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#hadestown analysis
desertmp3 · 10 days
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Despite being a tragedy, Hadestown as a piece of theater leaves an audience member with a distinct, bittersweet human hope. This hope comes from Hadestown’s art form as Theater. If Hadestown were primarily experienced as a movie or book, there would be a solidifying of the narrative and possibly, the dissolving of its message of hope. Yet, as productions, directors, performers, musicians, stage techs — as people come and go to tell this story to a hungry audience, the pattern of humanity is kept alive. Each person who has worked on Hadestown has changed it. Therefore, each person who has existed as a part of humanity has changed humanity. Although a pattern of tragedy, it is a living and witnessed one. Its repetition reminds us to keep going, to turn around and lose everything in a moment of weakness and still fall in love again with the inkling that all these mistakes have been made before — even so, this is your song and you must sing, you must dream.
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alyona11 · 7 months
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Hi! So I am very new to Hadestown and I am watching the bootleg. I really love the dynamic between Hades and Persephone, but there is one thing that kind of rub me in not so good way, is Hey Little Song Bird implied that Hades and Eurydice slept together? I am seeing a lot of interpretation and it genuinely confused the hell out of me asdfghk
Hi! Well, tbf it's a tricky question, but the short answer is that Hadestown suggests that something might have happened behind closed doors. The rest is up to audience and actor's interpretation.
For example, Anaïs Mitchell often mentions in Working On a Song that in early workshops she often went with the idea that Hades cheats and pretty regularly even though these affairs mean nothing to him since the only person he loves is Persephone. It even had a cut song:
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In her early drafts/productions of Hadestown you can often get the vibe that from her point of view it doesn't matter as much because they are eternal beings and love each other since the world began so does it even matter for them?
However, by NYTW this story line was cut apart from Persephone's line in How Long:
"I don't mind if you look at other girls, now and then"
"The girl means nothing to me"
"I know"
Plus the staging in NYTW Papers and Hades' protective peacock behavior with Eurydice around Orpheus in the scene also gives you a thought that they might have had an affair? Plus some bits like the fact that she has a line in Why We Build a Wall and her words "But don't you see? That's different with me!" - "Different than who? They thought they were different too!" Could also be interpreted as Hades suggesting some special conditions by granting her a role of a romantic interest. Whether the interest is real or not and did he use it or not is again up to your interpretation of NYTW Hades. He is more of a morally dubious guy (as all ht Hades are) so it's more up to you to either believe he would have cheated to put Persephone in her place or would just use showing off Eurydice as a brutal way to get Persephone's interest.
As for Broadway, I think it's still suggested and you can find profs in the lyrics but I think that they are what they are - suggestive and leave you to interprete it whichever way you feel comfortable. I think the biggest suggestion remains in Flowers with the line:
'I trembled when he laid me out
"You won’t feel a thing," he said, "when you go down"'
Which kinda can have a death meaning and sex meaning, tbf someone could have written a good article on how those topics are connected in Hadestown. So here, again chose one of the two or both.
But again, Broadway also changed the lyrics in How Long and the whole staging in Papers so it's less suggestive.
My personal opinion based on Broadway production is that it all depends on how the actor plays it and whether you believe this particular Hades is the type to sleep with Eurydice to get Persephone's attention and prove he is still attractive or he is more of a person who doesn't care about having the affair and his only goal is to get Persephone to react somehow by composing such a messed up hurtful plan. Personally, I prefer the second option maybe because I'm a pussy or maybe because I see Hades (whom I mostly base on Patrick Page ht Broadway previews) like a person who is desperate to get Persephone's attention in such a radical way like a cat pushing objects from your table to see your reaction. He wants to be stopped, he wants any reaction from Persephone. He even touches her by the shoulder before going into the office like "Look!! Look! I'm absolutely totally leaving! To cheat! See! Hey come on! I'll even take off my tie to show that I'm serious! Don't you wanna stop me???". Seems kinda way too extra to me. Like he could have just gotten to the office after parading a pretty girl in front of her and it would be understood that it's for an affair. But he takes so much time to make sure she understands that he can find himself someone when all he wants is for her to come back to him with open arms. I'm not sure he has the guts to actually damage his relationship to an irreversible degree (considering Broadway Hades is never stated as a cheater before the Eurydice sub-plot). Like it's one thing to take a mortal before her time and parade her in front of your wife (because what is a mortal life after all?) as a "replacement" and it's the other way to actually cheat on her and deal with the fact that she might never forgive him again if it is a deal-breaker for her considering they seem to be true to each other for all these years.
