Interview: Matthew Patrick Quinn of HADESTOWN at Dr. Phillips Center

You may have a certain idea of what a musical based on Greek mythology would look and feel like, but chances are you've never seen or heard anything like singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell masterpiece (and Tony and Grammy Award winning) HADESTOWN. Told through a haunting folk rock, blues, gospel and jazz-infused score, HADESTOWN puts a stylistic and modern twist on the tragic love stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and of Persephone, the goddess of spring and Hades, the king of the underworld. Bringing the role of Hades to life in the national tour of HADESTOWN, which takes the stage at the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando December 13th - 18th, will be Matthew Patrick Quinn. I caught up with Matthew to find out more about HADESTOWN and what it's like performing this visionary show to audiences all over the country.

BWW: Matthew, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. We are really looking forward to HADESTOWN here in Orlando!

Matthew: It's my pleasure. I'm very excited to get there as well.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got started in the theatre?

You know, when I was growing up I remember we had the news on most of the time. I always remember the weather person would come on and was always energetic and funny. So I thought I wanted to be a weatherman. But then my parents bought my brother and me a video camcorder, and I started making little movies. And then I just realized I wanted to be on camera, and just wanted to be silly. But I was around 10 years old when my life changed. I met a kid who had just moved to Phoenix, where I lived, from California. He had been in some television shows and some movies and I asked how he managed to do that. His answer was that he had started in theater. And I was such a novice, I asked him, is that where guys like wear tights? I think my only reference was maybe seeing a production of The Nutcracker. So I told my mother I wanted to try out for a play, and she kind of scoffed it off, you know, like I had said I wanted to play trumpet, and had only lasted maybe a year. So she was pretty shocked when, in seventh grade I came to her with the local newspaper, asking to try out. And I haven't stopped since.

HADESTOWN may be familiar to many of our readers, due to the Tony and Grammy Awards and critical acclaim, but for those who don't know the story, how would you describe it?

HADESTOWN is an original and very inventive reimagining of two ancient Greek myths told through a blend of modern American folk music and New Orleans inspired jazz, which is a kind of a style of music you don't typically hear in musical theater. That said, you don't really need to have any prior knowledge of Greek mythology to enjoy the show, you just kind of have to know the main player, and this obviously is Hades. He's the lord of the dead, the leader of the underworld. And in the beginning of the show, Hermes, who acts as the narrator, gives the audience a basic rundown of all the characters and their background. So yeah, you don't really need to have studied Greek mythology to be able to enjoy the production.

And were you familiar with HADESTOWN before you were cast in this tour?

I knew a few of the songs, and I knew that it was obviously based on Greek mythology and just based on the poster I knew it had something to do with a red flower. So yeah, that that was about it. I knew a few of the people that were in the original. I had seen both Patrick Page and Reeve Carney in SPIDER MAN and I had seen Patrick do some other stuff. So I really was not that familiar before seeing it. I had a chance to see it the first time right when I got the audition. I kind of enjoy not having listened to a soundtrack so repetitively that I know every lyric. I like to go to a production really having to pay attention, and getting immersed in the experience by really listening and experiencing it for the first time. So I was glad that I didn't know that much about it before I saw it.

Well, that's it's such a rarity these days, you know, especially for folks who are either actors or performers, or regular theatergoers to have the chance to experience something that fresh.

Yeah, growing up, I didn't have the opportunity to see a lot of theatrical productions, especially not Broadway. Broadway tours came through Tempe, Arizona, but we didn't we didn't go very often. So when I was a kid, the soundtrack was my connection. You the double CD of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA or MISS SAIGON and that was it. It was all in your mind's eye. If you were lucky, you might know someone who had the full book. Then you could see a little bit more of the background. But back then, before the dawn of the Internet, it was all just left up to your imagination. And so, when you finally get to see a production, you had already created what you thought it would be in your head.

One of the most exciting things to me about HADESTOWN is the hauntingly beautiful score from Anaïs Mitchell, which is really unlike anything else on the stage. What has been your experience performing this score every night?

No matter how I'm feeling, if I'm tired or sad or any myriad of emotions, when the whole cast sings the first notes of the call and response with Hermes I always get this full-body rush. The music and the show is just so beautifully structured it really takes you on a full circle journey that is so very satisfying. The music spans so many different styles. I love that the orchestra itself is so small, maybe 8 or 9 players, so you really get a chance to enjoy the individual performances and the individual sounds. And another thing that's so great about the show is that the orchestra is on stage so they really are a part of the company. It is really special.

I think Hades may be one of the most prominent lead roles in musical theater today that is written for a true Bass voice. Something that doesn't come around that often!

Yeah, it is. It's super exciting, You know a lot of a lot of musical theater tends to favor tenors. That's something that we celebrate throughout the music industry even. We celebrate when people can sing high because it's something that not a lot of people can do. So when people do it and do it well, it's always very shocking, and it's always very exciting. I think that being able to sing low is something that is exciting in its own way for people to experience in theater, because, like you said, you don't hear it very often.

Let's talk more about the story of HADESTOWN. There are so many rich themes for audiences to take away from it. What would you say has resonated most with audiences in your experience?

