HADESTOWN's Vance Avery Dishes on His Role in the New Musical

Vance Avery, born and raised in Edmonton, is one of the Canadian cast members of the Pre-Broadway Canadian Premiere of Hadestown at the Citadel Theatre. Avery plays one of the Workers, who are a new addition to the show since the Off-Broadway production at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016. The Citadel's Sydnee Bryant spoke with the actor about his role, why Hadestown is a unique musical, and how special it is to perform at the Citadel for the first time.

Citadel Theatre: When did you first become involved with Hadestown?

Vance Avery: The first time I heard Anaïs Mitchell's concept album of Hadestown, I thought it was just such an incredible, sweeping score - and so few artists are actually doing albums. So I first listened to it as an album. But it's this amazing piece of theatre too, and an amazing story. I had also heard about a production of it in New York - some friends of mine had seen it and raved about it. They said it was such an incredible piece. About a year later, I heard it was coming here to Edmonton, where I was living. To have the chance to meet Rachel Chavkin and Anaïs Mitchell, and the chance to work on this with them, is incredible.

CT: In Hadestown, you're a Worker. How would you describe your character?

VA: The Workers are a new addition to the show. In the story, there were always these workers they talked about - workers who live above ground who are looking for work and then later, as the story progresses, the workers who are underground. They're a slave to the machinery and to the work. This is an opportunity for them to flesh those characters out. We're working through the process of how that can relate to the story and how that moves along, and how it interweaves into the other stories - how they facilitate some of the action of the story, as well. It's been an interesting process and it's still evolving as we work through it - trying different things with movement and staging, and working directly with the blocking so that it all interconnects with the music. The story is definitely at the forefront.

CT: I'm curious about the Workers since they are a new addition to the show. Are there new songs written specifically for the workers?

VA: There is some new material written and they've expanded on some of the themes that they had already created. The Workers were always referred to in the original story. When they were originally spoken of, they were spoken of as something that was 'over there.' But we're able to actually bring them to life. They've written new material for the workers and the story comes out more when they meet Orpheus and they're confronted with being stuck down in Hadestown for so long, and that longing for something different. When they discover that, and he reminds them of the reason why they wanted to find success and wealth ... they want a fulfilled life. We're able to bring that to life in a way the story didn't in the original version.

CT: Were you familiar with the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice prior to landing this role? Have you done any additional research to prepare?

VA: Yeah, I had heard the story, absolutely. It's really interesting to know the story and to rediscover it again through Anaïs' music. The first time that I listened to her lyrics and her building these beautiful images, I saw the story in an entirely different way. It was breathtaking when I first heard it. The first time someone said 'You have to listen to this album,' I put it on and I was like, 'Wow, this is a really cool story.' And then I found myself listening to the entire thing from beginning to end and then I'd go back and listen to the whole story again. It's so beautiful. It's quite amazing to see this all come together. Even working on the piece and doing runs up until the end of Act 1, we could see the story unfolding as it went along. It was almost like rediscovering it again - how it connects. You can feel it moving along. I'm excited for the audience to get a chance to experience that with us.

CT: What's it like working with Rachel Chavkin and Anaïs Mitchell on Hadestown?

VA: It's been incredible. They are so focused on crafting a beautiful story and staying true to these characters, making all of us feel like we're part of telling the story and how important that is, relating that to each other. In that way, we relate it to the audience. There are a lot of factors in this show that are challenges, with the staging and the actual set and all the moving parts. We've got a lot of components that have to come together and they all have to marry at the right moment. They all come together to form this beautiful story. The focal point is always the music, the story and the beautiful lyrics - the libretto that Anaïs has written.

CT: How have your previous experiences prepared you for this role?

VA: My experience in musical theatre has really run the gambit - think heavy dance shows to really heavy just singing roles. I really feel like this married all of this together in this production. Working with choreographer David Neumann has been a major part of the Workers for this production. The style is quite unique and it's very challenging. It lends itself so well to Anaïs' music that it's really a joy to get an opportunity to work on this with them and to see that working together. We're all asked to work together as a group but also to bring our own individuality to that [role]. All the Workers are lead performers and principal artists in their own right. Getting the opportunity to come together and fill this unit is pretty cool.

CT: What has been your favourite number or scene to rehearse so far?

VA: I think Living It Up is going to be huge - just the freedom of that and the expression of how they're just ready for spring and they're ready to bust out and have a good time. I think it also really tells the story of them longing for something better and their drive to want a better life for themselves. It's really fun. It's [the Workers] only opportunity to bust out because we're going to become Workers later and it's going to be very regimented and very work-like.

CT: Does Hadestown seem like anything else you've ever worked on or seen before?

VA: With singer/songwriters, there's not a lot of ones that can tell a beautiful story through music. Anaïs has certainly captured that. Working with Tom Waits on a musical when I was in Los Angeles was similar. He writes these incredible characters that are going through an arc in a song. It's quite different from a musical - it is that, as well - but his songs all move the plot forward and they're all telling the whole story. Not all musicals are like that. It's not like, 'We're going to sing this song and it's going to be very presentational to the audience.' This is characters talking to each other, communicating with each other, in a very basic way. Anaïs and I have discussed working with Tom and what that is, and we're both huge fans. I can hear that in her music and I can hear that desire to create really unique images.

CT: What should audiences expect when they come to see Hadestown? What do you hope they'll get out of it?

VA: When you're working on a show, and working on a new work, there are so many different components that come together to make a story. When you're involved in each individual component, you can't see the whole picture, so it's hard for me to know what people are going to grasp onto but I know that there is the through-line of those characters - Orpheus's story and Eurydice - the love that they have for each other and the drive to want to be together and go to any lengths to be together. The duality of Eurydice wanting a better life for herself and rejecting an easy, softer [life], saying, 'I need to take care of myself. I need to eat, I need to work, I need to have a life.' And to be able to find each other and really challenge their relationship together. Hades sets them up on a journey that takes them, in the end, to really test their relationship to see if it's strong enough to survive. I think an audience will see that. It will touch something in them. A lot of people will find different things in the story that they can relate to. I'm still moved every time I hear Wait For Me - it's so beautiful and I can see the sweeping plains and the longing for so many different characters. We all come together to sing this and the characters all have a different [idea] of what it means to them.

CT: This is your first show at the Citadel. Is that meaningful to you?

VA: I was born and raised here in Edmonton. The Citadel was always that focal point for theatre and was the first inspiration for me wanting to be an actor - coming to some shows here and dreaming that, one day, I would get an opportunity to perform on these stages. It's been an incredible journey to come full-circle to come back here to Edmonton. I can't think of a better way to come back to Edmonton than this show. I wanted to be a part of it, and to have it here at the Citadel is just a dream come true.

Hadestown runs November 11 to December 3, 2017, at the Citadel Theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 780.425.1820 or visit www.citadeltheatre.com.