at the floor, and Orpheus and Eurydice peacing out and sitting to the side sharing a bar stool unable to keep themselves away from each other. Which. Is everything to the point where I literally told my cousin to watch them during this song. Because. His ear kisses (which. I hyperventilated about for like 3 paragraphs back in the beginning of October) are SO MUCH (so tender. So soft. The brushing back of the hair over her ears and the soft spoken words and the head on her head make me want to careen into an abyss and fall in love immediately) but I love them with all of my heart, he is so soft and gentle and it literally feels like such a moment being intruded upon that this is the way these two characters were meant to be played and I will accept nothing else. Also, Eva’s little minor chord, jazzy vocal moment during the last “way down under the GROOOOOOOUND is so beautifully done, I can’t believe she exists and just acts like it’s not a big deal that she can just. Be that good. And I also love the way that this moment is staged; Hades and Persephone are standing on the center turntable, and at those last few “way down, Hadestown, way down under the ground” after “kind of makes you wonder how it feels,” right when it kicks back into the faster tempo the turntable starts to descend. And there’s some fog, and they all stand and watch them go under the ground, and when Eurydice sings the last “way down under…she moves closer to the now hole in the ground and looks deeper, as if she’s so curious as to what is going on.

A Gathering Storm/Epic II I just like that in the OBC recording, Eurydice sounds kind of salty when she says “well, until someone brings the world back into tune, this is how it is.” But I think that it’s perceived more as a kind of matter-of-fact thing, as if watching Persephone descend has brought her back into her shell a little bit, set off some anxieties. She shrugs her shoulders and looks complacent, as if to tell him without as many words that she’s done this before, this is old news, this is going to happen. And when he says “he came for her too soon,” it’s rushed and quiet, but frantic, as if the entire weight of the situation immediately has been cast on his shoulders. And for the most part, that’s all I’ve got for him. The real superstar in this scene is the fucking imagery used to introduce the workers, and the symbolism of the workers AS THE WALL.  So, when he says “With a million hands, he built a wall” the workers ascend from the center turntable in that really tight knit formation we’ve all seen pictures of and it’s just. Watching them in their uniforms come up as he’s talking about this big, brilliant wall and the workers begin to move in unison, then begin their chanting???? The lighting changes, the entire feel changes just based on the workers chanting and really having this ferociously unified choreography. And the most intense facial expressions ever. And they move from the center turntable to the outsides, and then fucking Hades and Persephone come up when the transition happens to Chant and it’s. All you need to completely transform a set is the lighting change, the workers, and the turntable. It’s the most incredible thing to witness this and feel like you’re in a completely different place.

Also, I just always feel for Eurydice in this moment. Because. She’s trying so hard to communicate with Orpheus, who’s standing at the bar stool they’d had their moment at during Way Down Hadestown writing this song, and you can see that she’s trying to be supportive but when she says “is he always like this?” it’s just. Exhaustion. And she says it so much more quiet and defeated than she does on the OBC. It’s heartbreaking. Because at the same point you’re watching Orpheus struggle to write this song, closing his eyes and tapping his feet and just trying to feel and let that feeling translate him into the rest of this song but it just won’t come, and you can see his growing frustration in his furrowed brow and his closed eyes. What I noticed is that during Eva’s little solos “Trying to trust that the song he’s working on is gonna shelter us…” / “I’m trying to believe that the song he’s working on is gonna harbor me from the wind” She hasn’t gone up on the last little phrase like she does on the OBC, which is one of the things I find to be so powerful on the OBC. And it’s still beautiful, but I’m wondering why she’s seemingly been choosing to go down instead of have that little moment of vocal power. OH ALSO. When she says “Give that back! It’s everything we have!” Her voice was BROKEN. And by that I mean she sounded so worried and devastated that. It just. Her voice was cracking as she pleaded for the fates to leave her alone and it was so immensely wonderful, but heartbreaking. Because as she struggles with the fates and their winds, and they rip her possessions from her one by one, she shrinks further into herself as she tries to buck up and continue fighting. But you can see as each thing gets taken (her backpack, her coat, etc) she grows more and more devastated and frightened. And then when they take her jacket, and she has nothing left, and she sings “SHEEEELTER US, HAAAARBOR ME!” She’s on her knees with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth and it is torturous to witness because you just want to cry for her. And Eva’s such a fucking powerhouse that you can feel the raw emotion, the fear and the devastation, and it just consumes. It’s amazing to be broken by Eva Noblezada over and over again, and that’s what she does this entire show. She is phenomenal.

