
We need to keep this short and sweet because it is fair say this musical was not my cup of tea.
In 2019, this hit show received 14 Tony nominations and won eight, including Best Musical. Most people say this is their favourite show that is on at the West End, I have a different view.

The storyline of this show is a clever idea and has a unique selling point as it tells the story of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, with a nod to the Hades and Persephone. Fair to say you don’t see this concept in the West End too much and I really was excited to see it. But for me it doesn’t work and becomes little more than a school retelling of these legendary characters tragedy.
I don’t mind sad stories, but this was one long journey into hell and misery and worst of all you know the ending. It all became a bit exhausting.
In fact, almost as annoying as the grim storyline was the whooping and hollering from the young audience who loved everything even before the scene had started. Maybe they were all studying Greek history at university.

The music is trying to be down with the blues with a mix of Broadway thrown in. It ends up being neither and gets caught between the two. I feel that the production should have stuck with one or the other to be more effective. However, what do I know as it has won numerous awards and is packing in audiences at the Lyric Theatre.
The show starts with a Narrator singing but his voice is not strong enough, so you struggle to keep up with the plot. In my opinion he was better when he was speaking the verse like a poem which suited his voice and then he became compelling.
Most musicals have a got dialogue that keep the action coherent and therefore the songs add depth and a counterpoint for the characters to express themselves. Hadestown however, is one long song narrative with the few memorable tunes being constantly repeated so that they eventually lose their spark.
Although the main characters had chemistry, given that it was a sung storyline some of the lead voices just weren’t strong enough. Particularly, Donal Finn as Orpheus whose diction was inconsistent so that if you did not know the storyline beforehand, you wouldn’t know what was going on.

Moreover, apart from Hades, (who was played by Zachary James in a scene stealing performance every time he appeared) Persephone and Eurydice struggled too and to make things worse the three muses, who aided the narrator joined in.
There were some great songs, and the costumes and sets were extraordinary. The acting too was exemplary, and the choreography was inventive and was in perfect harmony with the movement of the sets.
Especially when characters moved from this world to the world below. For me though these undoubted plusses did not make up for the one facet that is a must in a musical drama. It should be fun, and given that the overall musical score and its delivery was underwhelming, for me it was a disappointing night.
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