Interview: Belén Moyano of HADESTOWN at Saenger Theatre

The national tour of the Tony award-winning musical Hadestown is getting ready to make its way down to New Orleans at the Saenger Theatre, running from December 28 through January 2.

HADESTOWN is a love story for today, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album, this acclaimed new show intertwines two mythic tales - that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone - as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.

BroadwayWorld.com sat down with one of the three Fates, Belén Moyano, about how Hadestown compares to classical Greek theatre, the role of doubt in the show, and how this musical can instill inspiration.

BroadwayWorld.com: If someone were to ask you, "what is this show about?" how would you respond?

Moyano: HADESTOWN is about the power of one voice and what we can do to speak out about the issues that we see in the world. There are also other themes within Hadestown regarding climate change, capitalism; there's some talk on immigration. It's a show that touches on many topics, but most importantly, I think for me, it's the power of music and the voice.

BroadwayWorld: What makes Hadestown unique as a musical?

Moyano: I think the inception of Hadestown is unique. From the beginning, Anaïs Mitchell, the writer, wrote [this piece] with friends, and it was performed throughout Vermont, so it has this folk feeling, and this communal feeling that I think is beautiful. And so, when the audience comes, we are there to share the story with the audience and engage with them...And our set itself is our own replica of the Preservation Hall, which is amazing. They had this idea to [make] the story New Orleans-esque. So, it's got a lot of jazz, a lot of folk and country, and it's very much an American story, which makes it its own thing, and that's what makes it special.

BroadwayWorld: How does it compare to classical Greek plays written by playwright such as Sophocles or Euripides?

Moyano: The story is a myth. It's based on the epic of Orpheus and Eurydice as well as the story of Hades and Persephone, so it's kind of a mixture of those two. And I feel like, in Greek mythology fashion, there's a lot of prose, so it's incredibly poetic. But at the same time, just like these myths that are told time and time again, you learn something new from them every single time. I think that's the biggest similarity between Hadestown and the myths on which it's based, the way it's told.

BroadwayWorld: How have you evolved as an actor throughout the production?

Moyano: I have the blessing of playing one of the Fates in the show. We're a trio of really fierce women. We essentially decide the destiny of the humans and the world in our story is how the myth goes. And I don't think I've ever seen myself that powerful. I play a goddess on stage, and Rachel Chavkin, our director, would often tell us the Fates enjoy and relish in the power that they've been given. The opportunity that they have to kind of move the pieces around in the story, that's not something I've had the opportunity to do onstage or even in life, I would say.

If we're going to get into heavier topics, you know, especially within the industry, there's been a lot of sexism. And because I'm a woman of color, a lot of racism. So, I have been told many times to stay in my place and that my voice doesn't matter to kind of sum it up in a small nutshell. So, to be given the opportunity to play such a powerful role is incredible. I feel as though every single day that my Fate comes onstage, she's a different person; she is a different goddess, I guess, because I am growing with the role and with the opportunity to create within this pocket of Hadestown.

BroadwayWorld: What is the purpose of the Fates?

Moyano: We tell you from the start that we, as in the company, tell the audience that it will be a tragedy, and that's just how the story goes. And so, as the story progresses, the Fates' job is to ensure that it remains a tragedy. We could be seen as the villains, but the story has been written; this is how it is, and you can't change your fate or your destiny in that regard. Again, we move the pieces a little bit like a chessboard. We're also kind of the invisible women in the back. Often, we're not seen by the humans onstage because we are of a higher status. Or we're the wind, for example, and you can't see the wind. You can hear it and feel it, but you can't see it. And so, it's very interesting to see how the Fates ensure that the story remains true to the myth.

BroadwayWorld: What is your favorite part of playing as a Fate?

Moyano: I love playing with my sisters. That's what I call my two Fate friends, Bex Odorisio and Shea Renne. They're incredible, and...every night, we figure out something new that we've never thought of within the story. Getting to feel their energy and working as a trio while also being so unique and getting to bring our stamp to the trio itself has been such a joy and a blessing.

BroadwayWorld: How does Hadestown inspire you?

Moyano: I mean again [there's] this theme of "If I raise my voice, can I change my fate?" The word fate is only used twice in the show, so it's an interesting little motif...I'm always touched by that line because, again, sometimes we don't believe ourselves to have the power to change the world or to see the world in how we want to see it. So, I think Orpheus's example of utilizing his voice to make a difference...just to know that your voice can make a difference has been one of the most powerful things I've learned from the show itself.

BroadwayWorld: One of the major motifs with the myth of Orpheus was doubt. How does doubt play into the story?

Moyano: For me, the seed of the play, when I was doing some script analysis for it...I discovered the seed to be the price of doubt. Everybody within the story of Hadestown deals with doubt differently. Orpheus, in the end, pays the ultimate price for his doubt. Eurydice, throughout the story, she is kind of the embodiment of doubt. She has had a horrible, horrible life overall, moving from place to place, never finding a home. And Orpheus...it's as if he opens her eyes, and that doubt dissipates for a moment for Eurydice. You see that in Hades. Hades himself has so much doubt whether his wife will return. And Persephone has to deal with the consequences of Hades' doubt. It's fascinating.

BroadwayWorld: Anything else you'd like to tell our NOLA readers ahead of time before performing on the Saenger stage?

Moyano: I would say come with an open mind, an open heart. If you've seen Hadestown on Broadway, our company is incredibly different. We are so beautifully diverse, and because of those differences, the story that we tell is a little different than what's on Broadway. So, even if you've seen it on Broadway, I think you'll enjoy our production, and you might learn something new not just about the world but maybe potentially about yourself.