Hey, Little Songbird is a song I don’t really have a lot of notes for. But the one note I do have is that Patrick Page makes everyone so in awe and also slightly frightened or incredibly woke (the amount of small whispers in the audience that compare him to a certain man of political power are to be expected, but always are significant) He also just. Skeeves me out so much in this song, and Eurydice is so broken already that it’s kind of like. She’s resigned and having trouble making sense out of anything that life has just thrown at her, and she keeps going to hold herself because she’s cold and hungry and tortured, and she just. Honestly, she makes the choice seem like one that Eurydice had to make because she looks so lost and hungry and upset and unable to hold herself up anymore that the choice doesn’t seem like a misguided one.

When the Chips are Down If I could have as much talent in my body as these girls have in their pinky finger I’d be set for life. Also, now’s a good time to mention that I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jessie Shelton step in as a fate and it just. It was a wonderful experience, that girl is incredible. I saw her in August as Eurydice and she did a fantastic job (my only note back then had been that her chemistry with Reeve hadn’t been as strong, but I loved what she did with Eurydice-making her more badass and thick-skinned and over-it and also I genuinely don’t think that the Reeve-Eva chemistry can be matched.) But the flawless nature of these three souls singing together and just. Being the shit-eating-grin, fun to fuck you up, take no prisoners voices inside of your head? It just furthers the interpretation that they are the voices in your head amplified, because while they’re sort of doing their mockery of Eurydice/pushing her for her choice/etc. she covers her ears at one point they’re taunting her and it just. It feels to me as they’re pushing her around that they’re the personification of the battle inside of her heart as well, and she can’t escape the turmoil.

Gone, I’m Gone Me crying because I knew Wait for Me was coming so I was digging through my bag for my tissues and gently laying some on my cousin’s lap. (she hadn’t done a full listen-through of Hadestown before either, so I just. Gently prepared her for what was to come without saying a single word.

Wait for Me Okay, how detailed can I go? I don’t know how to fully capture the immense, all-encompassing, my heart is literally stopped inside of my chest but also full-on beating heavy as possible feeling. The second the first notes started the tears started pouring. I have such a fond memory of seeing this for the first time that every time afterward, I just. MY body kicks into this mode of complete and utter captivation. I’m also an empath so getting to experience a room full of people on the edge of their seats, dead silence, utter captivation and zero breath…..I will never forget this feeling. When I saw Hadestown back in April while it was still in previews, this song was given a 3 minute standing ovation….everyone was just struck and unable to handle the raw emotion. And it still rings true to this day-I was clutching my tissue with such force, watching the lights swing and the workers and their lamps through my tears. The most powerful moment is when the workers come out with their headlamps, and it gets dark-you wonder where you’re being transported to next. It’s a tethering atmosphere. And then, when they plug the lamps in and send them up? When the lamps begin swinging and their lights swing over the audience, casting this brilliant movement and shadow into the air? It holds so much mystery and hope and it gives off this incredible, indescribable power. And the power of the chorus singing along with him? It doesn’t feel like they’re the workers singing along. It feels like Orpheus’s love is so strong and so powerful that the workers are actually just his voice amplifying and exploding and CAREENING AND CREATING ALL OF THIS FUCKING POWER FROM HIS SONG AND HIS LOVE. And also, during the la la las around 1:40 on the OBC recording, when it gets soft and quiet, that’s when the lamps go up into the air, and there’s a rumbling and some fog and the set sort of opens up to reveal sections of bright lights that glow warm, and red. He’s opening the fucking stone wall with his song, people, and it’s the most brilliantly moving staging I have ever seen. Again, you don’t need one million props to captivate an audience. It’s the way the story is told and the music is composed and everything working together. I love this. I love that nothing distracts from the moment, that the las and the workers elevating his voice and the movement of the set and the lights and the fog all come together as one coherent set piece instead of parts of a working machine. It feels so natural that you believe that Orpheus is actually opening the wall with his voice. This piece of theatre is so transcendental that you forget that you’re not actually there. Props to Reeve Carney for existing because the way he performs this song is just so captivating and pure, and you can see the desperation in his eyes but you can also hear it in his voice; it’s more strained (not in a bad or unhealthy way at all, I just mean that it’s like. The culmination of his efforts from the Epic and how hard he was concentrating have elevated his power and he’s just fully unleashing it) You can physically see what I believe-that this strain, this hurt and this hope and this desperation are what lead him to opening the wall. He was able to do it because as he was singing, he was clearly just hurt and so damn determined that he just. He had this red-cheeked, hard-lipped expression while he sang and his body (which I lovingly describe as gangly and limbly) is just. In a power stance. Like. You fully believe in the power of this man during this song, he gives it everything and he is a good portion of the reason it carries its power so immensely through the audience. There’s not a dry eye in the house after. And what I love is the collective, disbelieving mumblings of “oh my god” or “wow” or “he’s incredible” that echo through the room as the applause happens (and lingers, and lingers, until Why We Build the Wall cues us to take a fucking breath) (and the subsequent chatter of people basically asking if what they just watched was real, unable to not mention it during intermission).

