HADESTOWN Star Amber Gray Steps Back Into the Role of 'Persephone' for Friday Performance

Tony-nominee Amber Gray, who originated the role of Persephone in Hadestown, returned to the musical for Friday night's performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre. A show representative confirmed the news this evening.

There is no word on whether Gray is expected to play more than one performance.

With numerous actors sidelined due to illness, the Tony-winning production was forced to cancel its Wednesday matinee earlier this week.

Swing Timothy Oliver Reid also made headlines on Wednesday when he stepped in for one of the Fates for the evening performance.

Gray played her final performances as a full-time member of the company on February 19. Lara Gordon joined the production as Persephone following Gray's departure.

Gray's involvement in Tony Award winner Anaïs Mitchell's beguiling musical began during early developmental readings with Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin. She went on to play the role of the Queen of the Underworld in all three developmental productions prior to Hadestown's 2019 Broadway premiere: New York Theatre Workshop (2016); the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Canada (2017); and London's National Theatre (2018). For her performance, she received a Grammy Award®, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and was nominated for Tony® and Lucille Lortel® Awards.

The Broadway cast is led by Grammy Award winner Reeve Carney, Tony Award winner André De Shields, two-time Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada, and Tony Award nominee Patrick Page. They are joined by Jewelle Blackman, Jessie Shelton, and Kay Trinidad as the Fates and Lana Gordon as the Persephone alternate. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Timothy Hughes, Trent Saunders, Grace Yoo. The cast includes swings Sojourner Brown, Tara Jackson, Tomás Matos, Sayo Oni, Yael "YaYa" Reich, and T. Oliver Reid.

The show originated as Mitchell's indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With 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.

Following two intertwining love stories - that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone - Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell's beguiling melodies and Chavkin's poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.

Hadestown is the most honored show of the 2018-2019 season. In addition to the show's eight Tony Awards, it has been honored with four Drama Desk Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Broadway Musical and the Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical. The show is already the highest-grossing musical in the history of the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street).

Hadestown marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics, and book, and is the fourth time in Broadway history a woman has accomplished this creative feat. It also marks the first time in Broadway history that a show's female composer and female director both won Tony Awards for their work.

The creative team for Broadway features Tony Award winner Rachel Hauck (set design), four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Krass (costume design), two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (lighting design), Tony Award winners Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design), Obie Award® winner and Chita Rivera Award® winner David Neumann (choreography), Liam Robinson (music direction and vocal arrangements), Tony Award winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations), Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy), and Stewart/Whitley (casting).

The North American tour is now on the road and will play over 30 cities in its first season with more to be announced shortly. For the latest tour route and other information, please visit: www.hadestown.com/tour

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hadestown is also available on CD and streaming. The album was released digitally in summer of 2019, and topped Billboard's Broadway Cast Recording chart, and debuted at #8 on the Top Album chart. The CD edition features a 64-page booklet and a two-disc set, while the triple vinyl edition features a 16-page booklet. Both editions include complete song lyrics and never before seen photos of the Hadestown cast and creative team in the studio, and other exclusive content.

In fall of 2020, Mitchell released Working On A Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown, an illuminating book of lyrics and stories about her more than decade's long process of building the musical from the ground up. Working On A Song is available from Penguin Random House.

Hadestown electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, which is the longest-running show in that celebrated theater's 40-year history. The production then received its Canadian premiere at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre in 2017 and then a 2018 sold-out engagement at the London's National Theatre prior to Broadway. Hadestown was developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center and was further developed by The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Hadestown was co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.