Hadestown tour questions. — Page 2

One question. The final note of "...Build the Wall" they sing in piano unlike how they do on the cast album and I remember on Broadway. Can someone who has seen the show recently confirm how that that is sung on Broadway?"

The tour is ever so slightly different. On Broadway, “Wall” buttons for applause, and on tour the last bite of the song is held while the underscoring of the Outro begins, thus eliminating the applause break.

FYI : SPRING49 unlocks $49 tickets to select performances in Philly, Feb 09 - Feb 20.

I bought $35 rush tickets to last night's performance in Philly -- you can order them in advance and choose your seat from whatever's available. I ended up with a good seat in the parquet circle but was able to move to a prime center seat at intermission. There were quite a few empty seats last night in good locations. I think advanced rush is available for all remaining performances.
https://www.kimmelculturalcampus.org/events-and-tickets/ticket-deals/community-rush/

Finally saw the tour this afternoon. Hadestown was the last show I saw in NYC before covid shut everything down and I’m happy it was my first show back to theatre.

Here’s some thoughts:

Morgan. LOVED HER. She was an amazing Eurydice! I feel like she was a bit shy at the beginning (?) where as Eva is bold from the start. But really loved Morgan’s Eurydice. She really made the character her own. I think she acted more than Eva. Eva sings beautifully but she doesn’t make you feel anything. Morgan made us feel why she made the decision she did, and made us feel her regret.

Nicholas. Wow. I’m not a Reeve fan and I hope Nicholas gets the call for Broadway when Reeve leaves. Overall, he’s the standout here. Nicholas was a more confident Orpheus but also more emotional. During “If it’s True” Nicholas was visibly crying where as I never noticed that with Reeve. Also, not sure if it was here or I read on Reddit about the blood not being on Orpheus for the tour- it was there.

Kimberly. As Persephone being my favorite, I really enjoyed her performance! I think she changed Persephone from NYC though. It was.. different. She played her similar to Amber in NYC (Kimberly’s Persephone was a toned down boozy Persephone). But tour, she sounds more screechy? Maybe she’s singing the material higher for the tour? I didn’t feel the emotion she brought in NYC today. Idk. She got the loudest and longest applause at the beginning intros.

The Fates. In Act 2 the girls were not in sync for Nothing Changes but only for a second or two. They adjusted to end the song perfectly! I remember reading an interview with one of the Broadway Fates and she said Nothing Changes is the hardest song for them because of that reason.

Levi. I wasn’t a fan at first... but he grew on me as the show went on. He had a lot of energy opening the show but as the show progressed, his energy declined. But I really liked him taking us on the emotional roller coaster. I do agree he was more interested in Orpheus’ choices rather than just guiding him. I think next to Wait for Me, Levi and Nicholas got the best audience reaction in Act 1 during the “Don't come on too strong; Come home with me” exchange. Audience loooooved that!!

Kevyn. I thought he played Hades more creepy. And because of that, the implied rape of Eurydice was even more uncomfortable. I hate to say it but I think Kevyn is the weak link here.

The Academy of Music is huge. And so is the stage. The set was tiny any there was a lot of space that was just empty on the sides. Which was fine. But I do think maybe another theatre would have worked better. I miss the elevator. Some of the entrances and exits work much better with the elevator. The door does work. The door reminded me of

My only complaint to the venue is one of our seats was sold at full view but should have been marked partial view. I had the better of the three seats and I could only 2/3 of the stage. Our third seat was easily partial view and should have been sold that way.

Additionally, we had talkers behind us. Two grown @ss men being obnoxious and disrespectful to everyone around them. Kicking seats, hollering, and talking through the first 20 min. Thankfully after my turning around THREE TIMES they got the hint and stopped talking, and eventually left before act 1 ended.

I just saw the tour at the Orpheum in Minneapolis with a sold out crowd.

It was a truly magical show. Levi Kreis has us all in the palm of his hand from the moment he stepped onstage. The pacing was fantastic, bringing us from song to song at such a quick pace that I could have imagined the show working with no intermission at all. Every little bit of the production was impeccable.

dangeresque49 said: "I will say from my recent second viewing it is disappointing on tour to not have the elevator. Those who have not seen it on broadway and don't know about it probably won't feel like something is missing though. I thought the case was in some ways better than the broadway production. I did not seem to recall the story making as much sense the first time. I don;t know if they made changes but it seems really streamlined now."