Why We Build the Wall This is another one of my all-time favorite Hadestown songs. It just hits so hard. And for a while in the very beginning, I wondered why they didn’t end Act I with Wait for Me. I understand now. I don’t think I fully appreciated this song during my first few listen-throughs, and possibly not even after the first time I saw it. I think that this song deserves to be there because while Wait for Me has a lot of emotional lift and power and just pure mass to it, Why We Build the Wall holds its power differently. It makes the audience kind of shift in their seats, come back to the world we are in, kind of step back from the beautiful show of powerful love and hope and dedication that is Wait for Me and remember that oh, this is what’s going on on the other side. This is the man that’s trying to take everything away from Orpheus. And Patrick Page is such a gently commanding presence during this song-he is strong, and powerful, but in a way that feels scarily easy to him; like he is so confident in his power that it translates to this easy, call-and-response conversation because he knows his workers have no choice but to answer him and to appease him. Also the workers? In this song? Are a sheer force of nature. They look to the audience as they respond to each phrase Hades sings with these set-in-stone, serious, hardened expressions that match each other, and are perfectly in-synch. That’s what terrifies me about the Workers, is that they are so in tune to each other that it truly is like watching a wall, or a well-oiled machine. They do such a beautiful job in creating this sense of unease that this song was absolutely meant to be the ending of act I; they drive you to tears and ferocious emotion with Wait for Me, but they keep you unsettled and uncomfortable and stirred by Why We Build the Wall. And that, my friends, is why this musical was nominated for and won so many Tony’s. Because of it’s ability to make you feel, to ponder and to talk and to interpret. This show is so unique, and wonderful, and full of incredible things that I am always just in awe of it every time I see it.

Carry-Over notes: I skipped around a lot of my notes from the night of the show just because I couldn’t fit the less articulate with my actual thoughts post-show. I listened to the entirety of Act I while doing this, and took notes to the best of my ability and what I could remember.

·        Eva Noblezada is such a soft human being, she is a treasure to this earth and I fully support everything she’s done with Eurydice thus far; soft doesn’t mean weak, and she translates that really well to the way she chooses to carry her. She is a strong woman, but she is so fucking in love that she is also so soft and pure. But you still wouldn’t fuck her up ever

·        A good chunk of my notes from that night are about how Reeve singing the la laas in Epic I is a transcending experience, and how his soft and genuine and gentle expression made me break down immediately, and it can be felt in your soul.

·        I also mention about 100 times that Reeve is 10/10 the only boy who has my heart because he is so artistically passionate and just really really fucking good at what he does (and so, so soft especially in the Orphrydice moments and what I’m calling his making Orpheus canonically obsessed with kissing Eurydice’s ear/side of cheek/neck it is THE SOFTEST MOST PURE THING)

So sorry. This is the longest of ramblings. But you asked for details and honestly I’m really excited to be able to have these long ass notes to save and keep with my playbills to show in the future with my kids or the patrons of the Broadway themed café I want to open when I’m a mid 40s lesbian with a wife and maybe some adopted kids.

[planetsam]

This is for @alexmanes in honor of @roswellprompts‘s crashfest! It involves malex, kylex and maribel as requested and then I went a little wild with Orpheus and Eurydice lore. Specifically from the musical Hadestown because Alex and Michael seemed to fit the roles perfectly and everything else fell into place. @alexmanes I hope you enjoy and I am so glad you are in the malex fandom!