I think you'd really have to ask the audiences. Each city is different and those differences will inevitably influence the messages that ring strongest. But the universal theme is that love has the power to make change for better or worse. In our show love affects the lives of both gods and man. I do get the sense from the people I talk with after the show that the emotion they experience has a lot to do with the theme of love. Both the the story of Eurydice and Orpheus and Hades and Persephone, that's the key factor. It's the love between Hades and Persephone that made the world go round, and it's the loss of that love, or in this moment the lack of that love that's causing so many problems.

Is there anyone in particular that has inspired you in your portrayal of Hades?

Whenever it comes to a show like this, I tend to always go back to the source material. Not just the true source material, like Greek mythology for my Hades research, but for this production of HADESTOWN the source material for me is the original Broadway production. And so that would be Patrick Page. He has inspired me a lot, having spent so much time cultivating this role. It only makes sense for me to study his performance. He was so gracious to meet me for dinner just before we began rehearsals and I was able to pick his brain a bit, you know. We're very different in age, so I had to find my own version of Hades - how I would carry myself and move about on stage. But we definitely agreed on what motivates him to make the choices that he makes. So he's been very inspirational to me. I also had the chance to see Tom Hewitt, who's going to take over for Patrick when he leaves, and we talked a little bit, too. Back to our discussion about singing bass, in performing the role, Patrick is an enigma. His voice is almost inhuman and both Tom and myself don't sing it the way that Patrick does. Patrick actually sings at an octave lower, and so I can't do that. So Tom has inspired me because his performance was the first time I actually got to hear it sung the way that I'm singing it now, up the octave. They're both great performers and very talented men. So they have both inspired me to create my own version of the character.

What do you look forward to the most before you step out on stage each night?

There's so many moments in the show that I just love getting a chance to do. But in general, I spend a large part of act one not doing much. I sit and read the newspaper. So when I finally get a chance to make my first really big entrance where I say my first line from a little sequestered secret space, I do this little gratitude dance to express how grateful I am to be part of this this beautiful, relevant, poignant show. You know I've been given a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it's never lost on me. And so I take that moment right before I come out on stage to just express my gratefulness into the universe.

What do you like the most (and least) about a tour like this?

This question is always an interesting one. I like to say that touring gives members of the company an opportunity to visit parts of the world that they may never get to see if it weren't for this job. We meet people and hear stories and experience the joys and sorrows from all different angles, and I feel that truly makes us better people. It gives us a greater understanding of life and the intricacies that comes with living in places unlike where we are from. When you are sedentary and don't travel you can become locked into a way of life and a cycle of thoughts and opinions. So I think traveling really opens the mind and opens the heart and soul to different different ways of thinking, different ways of experiencing life. And that's the best part of the tour lifestyle.

Have you toured through Orlando before?

Yes, I came through Orlando with the tour of FINDING NEVERLAND in 2017 maybe? And I also spent a lot of time working for Disney Cruise Line so I am well aware of the Disney aspect of Orlando.

What's next for you after HADESTOWN?

The future is unknown at this point, and I'm totally fine with that. HADESTOWN is my life at the moment, and I I choose to embrace the present with all of my heart. In the future, thinking of what other shows I might want to do, I would love to be a part of BACK TO THE FUTURE. I haven't seen the show yet but I have been an avid fan of the movies since my childhood - I would say, borderline obsessive. The new musical version opens on Broadway next year, and I'm also a huge fan of Roger Bart, who portrays Doc Brown, so I would be happy just to be an understudy. As a fan I think that would be something that would be extremely fulfilling to me.

Do you have any advice for young performers looking to make it into professional theatre?

Never stop practicing and learning. That would be my number one. The more you know about any topic, the more well rounded and actor you'll be - read the news, watch documentaries. As actors we tell stories of the human experience, or in my current state, godly experience, so learn much as much as you can. It will make you so much more interesting as as a person and performer. A character you play one day may have been through an experience that you know nothing about. So why not study more, so you have a little bit more understanding of different experiences.

Is there anything else you would like readers to know?

You can always check out the HADESTOWN website for upcoming tour locations. I believe the tour is currently booked through the spring of 2024 so always always check back in for new locations. Besides that I would say to continue to support art in all of its variations - theatre, concerts, ballet opera. The world would be lost without the power of art and the power it has to bring people together, while simultaneously diversifying us in the best way. So yes, please continue to buy tickets and and support local art.

HADESTOWN runs at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts December 13th - 18th. Performances are 8:00 PM Tuesday - Saturday and 6:30 PM on Sunday, with matinees at 2:00 PM on Saturday and 1:00 PM on Sunday. Tickets are available online at https://tickets.drphillipscenter.org/production/12209 or by calling the Bill & Mary Darden Box Office at 407.358.6603. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801

All production photos by T. Charles Erickson

Header Photo: Matthew Patrick Quinn, Hannah Whitley, Dominique Kempf, Nyla Watson, Belén Moyano in HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022.

Top Photo: Matthew Patrick Quinn

Mid Photo 1: Matthew Patrick Quinn in HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022

Mid Photo 2: HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022

Mid Photo 3: HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022

Mid Photo 4: Matthew Patrick Quinn, Chibueze Ihuoma, and Maria-Christina Oliveras in HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022.

Mid Photo 5: Nathan Lee Graham and Company in HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022.

Bottom Photo: Matthew Patrick Quinn, Hannah Whitley, Dominique Kempf, Nyla Watson, Belén Moyano in HADESTOWN North American Tour 2022.

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