Review: HADESTOWN at Broadway San Diego

This weekend through Sunday, November 10th, Broadway San Diego will take you to hell and back with the fantastic touring production of the musical “Hadestown.”  Don’t worry, you will make it out safely, though you may exit feeling more hopeful, defiant, and inspired than you were when you entered. 

As told by the god Hermes (Jaylon C. Crump) the audience goes on a journey following two couples and their intertwining love stories.  There are the young lovers Orpheus (Bryan Munar) and Eurydice (Megan Colton) and the long-married King Hades (Nickolaus Colón) and his wife Persephone (Namisa Mdlalose Bizana), who are at a rocky point in their relationship.  Since they are immortal gods, when they hit a rough patch, it impacts humans everywhere.   As the Fates (Katelyn Crall, Miriam Navarrete, and Alli Sutton) play with Orpheus and Eurydice, what happens next may hold the whole world in its balance.

On the human side of the story, Muna's Orpheus has a gentleness and a quiet strength that tempers the wildness in Colton’s Eurydice. She is spiky, aggressive, and a bit feral, and you get the sense that he is taming a wild animal. Both have strong voices and a sweet chemistry.  The solid ensemble cast includes Randy Cain, Miracle Myles, Kaitlyn O’Leary, Mikaela Rada, and Joe Rumi, along with the swings Jamir Brown, Ricky Cardenas, Michelle E. Carter, and Julia Schick.

The neat trick for the immortals is that they are both entertaining and relatable while very clearly not human due to their mercurial natures and sometimes harsh reactions.  Crump as Hermes is fun and has plenty of personality. He stays true to the character while making it his own and singing beautiful runs.

Bizana’s Persephone is vital and luminous, with a wonderful voice and infectiously buoyant personality. It is all too easy to believe that when she leaves the room, the lights dim. 

 As her counterpoint Hades, Colón is incredibly powerful. He has a laser focus on Persephone and has a rich, complex, and smooth voice, like whiskey with an equal kick. 

Standout songs include “Wait for Me,” which had an extended applause break, “Flowers,” a soul-wrenching lament by Eurydice at the realization of what she just gave up, and “Why We Build a Wall,” in which Colón’s Hades had the audience so much in his thrall that there was a moment of stunned silence before the curtain dropped on intermission and applause broke out.  

The music is a vital component, and the folk, pop, and southern-inspired pieces sound great and will have you tapping your feet. Please stay until the end of the show to enjoy as the band plays the audience out, and don’t forget to cheer. 

This “Hadestown” is a fantastically vibrant and visceral musical performance, with audiences simultaneously cheering and crying by the end of the show. 

How To Get Tickets

You can see the entire cast of “Hadestown” at Broadway San Diego at the Civic Theatre on Friday, November 8th—10th.  For ticket and showtime information, go to www.broadwaysd.com 

Photo Credit: National Tour of “Hadestown”