***

The fog is stifling.

“Are you looking for Michael?”

Alex nods.

“He’s gone,” says the voice.

“Gone where?”

“With Death.”

Alex freezes, the guitar is suddenly very heavy. The song feel like it’s slipped away. Winter is cold, it’s always cold, but now it’s bitter as he looks around. Instead of Michael’s bright smile and curls, there’s a tall man with tanned skin and broad shoulders. He’s dressed like Death and a rich man you would see on the street. Alex feels dirty next to him, even before he falls to his knees and stares into the fog where Michael went.

“I can tell you how to get to him.”

Alex looks up from his misery and over at the god who stands there. Messenger, he’s a messenger and a trickster. Never what he seems, Alex knows the stories. Alex knows not to trust him. But he said he can tell him how to get to Michael. Alex has to get to him, he has to explain. If Michael understands then maybe he’ll want to come back with him, maybe he’ll want to come home. The fact that means Alex has to go into the underworld and face down Death himself seems to be an equally monumental task. Convincing Michael and facing down death. He figures that since they both seem equally monumental there’s no use in getting worried over either.

“Why would you help me?” He asks.

The god shrugs his broad shoulders. Alex doesn’t look away like he knows he’s supposed to. Everything is wrong from what it’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be with his Michael, they are supposed to be dreaming of their future. Instead he’s alone with a messenger trickster god and Michael is long, long gone. What he’s not expecting is for the trickster to reach down and give him a hand up off the cold tracks that lead into the fog and to where Michael is. Alex takes the god’s hand. This is a compromise he can do. The god helps him to his feet.

“Let’s just say I love a good song,” he says, “the question is how far are you willing to go for him?”

“Anywhere,” Alex says.

The god smiles.

He tells him how to get to where Michael is. Things Alex is not supposed to know. It seems like a lot for a good song. Though there was a time a few hours ago when Alex would have trusted his music to do anything. Now he isn’t sure. His faith has  been fractured. But if the way to the dead is an acceptable trade for a song, then maybe his music is an acceptable price for Michael. No it is an acceptable price and Alex believes in music the way some believe in gods. More, actually, since the gods are right there.

“I’ll be watching,” the god says.

“Why?”

“I love a good story too.”

Alex nods and shoulders his guitar, making his way towards the fog.

“Hey, what should i call you? In the song?” Alex asks.

“Magoo,” the god says, “its what my father calls me.”

He’s worked stranger things onto a song.god tells him, “that’s what my father calls me.”

Alex has worked stranger things into songs.

He follows the god who likes to be called Magoo’s instructions. He makes his way along the path, through the fog that’s so thick he can’t see a hand in front of his face. He bribes the dogs and denies he has any name as he makes his way deeper and deeper. On faith, he supposes, if he walked back along the same way he’d find himself back where he was, but the truth is that it’s not where he wants to be. He wants to be with Michael, wherever that is. Wait, he prays. Wait for me, I’m coming.

The fog says nothing and no-one he encounters wishes to do anything but stop him.

But he pushes on. He may have nothing but a song, but he forces himself to keep going. A song is nothing compared to the loss of the one he loves. So he keeps walking, one foot in front of the other. It feels like he’s walking on a river, sometimes. Though he can feel the solid ground under his feet, his boots disappear in the fog as he goes. He’s glad that if he has no money, his guitar has survived worse than this. But the entire way, he keeps his hand on the belly of the instrument. Despite knowing that he isn’t supposed to make noise, he starts humming. The song he was working on, the song for Michael, he didn’t finish it but he was so close. Music won him the boy, did it cost him the boy as well?

He makes it past the guards, past the dogs and after a lifetime of humming and walking, he makes it where he wants to go.

Now he just needs to find Michael.

He sees him before Michael turns. It’s impossible to miss him. He’s still warm and golden, still shining with the world that Alex left behind. The dirt is smudged on him but he uses his tools well. Of course he does. Michael has always been good with his hands. He works off from the others, but Alex waits until he’s moving to the next section, farther away still. Where no-one can hear them. He watches as Michael’s features crack and all he can think is how Michael doesn’t belong in this place. Not like this.

“Come home with me,” he says.

Michael’s entire body stiffens and he turns, his features breaking in surprise.

“It’s you,” he breathes.

