Hadestown and What’s Making Us Happy
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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The musical Hadestown cleaned up at the 2019 Tonys, winning Best Musical and seven other awards. Now, a filmed performance of Hadestown is in movie theaters, with the principal original Broadway cast on board. It retells the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice, separated by Hades and fighting to be reunited. But it places them not in ancient Greece, but in a Depression-era American dystopia where Hades isn't just a god, he's a boss. I'm Linda Holmes, and joining me today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour is my co-host Glenn Weldon. Hello, Glenn. Hey, Linda. And also here is culture writer Margaret H. Willison. Hello, Margaret. Hi, Linda. So, Hadestown was written by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. This film version of the show was recorded in London in 2025 when the five Broadway principals reunited for a short run of performances.
In the show, Orpheus and Eurydice fall in love. They are played by Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada. They are deeply impoverished, and Hades is preventing his free-spirited wife, Persephone, from bringing them sunlight and renewal. Patrick Page and Amber Gray play Hades and Persephone. Orpheus is obsessed with writing a song he thinks can bring back the world he and Eurydice knew, if only he can finish it. But Eurydice falls into despair and is successfully tempted by Hades to leave him and travel to the underworld, where the dead can only labor forever, extracting coal and oil and other buried riches for Hades' benefit, but where Hades promises she will be provided for. When Orpheus learns Eurydice is gone, he travels to Hadestown to try to rescue her.
The story is narrated by Hermes, who is played by Andre de Shields. You're going to hear a bunch of music in this episode from Hadestown. That's from the original Broadway cast album. Beginning tonight, Hadestown is in movie theaters for only five days.
What is Hadestown and why is the filmed stage performance in theaters for five nights?
Glenn, I'm going to start with you. What did you think about Hadestown?
I mean, I loved it. You know, and on paper, it's maybe not for Glenn's. I mean, sure, the Greek myth stuff is very much for Glenn's, but like, don't get it twisted. This is just another heterosexual love story. Those are thick on the ground. This style of music. What do we call in this country? Hunky-tonk? What do we, that's kind of the vibe here.
Americana.
Yeah, okay. Not usually my thing. Also, the musical formula of this particular show, this is a very ballad-heavy show. It's also the kind of musical I call the fingerless glove musical, just stylistically. Usually I don't have a high tolerance for those, but I love it. It is a love story. I would argue that it is a love story to musical theater. It shows you what theater can do, which is why I'm so glad they chose to film the stage show instead of trying to adapt it, because I think you'd lose the magic, you'd lose the spark. The whole thing feels... I was going to say cramped, but not cramped. I mean, it is intimate. I mean, the performers are kind of on top of each other. The theater itself, when they do the crowd shots, looks pretty small.
That helps. The camera, I think, really captures the sense that this performance is special. It feels like a reunion. I think even if you didn't know it was a reunion of these performers, I think you'd pick up on it because there's an electricity to it. But, I mean, theater, right? When a song mentions trees, the chorus lifts chairs above their heads upside down to suggest the branches of the trees. The orchestra is on stage, and they're in the show as characters. They are acting and reacting. We see that there is a round table built into the stage from the jump, and we keep waiting for that throughout the entire first act to see it used. So it's kind of Chekhov's round table.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–2:18
2
What is Hadestown and why is the filmed stage performance in theaters for five nights?
2:18–4:26
3
Who are the principal cast and how does the production reframe the Orpheus and Eurydice myth?
4:26–11:33
4
How does filming the live stage show preserve Hadestown’s theatrical magic?
11:33–18:55
5
Which performances and staging choices stand out in this filmed Hadestown?
18:55–24:54
6
How did the show change from earlier productions and why does that matter?
24:54–28:46