Hadestown Understudies

[SpookyFish13]

Posted: 7/20/19 at 11:38pm

So lately Ive been noticing a lot of posts talking about seeing an understudy in the role of Eurydice. I’ve also heard rumors that Eva Noblezada is recovering from an illness (nodes?) so will be off for quite a while. Im going to see Hadestown in August and although ive heard the understudy for Eurydice is absolutely fantastic, Im reeeeally hoping to see Eva. (Ive been a huge fan of hers ever since Miss Saigon)

I figured I’d start a thread to keep track of which performances feature understudies, to hopefully get an idea of when Eva Noblezada is back to performing, as well to gage the frequency of how often understudies are being featured.

So if you see Hadestown and it features an understudy, would you kindly comment down below with the date, show time (matine or evening) and the role that featured an understudy?

Thanks!

Updated On: 7/20/19 at 11:38 PM

[SneakySylveon]

Posted: 7/20/19 at 11:42pm

I saw the evening show July 10th, a Wednesday, and I had Jessie Shelton as Eurydice. She was really good!

Updated On: 7/20/19 at 11:42 PM

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 1:55am

I’m not surprised about Eva being out often. I saw the show for the second time a couple weeks ago and she was clearly struggling.

[MVintheheartland]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 9:15am

To be honest, I think that there could be understudies for both Euridice and Orpheus. HOWEVER, I can't imagine there being an understudy for Hermes. Andre deShields is just so fantastic I would be quite upset to see his understudy. (I really NEED to go back to NYC to see it again!!) 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 9:44am

De Shields has had terrific attendance in his previous Broadway runs. Though this role is probably the most demanding, coupled with his age(73), I hope his strong attendance continues with this show.

[ShowStop2]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 9:50am

I have seen Hadestown twice with the OBC but I would LOVE to see Timothy Hughes understudy Hades. De Shields as Hermes is a must see. 

Posted: 7/21/19 at 9:59am

I’ve seen the show twice with the OBC and I would be fine with any understudy except for Amber and Andre. They are absolutely perfect and I’m sure their understudies are fantastic, but there’s just something about them that you just can’t take your eyes off of them.

[Daniel M]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 1:33pm

I saw T. Oliver Reid as Hades on Friday, June 28, and Jessie Shelton as Eurydice on Friday, July 19. Jessie did just fine and so did T. Oliver (but Patrick Page's voice is really worth hearing live).

[conealpetterson]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 2:35pm

I saw Khaila Wilcoxon as Eurydice on June 25th. It was her first time on for the track and she was fantastic.

[vanbrig]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 3:05pm

Jessie Shelton is amazing. She was so comfortable in the role when I saw it.

[sethepstein12]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 4:24pm

Daniel M said: "I saw T. Oliver Reid as Hades on Friday, June 28, and Jessie Shelton as Eurydice on Friday, July 19. Jessie did just fine and so did T. Oliver (but Patrick Page's voice is really worth hearing live)."

Was T. Oliver Reid singing it in the same octaves as Patrick Page? Or did he go up for anything?

[Andres_Zayas]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 4:50pm

sethepstein12 said: "Daniel M said: "I saw T. Oliver Reid as Hades on Friday, June 28, and Jessie Shelton as Eurydice on Friday, July 19. Jessie did just fine and so did T. Oliver (but Patrick Page's voice is really worth hearing live)."

Was T. Oliver Reid singing it in the same octaves as Patrick Page? Or did he go up for anything?"

I heard that he sang the lowest notes up an octave, which I believe Timothy Hughes will also do once he goes on as Hades in the future

[HighFlyingAdored97]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 6:25pm

Khaila Wilcoxon was Eurydice today, July 21st. I didn’t particularly care for her performance.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 6:46pm

I recall Timothy Hughes saying that he sings Hades up an octave. Or at least the lowest notes are up an octave, I’m not quite sure, but I know it’s one or the other. The fact that Page’s understudies can’t perform Hades’ music as written (which is absolutely no knock against them, as Hades is not written in a key that seems humanly possible) leads me to believe that it’s gonna be very difficult to recast the role. My guess is whoever they get to replace Page will likely sing it up an octave as well, as so few have a voice like his.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 7:00pm

Hot Pants said: "I recall Timothy Hughes saying that he sings Hades up an octave. Or at least the lowest notes are up an octave, I’m not quite sure, but I know it’s one or the other. The fact that Page’s understudies can’t perform Hades’ music as written (which is absolutely no knock against them, as Hades is not written in a key that seems humanly possible) leads me to believe that it’s gonna be very difficult to recast the role. My guess is whoever they get to replace Page will likely sing it up an octave as well, as so few have a voice like his."