“It’s me,” Alex confirms.

“Alex—“

They close the distance, colliding into one another. He doesn’t think he’s ever been held so tight in his entire life. Michael is still as warm as he was up there. Warmer, he’s always been warm. Alex grips the back of his overalls and clings to him. He thanks every god, even the strange ones, for their help in finding Michael as soon as he did. That he found him at all.

“How did you get here?” Michael demands.

“I walked,” Alex says.

“You walked?” He repeats and looks over his shoulder, as if he can see how far away it is, “all this way?” Alex nods, “why?”

“Come home with me,” Alex repeats, “Michael, come back with me.”

Michael hugs him again.

Alex wraps his arms around him, swept up in the feeling that Michael is in his arms rather than his lack of reply. It’s going to be okay. It has to be okay. Michael is here in his arms. That’s the only thing that matters. Except far too soon Michael pulls back. Alex grips him tightly and doesn’t let him go. He can’t. Michael looks down and away and anywhere but at him.

“What is it?” Alex pleads, “come home with me, we can be together. We can figure this out.”

“He can’t leave.”

 They turn to see the god Magoo standing there, looking almost regretful. He sighs and tucks his hands into the pockets of his long coat. Michael looks down as if he wants to go lower and Alex pulls him close.

“What do you mean, he can’t leave?” He repeats. He loos at the man in his arms, “Michael?”

“I can’t leave,” he says, “I signed a contract. I belong here.”

“The hell you do.”

The words slip out of his mouth so fast and so hard that even Michael looks surprised. Alex wonders what he did to make Michael think he would just accept this, but he refuses to do it any longer. If this is his chance to prove to Michael that he is here for him, that he is coming home, then he’s going to do it. He’s not giving up Michael without a hell of a fight, not after he slipped away when Alex didn’t notice. He turns to the god.

“What do I have to do?” He asks.

“Alex, no—“

“Yes,” he says, turning back to him, “you’re coming home with me,” he repeats, “we’re going home.”

“Good luck with that.”

Alex turns to see Isobel saunter by, hair still tangled with flowers. Barely alive, but alive none the less. It hasn’t been that long since fall, it’s just felt like a lifetime since Michael slipped away. Isobel towers over them and turns her gaze to them, looking at the three in rapid succession. Alex feels Michael pull back but he refuses to let go until Michael shakes him off and goes to the goddess.

“What’s he doing here?” She asks.

“He came after me,” Michael explains.

“It’s little late for that,” she says in that beautiful and cruel way of hers, “but it’s a little late for a lot of things around here,” she sighs, looking at Michael, “don’t feel too bad, my wife loves pretty young things.”

“She love you,” Michael says, “and you love her.”

Isobel scoffs.

“That was a long time ago,” she looks at the pair of them, “you’ll see one day how things are down here,” she looks at Alex, “or one of you will.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Alex says and cups Michael’s cheeks.

“She’s right.”

“No she’s not,” he says, “look at me, she’s not. I’m here. We’re going home.”

Michael looks at him silently and Alex can tell he doesn’t believe him. Alex refuses to let his stomach drop. He refuses to let Michael down. He kisses him, even though he shouldn’t, even though it means he can begin to feel the cold seeping into Michael’s skin. He kisses him like he can breathe life back into him. Like he can put his own warmth in the man. Michael hesitates only a moment before kissing him back, and Alex can almost taste the guilt on his lips.

“It’s not going to work,” Isobel chimes in.

“Please, let me try,” Alex says.

Michael grips him tighter.

Isobel looks over at the god who likes to be called Magoo and shrugs.

“Good luck.”

Death goes by the name Maria. Her tongue is sharp and if Alex had to pick a god to believe in, it would probably be her. She drapes across her throne and refuses to look at her wife when she brings them to her. She arches an eyebrow at Michael’s disobedience and curls her lip at the god who likes to be called Magoo and then focuses on Alex. Michael, he came for Michael. He focuses on that with every fibre of his being and not on how inadequate he feels in her presence. Everything here, it’s hers. This world of stability and being full, of being warm and knowing where you belong. It fits, it’s monochromatic but it fits in a way that is against everything that makes Alex who he is.

“You’re trespassing,” she says, looking from him to her wife.

“I know,” Alex says.

“I could have you killed for it,” she reminds him.

