REVIEW: The Gods Are Finally In The House as HADESTOWN Arrives In Sydney

The musical storytelling of the Ancient Greek myths comes to life as Anaïs Mitchell’s HADESTOWN opens in Sydney.  Rachel Chavkin’s (Director) 8-time Tony Award winning musical is recreated for the Theatre Royal with an all-Australian cast by Tiffani Swalley who was also the Associate Broadway Director.  

With a set, designed by Rachel Hauck, inspired by New Orlean’s famous jazz venue, Preservation Hall, and factories made of steel, the love and tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone, from Ancient Greek mythology, are retold for  a self serving and capitalist generation.  With wings on her shoes, messenger of the Gods and conductor of souls to the afterlife, Hermes, is a more feminine God (Goddess?), in the form of the silver suited Christine Anu, a genderblind casting that has happened in the Broadway and West End productions as well.  Mrs Hermes tells the tale of her ward, the son of a muse and gifted poet and musician, Orpheus (Noah Mullins), and the song he hopes will “bring the world back into tune” and the love he feels for the ‘hungry young girl’, Eurydice (Abigail Adriano).  As Eurydice challenges Orpheus to share his unfinished song, the melody is familiar to Hermes and the story of the Goddess of the Seasons, Persephone (Elenoa Rokobaro), and the God of the Dead and ruler of the Underworld, Hades (Adrian Tamburini), and their arrangement that Persephone return to the surface for half the year so mortals have spring and summer, and the ensuing entrapment Hades engages in when he’s bored and feeling abandoned.   

Given the work is set to the modern American folk music and New Orleans Jazz, HADESTOWN plays out against the backdrop of Laura Tipoki's (Musical Director & Accordion)  live 8 piece jazz band that sits on tiers, reminiscent of the Greek amphitheaters, in a circular music hall and bar which Hauck and Chavkin have stated was also inspired by the inside of an oil drum to connect the work to Hades’ industrial world below.  Elements like the chalkboard of drink offerings, the bar with bottles and boxes, and the retro dual head microphone help reinforce the bar/club setting without being too overt.  The New Orleans connection and the industrial factories have inspired Michael Krass’ costume design that sees the Gods in elegant attire of lace, velvet and satin while the mortals are merely fodder for the fields and factories above and below, in flannels and overalls. Bradley King’s lighting is bold and effective in helping convey the extent to which Hades has gone to electrify and illuminate the underworld.  While the set remains largely the same as the Broadway Production playing at the Walter Kerr Theatre, the limitations of the Theatre Royal has dictated that  an alternative expression of the transition to Hadestown be utilised in the form of large steel industrial doors, backlit with even more spotlights, displacing the Fates (Sarah Murr, Jennifer Trijo and Imani Williams) seated beneath the Hades and Persephone’s cast iron balcony. 

With an all Australian cast, Chavkin and Swalley have followed the precedent set by other casts of keeping the vocals in the American accent to ensure the Anaïs Mitchell’s poetry is maintained by allowing the performers to imbue their own voices for the dialogue, most notably for Anu’s Hermes which helps shift the work from feeling completely America centric and being a more universal tale.  David Neumann’s choreography has been recreated by the multi talented ensemble who give the performance the requisite expression of contrasting physical expressions for those above and below, from the free and happy celebration of the return of the sun and Persephone, to the controlled and mechanical precision of Hades enslaved workforce that no longer have an identity but are just a cog in his machines. 

As Hermes, Christine Anu brings the requisite bold voice to the narrator and while initially somewhat restrained, eventually eases into a more intuitive performance giving a more convincing impression of improvising as she interacts with the other characters.  Sarah Murr, Jennifer Trijo and Imani Williams present a formidable trio as the Fates that are meant to keep mortals on the paths that their destiny as assigned by the laws of the universe as they tease and taunt Orpheus and Eurydice. 

Abigail Adriano and Noah Mullins both bring a fresh faced youth to the roles of Eurydice and Orpheus while ensuring that both are clearly motivated by different things.  Mullins’ gives Orpheus a social awkwardness and single minded determination focused on his music, ignoring the fact that the mortal world is suffering from poverty caused by the long harsh winter.  Adriano infuses Eurydice with the scepticism that Orpheus can deliver on his promises while allowing space for the character to grow from the pragmatic to the repentant as she realises the bargain she’s been tricked into.  While Adriano has the requisite beautiful voice to prompt Hades to refer to her as a songbird, Mullins is captivating as he shares his progress on the Epic story. 

Hades is a bold, controlled and controlling character and Adrian Tambourini ensures that he is deliciously sinister in both his voice and his physicality that speaks volumes without even opening his mouth.  His Bass Baritone operatic voice is adapted to the musical theatre genre and Mitchells music to give a powerful performance.  As Persephone, Elenoa Rokobaro is an absolute treat and is perfectly cast.  Rokobaro has an innate ability to make her performance feel intuitive as if she is truly at one with Persephone and she ensures that Persephone is portrayed as the polar opposite of Hades while handling her own depression from being held out of the sunlight for so long with a different addiction to her husband.  She plays into the role with committed physicality and bold power and vocals that are a gift from the gods as her voice suits the soulful jazz of the deep south and the old-world sound while having the ability to ensure there is a edge to the undertone that conveys the strength of character.

HADESTOWN is a captivating musical expression of the mythology.  It tells both the ancient story and presents as a contemporary warning against the greed, capitalism, and consumerism that threatens to deplete the worlds resources and degrade the earth so it can no longer feed its inhabitants.  It also tells two love stories while also challenging the idea that our biggest challenges and dangers lie in our minds as opposed to any physical obstacle.  A gift from the gods, HADESTOWN is perfect combination of storytelling, music (which also won a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album), dance and design.  Secure a ticket.

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