Reviews: See What Critics Think of Hadestown's London Return | Playbill

Playbill Universe Reviews: See What Critics Think of Hadestown's London Return

The Anaïs Mitchell musical is back in the West End at the Lyric Theatre.

Donal Finn and company of Hadestown Marc Brenner

Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown is officially back in London, marking opening night at the West End's Lyric Theatre February 21—and now the reviews are in. See what critics had to say about the folk opera's encore below.

Mitchell's underworld-set musical, which premiered Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016, made its London premiere at the National Theatre in November 2018. The production subsequently opened on Broadway, where it continues at the Walter Kerr, in April 2019.

The new London company is led by Dónal Finn (The Wheel of Time) as Orpheus, Grace Hodgett Young (Betty Schaefer in the Broadway-bound London revival of Sunset Boulevard) as Eurydice, Grammy winner Zachary James (Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway) as Hades, Melanie La Barrie (Mary Poppins, & Juliet) as Hermes, and Gloria Onitiri (Cinderella, Hadestown at the National) as Persephone.

Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne, and Allie Daniel play the Fates, and Lauren Azania, Tiago Dhondt Bamberger, Beth Hinton-Lever, Waylon Jacobs, and Christopher Short play the Workers, with Lucinda Buckley, Ryesha Higgs, Miriam Nyarko, and Simon Oskarsson as Swings.

Read the reviews below.

All That Dazzles (Daz Gale)

All Things Theatre (Tom Hollins)

The Arts Desk (Mert Dilek)

Attitude (Simon Button)

BroadwayWorld (Cindy Marcolina)

City A.M. (Adam Bloodworth)

iNews (Fiona Mountford)

LondonTheatre1 (Chris Omaweng)

London Theatre (Marianka Swain)

LouReviews (Louise Penn)

The Guardian (Arifa Akbar)

TheQR.co.uk (William Quinn)

The Stage (Sam Marlowe)*

The Standard (Nick Curtis)

The Telegram (Dominic Cavendish)

Theatre Weekly (Greg Stewart)

Time Out London (Andrzej Lukowski)

The Times (Clive Davis)

WhatsOnStage (Sarah Crompton)

*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

The creative team features set designer Rachel Hauck, costume designer Michael Krass, lighting designer Bradley King, sound designers Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, choreographer David Neumann, music supervisor and vocal arranger Liam Robinson, arrangers and orchestrators Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose, and dramaturg Ken Cerniglia. Casting for the London production is by Jacob Sparrow.

Following two intertwining love stories—that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone—Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.

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.

Hadestown is produced in London by Mara Isaacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, Tom Kirdahy, and the National Theatre in association with JAS Theatricals.

Visit UK.Hadestown.com.

Photos: New Production Images of the West End's Hadestown

 
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