Alex swallows the retort that he now knows there are things worse than death.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Isobel snaps, sitting in her own throne. Maria glances at her wife. It would be cursory save for how she shifts her posture, “he loves him,” Maria rolls her eyes.

“That’s not a crime,” Magoo points out.

“When he’s trespassing it is.”

Magoo looks at him, then at the gods and Alex sees his cue. He brings the guitar forward. Hope flares on Michael’s face. The rest of them look with varying degrees of interest. Even when Alex’s faith is shaken, the rest of the world hangs on his every note. It isn’t his love story he needs to reach for though. It’s the one between the two gods in front of him. He has to bring hope to this most hopeless place. Music is the only way he knows how to do that. He half wishes his fingers felt incompetent as he curves them around the neck of the instrument and a world that doesn’t breathe seems to hold its breath.

He sings.

An incredible thing happens when he does, it’s always been this way.

He plays and the world listens.

He plays and the world believes.

As he plays Death relaxes and Spring surrenders to her emotions. Magoo goes peaceful and the shame leaves Michael’s eyes. The others around pause as well, all listening to the world his music allows them to see. When Alex opens his eyes, Maria is upright and Isobel has turned to look at her. As the last notes fade, Maria looks back at her. And for the first time since it was shaken, Alex feels the first fleeting feelings of hope.

“Leave us,” Maria says. Alex reaches for Michael’s hand, “he stays,” Death snaps, “you. Wait outside.”

Alex looks at Michael desperately, and Michael clenches his hands by his side to keep from reaching back. Any chance of this working, it requires them to have Death on their side. So Alex has no choice but to step back and out into the fog. Even that, though, seems lighter somehow. He waits. He waits and fights not to sing the whole time. He waits and then finally the god who likes to be called Magoo steps out and looks at him. Alex tries to crane his neck but he can’t see in the place where ehe just came from.

“What did she say?” He asks.

“You can leave,” the god says, “and you can have Michael,” Alex chokes on the hope that floods him until Magoo holds up a hand, “but you must walk back and not turn. If you turn and look at him, he stays here.”

“What?” Alex frowns, “but how will I know if he’s with me?”

The bargain goes against everything he thinks. Alex loves chaos, but faith in things besides from his music are not easy to come by. He’s never had them. Maybe that has always been his fatal flaw. He believed in Michael too late, he believed in them too late. Even now the idea of just accepting this bargain is baffling to him. Even if it means that he will have Michael back.

“You won’t,” Magoo says, “but if you trust him as much as you claim to, you should believe that he is.”

“I trust Michael,” Alex says, “I don’t trust Death.”

“Do you have a choice?”

Alex realizes he doesn’t.

He’s got no choice but to accept this proposal, which makes him feel sick. But all he can do is nod. Magoo smiles and points into the fog. It’s the direction that he’s to walk in. His throat tightens. He doesn’t even get to see Michael before he starts out. He just has to go. Sometimes, he supposes, this is how the world ends. With a whimper. And whether or not a new one is born out of the ashes depends on faith. Alex takes a deep breath and turns towards the way Magoo points.

“You let them go,” Spring says.

“I gave them a chance,” Death corrects.

Magoo watches the fog swallow them whole.

A chance is something.

[jackiestarsister]

Hadestown and Star Wars

It’s my habit to compare and draw parallels between different stories. Since Star Wars is heavily influenced by various myths, it makes sense for there to be many parallels with the characters and plots of Greek mythology, but I was surprised by how many parallels there are between Star Wars and a particular retelling, Hadestown. This is my attempt to write something like “meta” about it.

Note: I will be referencing various Star Wars characters and relationships. This is not intended to antagonize shippers of any particular couples.

Hadestown is about two couples from Greek mythology: Hades & Persephone, and Orpheus & Eurydice. Their journeys, both as couples and as individuals, are about the struggle to trust each other and the danger of neglecting, betraying, or abandoning each other. Hades does not trust Persephone to return to him; Eurydice does not trust Persephone and Orpheus to provide for her; Orpheus fails to support Eurydice, and then does not trust Hades to keep his word or himself to get Eurydice back to the land of the living.

Usually I try to match up all the characters in one story with all the characters in another story. For Star Wars and Hadestown, it’s not so easy, because the elements are shared by multiple characters in both stories.

