Six-time Grammy Award nominee Yola will make her Broadway debut this summer in the Tony-winning musical Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
Yola, known for her acclaimed Americana and roots albums Walk Through Fire and Stand for Myself, will begin performances in the role of Persephone July 2. As previously reported, Maia Reficco, recently seen in the hit HBO Max series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, will make her Broadway debut that same day in the role of Eurydice.
"When I saw I’d be playing the drunken goddess of spring I immediately thought, ‘That’s on brand,’” Yola said in a statement. “Not because I drink a lot, but because from time to time, I act like I do—but stone-cold sober. What a way to debut on Broadway.”
Yola made her acting debut as the founder of rock and roll, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, in Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama, Elvis, and earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture.
Hadestown currently stars Ani DiFranco as Persephone, Jordan Fisher as Orpheus, Jon Jon Briones as Hermes, Phillip Boykin as Hades, and Isa Briones as Eurydice with Jessie Shelton, Kay Trinidad, and Brit West as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Sayo Oni, Alex Puette, and Grace Yoo. The cast also includes swings Sojourner Brown, Brandon Cameron, Tara Jackson, Max Kumangai, Yael “YaYa Reich, and Tanner Ray Wilson. (Jon Jon Briones, Isa Briones, and DiFranco will all play their final performances June 30.)
Purchase Hadestown memorabilia in the Playbill Store.
Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s folk- and jazz-infused musical layers the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with that of Hades and Persephone, intertwining the actions—and consequences—of gods and mortals. Hadestown originally began as a theatrical concert performed by Mitchell.
The creative team features Tony-winning set designer Rachel Hauck, Tony-nominated costume designer Michael Krass, Tony-winning lighting designer Bradley King, Tony-winning sound designers Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, choreographer David Neumann, and dramaturg Ken Cerniglia. Musical supervision and vocal arrangements are by Liam Robinson, with arrangements and orchestrations by Tony winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose.
The show, featuring a book and score by Mitchell, won eight 2019 Tony Awards: Best Director of a Musical (Rachel Chavkin), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (André De Shields), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Bradley King), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Rachel Hauck), Best Sound Design of a Musical (Jessica Paz and Nevin Steinberg), Best Orchestrations (Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose), Best Original Score (Mitchell), and Best Musical.
