Nicholas Barasch to Play Final Performance in HADESTOWN in June; Chibueze Ihuoma to Take Over as Orpheus

Nicholas Barasch, who launched the North American Tour of Hadestown last fall in the role of Orpheus, will play his final performance at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, CA, on Sunday, June 12. Chibueze Ihuoma, currently a member of the Workers Chorus and understudy for Orpheus in the tour, will take over the role starting Tuesday, June 14. Ihuoma is a Nigerian-American actor, musician, writer, and a recent graduate of NYU Tisch who has been with the Hadestown tour since it launched in October 2021.

Beginning June 14, the North American touring production will star Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice, Chibueze Ihuoma as Orpheus, Tony Award winner Levi Kreis as Hermes, Kimberly Marable as Persephone, and Olivier Award® nominee Kevyn Morrow as Hades.

The Fates are played by Belén Moyano, Bex Odorisio, and Shea Renne. The Workers Chorus features Lindsey Hailes, Sydney Parra, Eddie Noel Rodríguez, and Jamari Johnson Williams. Swings for the tour include Tyla Collier, Ian Coulter-Buford, Alex Lugo, J. Antonio Rodriguez, and Marquis Wood.

Originally set to launch in 2020, Hadestown began its North American tour in the fall of 2021. With dates announced through the summer of 2023, the tour will play cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Costa Mesa, Las Vegas, Denver, Austin, Nashville, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland, Washington DC, and more. Announced tour engagements are listed here.

Hadestown is the most honored show of the 2018-2019 Broadway season. In addition to the show's eight Tony Awards® including Best New Musical and the 2020 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theater Album, 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 acclaimed new musical is by celebrated singer-songwriter and Tony Award® winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with innovative director and Tony Award® winner Rachel Chavkin. 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.

The show opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway (219 West 48th Street, New York) on April 17, 2019, where it played sold out houses nightly before performances were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hadestown resumed performances September 2, 2021, as one of the first musicals to reopen on Broadway where it continues to play today. The North American Tour opened at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC on October 15, 2021.

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.

The creative team 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); Chita Rivera Award® winner and three-time Bessie Award® winner David Neumann (choreography); Liam Robinson (music supervision and vocal arrangements); Tony Award® winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations); Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy); and Stewart/Whitley (casting).

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. 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. Hadestownwas co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.

The Grammy® winning Hadestown Original Broadway Cast Recording is now available at Hadestown.com/music. The album is produced by David Lai, Sickafoose, and Mitchell on Sing It Again Records.

BIOGRAPHY

Chibueze Ihuoma (Orpheus), he/him, is a Nigerian-American actor, musician, and writer. A 2021 graduate of NYU Tisch (New Studio on Broadway), Chibueze is thrilled to be part of the Hadestown pantheon! He recently was seen in Hangar Theatre's production of Once (Andrej). University credits include Urinetown (Bobby Strong), The Wild Party (Mr. Black), 12 Angry Animals (Juror 3/Bengal Tiger). chibuezeihuoma.com. IG: chibreezy7