Here is the strongest example of what I mean: I see elements of Rey’s personality in three of the major Hadestown characters. First, there is Eurydice, who is repeatedly described as “a hungry young girl.” Rey’s physical hunger is clear in her very first scenes, but it is other kinds of hunger--spiritual, social, emotional--that drive her throughout the films. She is also like Orpheus, poor, talented, optimistic, naive, hopeful, recalling old tales of epic love. Finally, she is like Persephone because of her affinity with nature, light, and life. Think of the flower in her home, her serenity on Takodana, and her perception of the cycle of life on Ahch-To.

Here is a general, thematic comparison: The musical’s version of the Underworld is Hadestown, basically a factory city ruled by Hades. While Persephone is all about nature, Hades is all about machinery. The Star Wars films are full of contrasts and conflicts between nature and man-made machinery. This is particularly noticeable during Rey and Kylo’s Force bond connections, when Rey is shown in natural settings on Ahch-To and Kylo is surrounded by machinery.

Specific songs seem fitting for certain characters:

~ “All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own, but now I want to hold you too” sounds like Padme toward Anakin, and Leia toward Han. Like Eurydice, the female politicians are very independent and initially brush off their future love interest’s suggestions of romance. Eventually though they develop and give in to their feelings.

~ “All I’ve Ever Known” and “Epic III” describe Orpheus as somehow recognizing Eurydice on their first meeting, as if they had always known each other. “ I knew you before we met .” “It was like she was someone you'd always known.” This is exactly like how Rey and Kylo seem to recognize each other though they have never, as far as we know, met before they ran into each other on Takodana.

~ At the end of “All I’ve Ever Known,” Eurydice asks Orpheus to hold her, something Padme and Leia also do with their respective husbands. The promises set up the tragic potential because they cannot control all the circumstances to keep them together.

~ In “Chant,” when Persephone sees the ugly industrial empire Hades built in her absence, she tells Hades “I don’t know you anymore,” to which he replied, “Everything I do, I do it for the love of you.” It’s almost verbatim what Padme and Anakin tell each other on Mustafar, which is itself a hellish landscape. The song also explains how the imbalance in the gods’ relationships is shaping the world around them, which is similar to how the Skywalker family’s drama shapes the galaxy. When the gods or Skywalkers--men and women, husbands and wives--are unable to trust, communicate, and understand each other, the world around them suffers as a result.

~ Hades inviting Eurydice to work for him in Hadestown is similar to Kylo offering to teach Rey and asking her to join him.

~ “Wait for Me” could apply to many situations in Star Wars, since many of the films feature one or more characters rushing to save others. Anakin actually tells Padme, “Wait for me.” More often, it is seen as what the Greeks called katabasis, the journey to the underworld. This stage of the hero’s journey comes up repeatedly in Star Wars. The song could fit Luke going to Bespin to save his friend; Leia going to Jabba’s palace to save Han; and Finn going to Starkiller to save Rey (which fits with Kylo being Hades).

~ “If It’s True” sounds like a song of the Rebellion, questioning authority and encouraging solidarity.

~ “Epic III” has what sounds like a fitting description of Anakin and Kylo, particularly after they ascend to the heights of their power as Darth Vader and the Supreme Leader respectively. Ultimately, Hades, Anakin, and Kylo’s quests for power are driven by their fear of loss and being unloved, and their desire for control.

The more he has, the more he holds The greater the weight of the world on his shoulders See how he labors beneath that load Afraid to look up, and afraid to let go So he keeps his head low, he keeps his back bending He's grown so afraid that he'll lose what he owns But what he doesn't know is that what he's defending Is already gone

[thequills]

Hadestown (National Theatre, 27/12/2018)

While I have been listening to this show for quite a while now, this is the first time I’ve ever seen it on stage, so I wasn’t dealing with any preconceived notions as to how it should be done. I still can’t believe I’ve actually seen it

Also, while it was a bit jarring to have all the musical/lyrical changes (see Chant II and Doubt Comes In), I don’t begrudge it and in fact rather liked some of them.

If it wasn’t sold out at the National, I would see it again and again and I’m so upset it’s not here for longer. If you can see it on Broadway, I urge you to do so.

Here is a collection of my thoughts, some of which are more cohesive than others, so I apologise in advance, especially as this is a VERY long post. 

If you want to talk about it more, please message me!

