HADESTOWN to Host First-Ever Autism Friendly Performance in Partnership with TDF

Hadestown will partner with TDF, the not-for-profit service organization for the performing arts, to present the first-ever Autism-friendly performance of the Tony Award-winning production on Sunday, August 20th at 1:00PM ET the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 W 48th St). Tailored for families with members on the Autism spectrum or with other developmental or cognitive disabilities, this special matinee is sponsored by Thomas M. Neff.

To create an autism-friendly setting, the show will be performed in a supportive environment for children and adults diagnosed with autism or other sensory sensitivities and their families. Slight adjustments will be made to the production, where possible, including the reduction of jarring sounds, lights, and fog focused into the audience. In the theatre lobby, there are staffed break areas in case audience members need to leave their seats during the performance.

Tickets were offered by lottery to families with children and adults on the autism spectrum who have previously attended TDF Autism Friendly Performances on Broadway. Visit TDF.org/autism to learn more about TDF Autism Friendly Performances and to sign up to receive emails announcing upcoming performances.

“When we first encountered Hadestown, we had no way of anticipating the myriad ways in which varied audience members each found their own particular resonance in the story, the music, the lyrics and the characters,” said producer Mara Isaacs. “We believe that everyone has the potential to see themselves in a story about love, hope, community and redemption. We look forward to discovering, along with our guests at the Autism Friendly performance, what will resonate for them.”

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to offer an autism friendly performance of this amazing show to our families with children and adults on the autism spectrum at no cost,” said Lisa Carling, TDF’s Director of Accessibility Programs. “Due to the generosity of Mr. Neff, these folks who have attending previous autism friendly performances on Broadway are getting an experience they won’t soon forget.”

Hadestown currently stars Grammy Award winner Reeve Carney as Orpheus and Tony Award winner Lillias White as Hermes. They are joined by Amelia Cormack, Lindsey Hailes, and Brit West as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Chibueze Ihuoma, Alex Lugo, and Alex Puette. The cast includes swings Brandon Cameron, Yael “YaYa” Reich, Eddie Noel Rodríguez, and Allysa Shorte. Jewelle Blackman as ‘Persephone’ and Tom Hewitt as ‘Hades’ will have their final performance on Sunday, September 3.

As previously announced, two-time Tony Award nominee, and original Broadway cast member, Eva Noblezada will play her final performance as ‘Eurydice’ on Sunday, August 13. Solea Pfeiffer will join the cast as ‘Eurydice’ on Tuesday, August 15. 

Additionally, international pop music sensation Betty Who and Tony and Grammy Award nominee Phillip Boykin will join the cast of Hadestown as ‘Persephone’ and ‘Hades,’ respectively, beginning on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.

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.

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 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. Earlier this year, the landmark musical became the longest running show in the history of the Walter Kerr Theatre and holds the record for highest grossing musical in that venerated stage’s 100-year history.

The creative team features Tony Award winner Rachel Hauck (set design), four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Krass (costume design), two-time Tony Award winnerBradley 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 Whitley Theatrical (casting).

The North American tour is in its Canadian premier with a multi-week engagement at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto through Sunday, August 20.  The tour then heads to Ottawa, August 22-27, before returning to the States and San Francisco for a week, opening September 12.  More stops include Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles and Seattle.  For the latest tour route and other information, please visit: www.hadestown.com/tour

The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hadestown is one of the most streamed cast albums of all time with over 300 million streams to date. It was released the summer of 2019, 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.

Hadestown will make its triumphant London return in February, 2024 when it plays the Lyric Theatre in the West End. 

ABOUT TDF ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAMS 

TDF Accessibility Programs make theatregoing possible for people with physical disabilities as well as individuals on the autism spectrum. The full range of services includes Autism Friendly Performances of Broadway productions; accessible seating for those with mobility issues; and open captioned, American sign language-interpreted and audio described performances of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows for theatregoers who are Deaf or have hearing loss, are blind or have low vision. TDF also trains theatres in the US and abroad on how to set up open captioning programs and autism-friendly shows and offers an educational enrichment program for students who are Deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision. TDF partnered with The Broadway League to develop the website TheatreAccess.NYC, the official site for accessibility information for Broadway shows. To learn more about TDF’s Accessibility Programs go to www.tdf.org.

Photo credit: Matthew Murphy