I know exactly what you mean. The tour makes the story very clear to the first time viewer. I had to go back to Broadway a few times before I finally felt I understood the story. But everyone with me at the tour didnt know the story but walked out without questions. I felt like the tour explained everything better even though very little was changed from Broadway to tour. The lift has a greater impact on the turn around , and the door doesn't do that moment justice. I'll be meeting a friend in NYC for Hadestown hopefully this spring. She's only seen the tour and I've seen both. I'm excited to see her reaction at the turn and the use of the lift overall. My second viewing of the tour won't be until December in Orlando but I'm looking forward to it (loooove Nicholas so much more than Reeve!)!

I have seen the show twice in SF now. Once with Nick, and then last Friday with Chibueze. I enjoyed both times, but I think I preferred Chibueze as Orpheus.

One gripe I had was, that it was really hard to understand anything they were saying for both shows. It was shrill, and loud, and really unbalanced. Wait for Me (both times) are the clear standouts in the show, and seemingly the only ones where some theatrics come in.

I saw a video of the elevator stuff on Broadway and felt like the tour version didn't really lack anything comparatively. My interpretation of the door that opens is more in line with the train imagery that opens its doors, so it does work still.

I saw the musical on Father's Day, a week ago. I had seen and loved it on Broadway. I emerged with a mixed opinion on some performances but a renewed appreciation for the show as a whole. It's a tricky show to adapt on tour, but Rachel Chavkin has done such a good job that even I didn't even miss the loss of the terrific imagery of the elevator taking the characters down below.

I was a fan on Chibueze Ihuoma as Orpheus. While his voice isn't quite as otherworldly as Reeve Carney's, he brings the vocal goods. And he portrays the character with a determination that makes him a little less simple and more of a protagonist.

The other standout, overall, was Kimberly Marable as Persephone. That was especially noticeable during "Our Lady of the Underground," when she really seemed to be having fun and engaging the audience (not anywhere close to sold out, by the way. I don't know if the Orpheum's decision, unwelcome to me, to get rid of mask requirements is working for them. The big touring houses are the only ones in the Bay Area where masks aren't required, though plenty of people were still wearing them).

Perhaps because I knew the show and had such a good experience the first time, it took me a little while to adjust, or maybe the second act performances were just better than the first. (The upswing started with "Wait for Me" and continued through the rest of the show.) Can't tell where that stops and my own biases and expectations begin.

That was certainly true with the actor playing Hermes. I appreciated that Levi Kreis didn't try to imitate Andre de Shields and he made some interesting choices. As HeyMrMusic writes, he really seems devastated at the conclusion - and a little less removed and wise. That said, it was de Shields who I missed the most. He just elevated the material and could captivate an audience even when he wasn't doing much. But then again, there's a reason why his performance is one of the best I can recall seeing on Broadway, and why he won a Tony and all that.

Eddie Noel Rodriguez was on for Hades, and he did fine.

I certainly would recommend the tour.

Their "garage" claw was well played, I even wanted to help them with the garage door service repair. But I loved the performance. I can say that it was the most successful production, and the actors were amazing. In my opinion they were able to bring the whole range of emotions and feelings to show us the essence of the performance. Bravo!

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Fix Garage Doors CA

Miles2Go2 - I wish you would have seen original tour Orpheus, Nicholas Barasch. Much better than Reeve Carney.

Miles2Go2 said: "I know I’m in the minority on this, but I loved Reeve Carney’s interpretation of Orpheus. He had that “lost soul” feeling (which made his connection to Eurydice that much more palpable like he had found his person or been found). That was totally missing last night. I wish we could have seen this tour’s regular Orpheus. Still a very good night of theater."

I totally agree about Reeve! I also saw the performance in OKC last night and agree with you about J. Antonio Rodriguez. Excellent singing, but he didn't quite fit the character. I have also seen Lindsay Hailes 3 times now (twice in Tulsa,) and I also enjoy her singing, although I'm eager to see the regular Persephone, as well . I'm curious if the regulars will perform any this week. I have tickets again on Tuesday. (I enjoy seeing shows multiple times.)

Miles2Go2 said: "It’s here next Tuesday? I thought the final performance in OKC is Sunday night."

Oops! I meant Thursday!

On the Hadestown tour cast page, Lana Gordon is now listed as Persephone. Has she been on yet?