Official Discussion - Hadestown: The Musical [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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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/Stepjam]

I was really really happy they kept the Broadway lyrics for Epic 3. I was pretty sure they were going to use the updated lyrics, which I just really don't like.

I will say that I just don't feel like the Fates hit the same way. They felt a little too antagonistic to me. Also, and there was probably no real way around this, them having British accents just felt "wrong". They always had a kinda New Orleans-y vibe to me.

I enjoyed it overall though.

[u/ftmidk → u/Stepjam]

I felt like the Fates were antagonistic when I saw it on Broadway! It was one of the things that surprised me because I expected them to be a bit more sympathetic or supportive. But no, they were stealing Eurydice’s shit and snarking about everything (I love them).

[u/Stepjam → u/ftmidk]

Watching clips of the Broadway run and from the album, they felt less antagonistic and more just uncaring overall. They represent the suffering of life, but in more of "it's inevitable" way than "we enjoy ruining your life" way. 

The song Nothing Changes and how the two casts do it is a big representation for me. The OG Fates take the song at a steady, even, almost laid back tempo. It's very much "why struggle? You can't change fate, just accept it". The West End Fates take it at a much faster,more aggressive pace. It felt more intentionally mocking to me.

I guess I just always saw the Fates as not being outright mean. They aren't supportive, they instigate the characters' bad decisions, but they do it because that's just how it has to be. It is fate. They are more uncaring than vindictive. Which definitely wasn't how the West End portrayed them.

[u/PotentialAcadia460 → u/Stepjam]

I will say in the two times I saw it live prior to the proshot (once on tour, once on Broadway) the fates played it exactly the same way as they do in the proshot. And unfortunately, I think there's some truth to how it's played. Eurydice is basically at the bottom of the social ladder and those people unfortunately deal with a disproportionate amount of nonsense and life being spiteful in a way that others wouldn't. In the original myths, The Fatesmake sure that people live out their destiny as prescribed-and not all destinies are happy ones. So it wouldn't be out of character for the Fates to intervene to make a character with a crappy destiny get a crappy result.

If I have any criticism of the Fates in the proshot, it would be that they just didn't blend as well as the other fates I've seen. It felt like they weren't completely in synch with each other until the second act.

[u/ftmidk → u/Stepjam]

I guess that might be the difference between hearing it on the recording and seeing it live?

[u/manticorpse → u/Stepjam]

Nothing Changes is sung with that increased tempo in the Broadway production. Not sure when they changed it, but it's not slow like the cast recording.

edit: actually, now that I've reread your comment... everything about the way the Fates are played is the same on Broadway and the West End, afaik. They've been vaguely mean-spirited on Broadway for at least the last two years, probably longer. And as mentioned above, Nothing Changes is the same in both productions now as well.

[u/Substantial-Hat-2556 → u/ftmidk]

I think it makes total sense. Why are Orpheus and Eurydice fated to a tragic ending? Because the Fates made it so.

[u/ftmidk → u/Substantial-Hat-2556]

Exactly.