After almost five years on Broadway, the train to hell is still going. Ever wonder how the world could be? Find out in Anaïs Mitchell’s hit musical, Hadestown. Directed by the innovative Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown is a love story for today, and always.
What’s the show about? In Hadestown, a song can change your fate. Hadestown intertwines two mythic Greek tales - that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and of King Hades and his wife Persephone. Set in a dark, industrialized underworld that feels part jazz club, part dystopian factory, the musical blends folk and jazz with poetic lyrics to explore themes of love, sacrifice, and the struggle between hope and despair. Hadestown is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.
Hadestown originated as Anaïs Mitchell’s indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Rachel Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, Hadestown has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale.
After many years of development and productions off-Broadway and beyond, Hadestown officially opened on Broadway on April 17, 2019. The show was the critical darling of the 2019 season, earning 14 Tony nominations (the most of the year) and winning in 8 categories, including Best Musical and Best Score.
More about the score… the music of Hadestown can be heard on the 40-track cast recording, which won Best Musical Theater Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. The musical is also captured in its original live cast recording (2016) and new work from Mitchell is featured in a followup holiday album, If the Fates Allow (2020). Additionally, Talking Hadestown, a sixteen-part, digital words-and-music experience is now available to stream.
Though the original Broadway cast (including Eva Noblezada, Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Patrick Page, and Amber Gray) are long gone, the show has boasted an exciting slate of replacement actors over the years, including Lillias White, Jordan Fisher, Betty Who, Ani DiFranco, Yola, Stephanie Mills, Solea Pfeiffer, Lola Tung, Maia Reficco, Jon Jon Briones and Isa Briones.
You should know now… Hadestown is pronounced: HAY-deez-town. Other tricky pronunciations include: Persephone: per-SEFF-phony; Orpheus: OR-fee-uss; Eurydice: your-ID-uh-see; and Hades: HAY-deez.
You’ll love Hadestown if you’re down for a great love story and have a penchant for unique scores. No musical on Broadway sounds quite like Hadestown. Mitchell spent over a decade crafting this musical, and it shows. Catch the train to hell now before it leaves the station!
If the story loses steam a bit in the second act, the storytelling doesn't, and at the center of Hadestown is the theme of why we repeat the songs and stories that we've heard and sung countless times before. As she did with her excellent staging of NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, Chavkin turns her cast into an irresistible community of storytelling entertainers, carrying on their traditions even after they've taken their bows. Working with a turntable floor, she and choreographer David Neumann create a striking array of visuals, particularly when a group of hanging lamps appear to be choreographed as they swing above the audience.
Here's my advice: Go to hell. And by hell, of course, I mean Hadestown, Anaïs Mitchell's fizzy, moody, thrilling new Broadway musical. Ostensibly, at least, the show is a modern retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy goes to the land of the dead in hopes of retrieving girl, boy loses girl again. 'It's an old song,' sings our narrator, the messenger god Hermes (André De Shields, a master of arch razzle-dazzle). 'And we're gonna sing it again.' But it's the newness of Mitchell's musical account-and Rachel Chavkin's gracefully dynamic staging-that bring this old story to quivering life.
Price: $47.50
Where: luckyseat.com/shows/hadestown-newyork
When: The lottery will open the day before the performance and entries close at 9:30 on the day of the performance. Drawings will begin on 10:00 AM EST and will continue throughout the day as needed.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: In some cases tickets may be partial view and, while every effort will be made to seat multiple seats together, there is a chance that multiple seats may be split up. Winners who require accessible seating or other special accommodations should contact us at help@luckyseat.com for assistance. Once you have entered the Lottery, won, and purchased a ticket for any performance of Hadestown, you cannot win the Lottery again within 60 days.
Standing Room Tickets:
Price: $39
Where: Box Office
Limit: One per customer
Restrictions: Available day of performance only when the performance is sold out. Can be purchased with cash or debit/credit cards.
2016 | Off-Broadway |
New York Theatre Workshop Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2017 | Canada |
Canadian Premiere Canada |
2018 | West End |
National Theatre Pre-Broadway Engagement West End |
2019 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2021 | US Tour |
First National Tour US Tour |
2024 | West End |
West End |
2024 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | David Neumann |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design for a Musical | Michael Krass |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Rachel Chavkin |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Andre De Shields |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical | Bradley King |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design for a Musical | Rachel Hauck |
2019 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical | Nevin Steinberg |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Amber Gray |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Andre De Shields |
2019 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Hadestown |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Reeve Carney |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Anais Mitchell |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreographer | David Neumann |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Rachel Chavkin |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Andre De Shields |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Amber Gray |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Bradley King |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | Hadestown |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Score | Anais Mitchell |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Michael Chorney |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design | Rachel Hauck |
2019 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Sound Design | Nevin Steinberg |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Anais Mitchell |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | David Neumann |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Michael Krass |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Rachel Chavkin |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Bradley King |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Hadestown |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Michael Chorney |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Anais Mitchell |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Andre De Shields |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Patrick Page |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Amber Gray |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical | Eva Noblezada |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Musical | Rachel Hauck |
2019 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Nevin Steinberg |
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