After a brief theatrical run this summer, the filmed performance of the Tony-winning Broadway musical arrives on Blu-ray starring the show’s five original stars. Interestingly though, it is not a capture of the original Broadway production, with the original 2019 cast members instead returning to the show years later to briefly take over an in-progress West End run in London last year.
Buy Hadestown: The MusicalThe story combines and moves the Greek myths of the tragic pairings of Hades/Persephone and Orpheus/Eurydice into the Depression-era American South, setting the action in a jazz bar complete with the show’s band on stage. We’re guided through the plot by the god Hermes, here a slick-suited older gentleman played with palpable charisma by the show’s most recognizable breakout star, André de Shields. He introduces us to the starry-eyed young songwriter Orpheus (Reeve Carney) who finds a muse in the charming but destitute Eurydice (Eva Noblezada), instantly falling in love with her.
We’re next introduced to Hades (Patrick Page) and Persephone (Amber Gray), with Persephone celebrating her carefree summer sojourn in the bar before Hades arrives to escort her back to his underground factory, Hadestown, for the winter months. Upon hearing from three Fates about the security of factory employment during otherwise perilous winter times above ground, Eurydice also decides to leave for Hadestown, abandoning Orpheus just as he’s on the verge of finishing his masterpiece song. Orpheus follows after her, setting up a showdown between himself and her new boss Hades that will define all of their fates.
Whether or not you’re familiar with the original myths, the show’s radical reimagining of them is a wonder to behold. The production offers plum roles to all five stars, who are mostly on stage for the entire show. Occasionally accompanied by the three Fates and a small crew of factory workers/backup dancers, it’s a shockingly small cast that somehow feels much more expansive and seemingly constantly in motion. It also has fairly stripped-down, bare-bones production design, with no costume changes and only one set, enlivened by a three-tier turntable stage and imaginative lighting.
The romance between the young lovers is real, as Carney and Noblezada got married in real life last year, months after getting engaged during the West End run. That only adds to the family feel of the principal cast, with all five of them associated with the show all the way back to a pre-Broadway London tryout in 2018, and De Shields and Gray’s workshop participation going back as far as 2012 and 2014 respectively. Even as this film seemingly serves as the final curtain call for the five stars’ involvement with the show, it also captures their masterful performances for all time.
The Blu-ray presents the film in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, with DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound. The filmed production was captured with an audience, with cameras positioned throughout the theater but not on stage. However, the shots are generally zoomed in enough that it’s comparable to having cameras on stage, with limited dolly shots thrown in for some movement. Sound is well done, expertly capturing all dialogue with full comprehension and spreading the band’s sound throughout the front channels. No bonus features are included.