(Also Spoilers)

- The set was unexpected, to say the least. Shown to be a café of sorts, I wasn’t quite sure how it would develop as we moved into Hadestown, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did the lights from behind change the set completely as they were revealed, but the lighting  in the second act made the decay at the top of the set much more visible.

- The use of the centre pit/plinth was wonderful, especially as it wasn’t used until Way Down Hadestown, so it came as a bit of a shock when this gaping hole in the stage appeared. I particularly liked how it was used throughout How Long, physically illustrating the gap between Hades and Persephone, and in Doubt Comes In, when it was uncertain whether it had been raised after the fates appearing and later Eurydice’ s slow descent especially when paired with the expression on her face.

- Speaking of; Eva’s voice is incredible and haunting and powerful. I also don't quite get why people dislike Reeve so much.

- The turning stage in the Olivier Theatre was used so well throughout and didn’t feel at all gimmicky, as it sometimes can

- Hermes commanded the stage from the beginning in a way that I didn’t think was possible, especially at the beginning when he was just wandering around.

- The lighting: The shift from blue/ green to red/orange tint. The way it created shadows on the side of the theatre as well, making the worker seems more numerous, and also threatening, in songs such as Chant I, Wait For Me, Way Down Hadestown II, Is It True, Chant II etc.

- Also, I don’t know whether it was due to the changes in the lyrics or the dialogue not available on the album, but Orpheus’ obsession with the song he’s writing makes so much more sense to me now. Also loved the way he walking across the tables surrounded by light as he sung The Melody 

- The movements of the workers matching the rhythm of the train and also creating the illusion of machinery/ automatons

- Having Hades just at the top of the stage, in sight, until Way Down Hadestown worked really well, as it was both sinister and made hearing how deep Patrick’s voice was such a shock for those who were unfamiliar.

- Persephone's hair being held up slightly by a hairnet when she was in Hadestown, compared to when she up on top.

- Orpheus and Eurydice being playful with each other

- Orpheus taking Eurydice’s hand when Hades looked too long

- Chant I

- I love the fates. Their little, but no less threatening movements, as the character’s doubt grows (which can be particularly seen in Hey Little Songbird). I also like how they begin completely focused on Eurydice and then move on to Hades and Orpheus

- Hey Little Songbird and Gone, I’m Gone are so haunting and just make you hold your breath

- Wait For Me: The desperation in Reeve’s voice. The swinging lights. the headlamps. the fog. 

- For some reason Our Lady of The Underground was underwhelming to me, maybe because I love it so much? In any case, I still love how it was used to individually praise the amazing musicians

- Orpheus appearing through the audience at the end of Flowers

- Hades’ appearance at the beginning of Papers caused someone sitting next me to suddenly shout out “no”, which I very much appreciated and in fact added to the experience

- I love Is It True

- Mirroring of Hades, Orpheus, Eurydice and Persephone, both individually (Chant II) and as couples (Promises/Wait For Me II as they hold each other)

- Chant II: “I CONDUCT THE ELECTRIC CITY” and the accompanying blast of light

- Epic III: Hades shouting “HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT MELODY?”, Orpheus then singing so much more passionately and enthusiastically in defiance after that. Persephone crying when Hades sang along, especially when the flower appeared. I’m not sure how I feel about the changes in the lyrics at the beginning of the song though, as it felt like they were just stuffed in.

- His Kiss The Riot was so good, especially when paired with the fates playing along on their instruments.

- Wait For Me II: Hades and Persephone, Eurydice/ workers hope and joy

- Doubt Comes In: I like the lyric changes. It’s not necessarily better, but it works well, especially hearing exactly what Orpheus is struggling with. Very dark stage to it being fully lit as soon as he turns around. Fog. All you could see of the fates were the three lanterns. Eurydice appearing and disappearing. the joy and excitement in her manner when she did appear made the result even more tragic. I wasn’t quite sure what the side section of the stage was until it was used as the exit to Hadestown. Orpheus and Eurydice both sinking to their knees.

- I don’t think I’ve ever seen an audience so captivated or heard such silence in certain moments (such as the “a’ight” after Doubt Comes In and in the pauses in Road to Hell II), nor have I heard applause like that.

- I really liked how they reset the stage and just ended with Orpheus and Eurydice seeing each other (again) from across the stage.

- Having We Raise Our Cups after the bows worked really well, as it meant that we left the theatre still in that world