T. Oliver Reid Will Take Over the Role of Hermes in HADESTOWN

Original Broadway cast member and one of the show's celebrated understudies T. Oliver Reid will assume the role of Hermes at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48^th Street) starting Tuesday, June 14.

In Hadestown, Reid has understudied the roles of Hermes, Hades, and members of the Workers Chorus. In March of this year, when a COVID surge was impacting Broadway, Reid famously went on at the last minute as one the Fates, the trio normally played by female-presenting actors. Reid is also a co-founder and co-artistic director of Black Theatre Coalition a non-profit organization dedicated to building a sustainable ethical roadmap that will increase employment opportunities for Black theater professionals.

In addition to Reid, the Broadway cast is led by Jewelle Blackman as Persephone, Grammy Award winner Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt as Hades for a limited seven-week engagement, and two-time Tony Award nominee Eva Noblezada as Eurydice. They are joined by Soara-Joye Ross, Jessie Shelton, and Kay Trinidad as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Alex Puette, Trent Saunders, and Grace Yoo. The cast includes swings Sojourner Brown, Tara Jackson, Sayo Oni, Yael "YaYa" Reich, and Davis Wayne.

Tickets for Hadestown on Broadway are available at www.seatgeek.com/hadestown-tickets or by visiting the Walter Kerr Theatre box office (219 West 48^th Street).

The show 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 is the most honored show of the 2018-2019 season. The show is the winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, 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 the highest-grossing musical in the history of the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48^th Street).

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 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 currently playing San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre through Sunday, July 3. 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. 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.

T. Oliver Reid (Hermes) has spent the past 20+ years working on Broadway. The shows, which include Hadestown; Once On This Island; Sunset Boulevard; After Midnight; Sister Act; Mary Poppins; The Wedding Singer; Chicago; La Cage Aux Folles; Never Gonna Dance; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Follies and Kiss Me, Kate, have amassed more than 20 Tony Awards from the American Theatre Wing. T. Oliver is recipient of Bistro, MAC, Julie Wilson, and Alfred Drake Awards. He is co-founder of Black Theatre Coalition and assistant professor of Musical Theatre at Rider University as well as adjunct professor at Columbia University School of the Arts Grad Acting Program and NYU-Tisch Grad Acting. He is also an accomplished cabaret artist and director/choreographer, most recently working on Universal Pictures' Bros, starring Billy Eichner. He continues to work in film and television as an actor ("Inventing Anna," "The Sixth Sense," "Girls," "Ray Donovan," "The Blacklist"). He also sits on the Board of Visitors for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. @toliverreid.