Way down we go in Hadestown’s capitalist hell, the camera giving viewers access through the turntable’s center at the stage. There are perks to watching this live-capture of “Hadestown,” which arrived on Broadway in 2019 with its New Orleans-style blues and jazz sound; even the best seat in the house can’t guarantee that view.
Filmed in 2025 at London’s West End and featuring the original Broadway run’s principal cast, this production underscores why “Hadestown” won eight Tony Awards, including best musical. The result is its own kind of triumph. André De Shields, effortlessly superb as Hermes, guides a story so familiar that its devoted fans could almost narrate it themselves.
It begins with the young lovers Orpheus (an excellent Reeve Carney) and Eurydice (Eva Noblezada, her vocal force magnified by the movie’s intimacy), whose romance is tested when, driven by desperation to escape poverty, Eurydice is lured by Hades (Patrick Page, mesmeric) into the underworld. There, Hades’ relationship with Persephone (a riotously freewheeling Amber Gray) has been fractured. A tight shot reveals the weary hope on Eurydice’s tearful face afforded to few in Rachel Chavkin’s stage production. Brett Sullivan directs this pro-shot like a concert film, occasionally panning to the ebullient audience. Even though the cutaways sacrifice onstage moments, the risk pays off. His delicate camerawork, moving with the rhythms of Anaïs Mitchell’s soulful score, immerses viewers in the musical.
Near the end, as suspense builds from an extreme close-up of Hermes’ shoes tapping their way into the scene, it’s clear that Sullivan isn’t just honoring the stage production. He is showing us what only cinema can.
Hadestown: The Musical Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 12 minutes. In theaters.
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