I think Norm Lewis would be a great Hades. I think he could sing it as written for the most part. 

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 8:21pm

Back in June I saw Kimberly Marable as Persephone thought she was fantastic. Amber is obviously a hard act to follow, but Kim had a great singing voice and energy for days.

[nabajamba]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 9:15pm

I saw Jessie Shelton as Eurydice on Tuesday and she was excellent! I'd seen her as a Fate at NYTW, so seeing her as Eurydice was really cool. She's got a killer voice and she's a great actor.

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/21/19 at 10:18pm

gleek4114 said: "Hot Pants said: "I recall Timothy Hughes saying that he sings Hades up an octave. Or at least the lowest notes are up an octave, I’m not quite sure, but I know it’s one or the other. The fact that Page’s understudies can’t perform Hades’ music as written (which is absolutely no knock against them, as Hades is not written in a key that seems humanly possible) leads me to believe that it’s gonna be very difficult to recast the role. My guess is whoever they get to replace Page will likely sing it up an octave as well, as so few have a voice like his."

I think Norm Lewis would be a great Hades. I think he could sing it as written for the most part."

Norm Lewis could be a great Hades, but I’m pretty certain they’d need to raise some of those notes. I really liked Lewis’ performance in Jesus Christ Superstar, but I thought it sounded like he was scraping the bottom of his range on some of Caiaphas’ low notes, and Hades has to sing even lower. I absolutely love Hades’ music as it’s written, but I’m willing to accept the music being raised for a replacement as long as they can act it well. Patrick Page as Hades truly is one of the most perfect pieces of casting in recent years. Finding someone who can actually hit those notes must’ve been difficult, so they really lucked out that they got a performer who could do not only that, but also knock the acting out of the park as well.

[Lot666]

Posted: 7/22/19 at 9:07am

ShowStop2 said: "I have seen Hadestown twice with the OBC but I would LOVE to see Timothy Hughes understudy Hades. De Shields as Hermes is a must see."

I really want to see Timothy Hughes in a lead role!

[LarryD2]

Posted: 7/22/19 at 10:24am

Norm Lewis is a baritone, and a pretty light one at that. His voice is pretty close to what you'd get from an old-school crooner. When he played Porgy on Broadway he used higher keys than what's written. There is virtually no way he could sing Hades as written.

Have Andre, Amber or Reeve missed any performances yet?

[VotePeron]

Posted: 7/22/19 at 10:32am

LarryD2 said: "Norm Lewis is a baritone, and a pretty light one at that. His voice is pretty close to what you'd get from an old-school crooner. When he played Porgy on Broadway he used higher keys than what's written. There is virtually no way he could sing Hades as written.

Have Andre, Amber or Reeve missed any performances yet?"

I believe Amber quietly missed a few matinees during Tony season, but other than that I haven’t heard of Andre or Reeve missing. 

[LarryD2]

Posted: 7/22/19 at 10:40am

VotePeron said: "LarryD2 said: "Norm Lewis is a baritone, and a pretty light one at that. His voice is pretty close to what you'd get from an old-school crooner. When he played Porgy on Broadway he used higher keys than what's written. There is virtually no way he could sing Hades as written.

Have Andre, Amber or Reeve missed any performances yet?"

I believe Amber quietly missed a few matinees during Tony season, but other than that I haven’t heard of Andre or Reeve missing."

Yes, I noticed someone earlier in the thread referenced seeing Kimberly Marable go on for Amber -- I missed that the first time around. 

Posted: 7/22/19 at 12:33pm

Reeve and Andre have yet to miss a performance. I totally get that things happen and I do not fault the actors, but I find that very impressive. Especially with how demanding both of their roles are, and Andre's age.

[Lot666]

Posted: 7/22/19 at 12:57pm

Has Ms. Noblezada officially announced a health concern and an absence from the show?

[SpookyFish13]

Posted: 7/22/19 at 1:21pm

Last I heard she was on a 2 week vocal rest due to nodes-like symptoms. But the fact that the show hasn’t made an official announcement is kinda bad news. Usually shows don’t announce stuff like this if they think there’s a strong chance the vocal rest will be extended. They wouldn’t want people to book tickets for after she’s scheduled to be back and then demand a refund when her sick-leave is extended.