Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...And I'd say that "Hadestown," for all of its emphasis on delivering a New Orleans-style good time to its audience, is not so much thrilling now as chilling. The depiction of the underworld in the show (Hadestown looks like a brutal factory town) feels mild to what can be viewed nightly on the news. But it has a familiar kind of henchman in Hades. All too familiar."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Looming dread and jubilant hope exist side by side in "Hadestown," the scorching, stunning eight-time Tony Award-winning musical inspired by an ancient Greek myth. That juxtaposition of opposites - dread and hope, joy and despair, abundance and scarcity -make the musical by Anais Mitchell (music, book, and lyrics) and developed with director Rachel Chavki, both unmistakably timely and irresistibly entertaining."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Propelled by a catchy score that pairs spare, unaffected lyrics with Dixieland, alternative pop, jazz, gospel and blues, "Hadestown" begins in a Depression-era, New Orleans jazz joint with a once-upon-a-time moment. It comes courtesy of the sharp-dressed god Hermes (Levi Kreis, whose outsize voice matches his considerable charisma), whose irresistibly electrifying "Road to Hell" opens the show and introduces us to the couple around whom this ancient tale revolves."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The songs are fine, with nods to New Orleans jazz, blues, and pop/rock ("Way Down in Hadestown" is truly a toe-tapper/showstopper), though a sameness in tempo becomes evident. (I particularly enjoyed Audrey Ochoa's trombone work.) But I never felt invested in the story of the central lovers, who are defined mostly as "poor and in love," as contrasted to "rich and out of love" Hades and Persephone."
Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended
"...The music of "Hadestown" is generous, imaginative and well made, not least for Hades' enslaved workers and three chorus-like figures called the Fates. The sets are handsome and ambitious, too, especially the Underworld scene with its workers' circle and its forbidding elevator of no return. The show begins and ends with its ringing anthem "The Road to Hell." I'm afraid it's the one paved with good intentions."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Hades here played by the stern and gravel voiced Kevyn Morrow is a man being overcome by his desire to own and control. He has forgotten his youth and his love for Persephone, played by the wise and effervescent Kimberly Marable. The juxtaposition of the new and old love stories is striking. And every single member of this cast is a standout."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...Opening to critical acclaim, Hadestown received 14 nominations and won eight awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, the newest Broadway In Chicago production featured at CIBC Theatre. This Chicago premiere production starts with the Greek god Hermes singing ("Road to Hell"). Then, he introduces Eurydice and the Fates (ladies in Hell), relating information about the brutal weather and famine."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Imagine, if you can, a love story with music of both the Jazz and Folk music. The Jazz is very New Orleans style and one of the highlights of the piece is that there is no pit. The musicians are onstage ( except the drummer) and they are terrific. It is not often that a musical features the "orchestra/band" but in this case, they are actually singled out by name, so we the audience can show our appreciation. Pay close attention to Audrey Ochoa who plays a mean Trombone. WOW!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...The story ends as it begins, with the audience letting out an audible, collective gasp as the fate of the two lovers becomes apparent. We've given in to their plight and followed their painstaking journey to hell and back. We all want the best for Orpheus and Eurydice, although in our hearts we know it's not to be. That one, single moment at the end of this musical is gut-wrenching and yet inevitable. It's the payoff for the time we've spent together with this cast and, although we know it's coming, we still hope."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...HADESTOWN captivates from the first few notes of "Road to Hell". The charismatic Levi Kreis (Hermes) welcomes us to this Greek Tragedy co-existing in the real world and the underworld. Kreis serves as narrator for the audience and official Netherworld guide for gods, goddesses and nymphs. He amusingly introduces us to legendary mythological characters (who's who cheat sheet also available in the Playbill). And he familiarizes us with the rhythms of the seasons and the cyclical nature of life as controlled by deities.
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The cast is uniformly strong, including every Fate and chorus member who are intrinsic parts of the story flow. A key disappointment is Barasch's vocal performance, which lacks the power that the role requires. His young tenor voice pales on a stage with Levi Kreis (known for playing Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet) and Kevyn Morrow."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Possibly the best new musical since Hamilton, the Tony Award-winning sensation Hadestown has returned to Chicago for what is, sadly, a very brief engagement. Do yourself a huge favor: if it is at all possible to see it, do so. This stunning show, written by Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell, may cover familiar territory-the Orpheus and Eurydice myth-but Mitchell has re-imagined it as a powerful, poignant, sometimes very funny, and always moving musical that simultaneously tells the story (her version, anyway) of the marriage of Hades and Persephone."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...In the masterful hands of the Tony Award-winning director Rachel Chavkin, “Hadestown” is a visual cyclone, a towering prism of harmony, color and light in the real world and a corresponding dark, steamy, brooding prison below. Barasch’s superb, multi-layered turn as Orpheus reveals a majestic vocal presence that soars to unimaginable heights. Green renders a powerful performance, wide-eyed, vulnerable and heartfelt. Morrow’s gripping, maniacal and brooding Hades, controls destiny and commands his world, and everyone in it, while Marable’s fierce, effervescent and captivating Persephone embodies reason, love, renewal and hope mixed with her own brand of irresistibly sensual charm."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...At first, Hadestown gives off a New Orleans vibe: acoustic string, piano and horn musicians on risers to each side, the Workers Chorus -- a variation on the traditional Greek Chorus -- dancing with café-style chairs and Persephone in a Mardi Gras green dress seated on a wrought-iron balcony. As it moves forward, the piece combines elements of jazz, blues, folk, rock and a sing-through libretto to create its own vibe."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Kudos to Rachel Hauck for her superb scenic design. The stage was set with a New Orleans' Voodoo Vibe generating just the right tone for this fall to the underworld. Bradley King's lighting design was imaginative and sets the moods of this musical perfectly using darkness, lights, and shadows exquisitely. Without a train coming down the tracks both the sound designers Kevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, and King's lighting make the audience feel the train's imminent arrival and departure. Michael Krass, the costume designer, dresses Hades as both a gangsta rapper and a wealthy businessman. Hermes' costume is slick and Persephone is dressed as a dazzling New Orleans' madam. I loved that the musicians are the stars on the stage who perform their music with high energy and brilliant talent."
BroadwayWorld - Recommended
"...it's a treat to see new musicals that feel truly original and don't sound like cookie-cutter Broadway. And HADESTOWN delivers on that for many numbers. When HADESTOWN draws the most on its jazz and folk influences - and when Persephone, Hades, Hermes, or the Fates take center stage - the show resonates."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...The tragic end we all know, but it is no less cathartic. Hermes, messenger to the gods, has a message for us as well, about our attraction to archetypes as a coping mechanism through the ages."
