Lana Gordon Announced as Persephone Alternate in HADESTOWN on Broadway

The producers of Hadestown, the winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, announced today that Lana Gordon will be the alternate Persephone, allowing Amber Gray, who continues her award-winning run at the Walter Kerr Theatre, to spend more time with her young family. Gordon will join the cast the week beginning Monday, October 11 and will perform the role of Persephone twice a week.

Lead producer Mara Isaacs said, "We are thrilled that Lana is joining our Broadway cast as the Persephone alternate. She brings a wonderful mixture of wit, strength, and vulnerability to the role that will enchant audiences.

In addition, Isaacs said, "We are also pleased to be able to support Amber Gray as she balances her needs as a parent of two young children while simultaneously continuing to nourish her artistic self at Hadestown."

Joining Gray and Gordon in the Broadway cast of Hadestown's is Grammy Award® winner Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Tony Award winner André De Shields as Hermes, Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt, and two-time Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada as Eurydice. They are joined by Jewelle Blackman, Jessie Shelton, and Mariand Torres as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Anthony Chatmon II, Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, and Kim Steele. The cast includes swings Malcolm Armwood, Tara Jackson, T. Oliver Reid, and Khaila Wilcoxon.

Hadestown is written by celebrated singer-songwriter and Tony Award® winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with innovative director and Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin.

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.

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.

Hadestown was 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.

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 in rehearsals with its official opening taking place Friday, October 15, at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center for a three-week engagement and continue to over 30 cities in its first season with more to be announced shortly. Prior to the Kennedy Center run, the tour will have a week-long stop at Greenville, South Carolina's Peace Center (Tuesday, October 5 - Sunday, October 10). 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. To date, the cast album has been streamed over 177M times. 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.