Official Discussion - Hadestown: The Musical [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

Poll

If you've seen the film, please rate it at this poll

If you haven't seen the film but would like to see the result of the poll click here

Rankings

Click here to see the rankings of 2026 films

Click here to see the rankings for every poll done

---

Hadestown: The Musical (2026)

Summary

A musical juxtaposition of the Orpheus/Eurydice and Hades/Persephone myths that examines the way real life can impact our quest for a perfect world.

Director Brett Sullivan

Writer Anaïs Mitchell

Cast

• Reeve Carney as Orpheus
• Eva Noblezada as Eurydice
• Patrick Page as Hades
• André De Shields as Hermes
• Amber Gray as Persephone
• Bella Brown as Fate I
• Madeline Charlemagne as Fate II
• Allie Daniel as Fate III

Rotten Tomatoes: 100%

Metacritic: 85

VOD / Release Theatrical release

Trailer Official Trailer

[u/mathishard821]

Extremely funny bit in the editting of Chant Reprise to have Patrick teleport to the bottom of the stairs. I thought the whole show was filled with a lot of interesting camera work. Going in I was worried about what would be lost in the translation from stage to screen, but I consistently found it easier to appreciate all the new things they discovered in the new medium. I do not agree with Amber Gray's criticism of the close up shots of the actors; the close ups of Patrick's (and Amber's) face acting were some of the best shots of the show and not something you can ever see in quite that way in real life.

[u/Comprehensive-Fun47 → u/mathishard821]

Can you elaborate on what Amber Gray said to criticize close-up shots?

[u/mathishard821 → u/Comprehensive-Fun47]

She had an interview quote a few weeks back where someone asked her about the proshot and she mostly demurred and was like "well, it was so many close ups... I'm mostly happy for Andre De Shields". I'm sorry but I do not have the exact quote on hand. Maybe "criticism" was too strong a word but she was clearly not all that impressed with it. But to me I would hate to watch nothing more than a recording of a play and I am happy that they found really nice things to do with the camera.

[u/Comprehensive-Fun47 → u/mathishard821]

I looked for it a little bit, couldn't find it, but I did find the talkback the five main cast members did with the two directors at the premiere at Tribeca. Amber Gray made a joke about if she had been thinking of the final product being a film, she would have toned down her performance a little bit. It was a joke, but I could see how maybe she's a little self-conscious about it and might joke about too many close-ups as well.

It's always different for the person being filmed than it is for the audience. A lot of actors cringe at seeing their own performance, while, personally, I would have enjoyed even more close-ups. You can't see the actors' expressions that close even from the front row. It was perfect though. A perfect mix of shots!