One interesting thing to note here as well is how Hades actors play the reaction to Persephone's line in How Long:
"He has the kind if love that you and I once had"
Because his instant reaction is "OH SHIT once had?? Does she think I don't love her still?? OH SHIT I BROUGHT THE GIRL THIS IS WHY SHE MIGHT THINK THAT", so he answers to that:
"The girl means nothing to me!"
Depending on the actor and she show the line sounds either scared, confused, angry, undignified etc. So it's once again up to you to interprete why he reacts this way: is he angry because she suggested he would actually cheated on her? Is he angry because she called him out on that affair? Is he confused and scared because she thinks he doesn't love her anymore because of his foolish decision to tease her in such a cruel way?
That's up to you.
P.S. I think one of the most interesting studies of the subject and Hades' character that I've read in a fic for that matter was the Songbird chapter of Winters Nigh and Summers O're. You can check it out, but I will warn you that it's probably one of the heaviest chapters of that fic in the emotional sense and it has explicit parts (don't worry, nothing bad happens to Eurydice. Well...apart from dying, I guess), so check out the warnings if you decide to read it.
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themidnightwitch44 · 3 months
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This is even more unhinged than my falsettos costume analysis bare with me
The placement and use of and VISIBILITY of actors mics can actually impact the story.
For this I’m using Falsettos and Hadestown to compare/contrast.
(And like… obviously budget and people and a ton of tech factors probably go into this, I’m simply looking at this from a narrative standpoint)
For a lot of big professional productions (like Broadway), the actors personal mics (I’m gonna call them body mics) are in their hair. There’s a few moments in the Falsettos pro shot (I think specifically in act 2?) where you can see them. But like… I only saw them because I was curious about WHERE their mics were placed.
On the other hand, everyone’s mics in Hadestown are SUPER obvious. Like… high school level production obvious. And sure, it could be a budget thing, but I genuinely doubt it.
I genuinely think that in Hadestown, SEEING the mics makes sense, because we KNOW it’s a story.
We are TOLD that it’s a story.
And what’s a good way to show that other than to not hid mics?
And on the other hand in falsettos, everyone’s mics are hidden because one (1), common practice, and two (2), we’re not as much watching a story play out in front of us like Hadestown, watching an intentionally replayed tale, but we’re watching lives, we’re watching people LIVE
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itsorpheus420 · 4 months
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I just want to say that I don't know whether someone has noticed this before but Hermes seems to represent hope in Hadestown.
He is the one who pushes Orpheus to go to Hadestown, he is the one to herald Persephones comings and goings.
He is a narrator, but he also represents the characters hopes and when they loose them.
As seen in way down Hadestown reprise, he is featured in that song narrating the state of Hadestown because it represents Eurydice's loss of hope, and when she truly looses hope, Hermes stops singing and the Fates start their chanting once again.
Hermes Hope and the Fates doubt is a recurring theme throughout the musical, the fight between hope and doubt. In the end, Doubt wins out but Hope begins the song again, in the hopes that this time, the song will be different.
So the musical ends with this hopeful song of them starting the musical again, masking the tragedy.
We see in nothing changes that Orpheus looses his hope temporarily, sending Hermes off stage
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxxCMMpZXaoNhsfiWYRijvcGHCevzJqupG?si=_t1whH9b4jYMYyhS
Another reason why I love if it's true, Hermes represents the hope of the workers as they rise to help Orpheus
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxogZ6ocH9Xx4lqvibW3G3lDIvhlzdIBj-?si=SNQRVSAdZ5eXtEI4
This is Hermes once again going off stage
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxAmjAe2Hpw9wRCDE1PFAnaXMcm__Gdub9?si=yO78jZzPQHG7Cl1l
There is a reason why Hermes wears silver like the fates, it's because he is their true antithesis. The war between hope and doubt
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8!!!! i love this project❤️
Here's something I wrote about Persephone's development across the productions! It was originally posted as a comment under one of Patrick Page's Instagram posts.
I've always thought that removing the workers in Our Lady of the Underground was an interesting developmental choice. Persephone’s speakeasy acting as a place to re-humanize the workers made her an agent against Hades’ absolute rule. By removing the workers, it also removes what remains of her actions directly against his will, making her more complacent in what’s happening in Hadestown. It’s the conclusion of the developmental path she’d been on; in early versions (2006-07 and thenabouts), Persephone seemed outwardly supportive of Hades, a sort of perfect wife, while acting behind his back in her speakeasy (to the point of sheltering Orpheus there). While I’m missing information on some key workshops, from what we do know it looks like as productions pass she becomes more vocal against him, while doing less to actually subvert his will in any meaningful way. Where once the speakeasy was the act of ultimate rebellion against him, now it is nothing but a pastime for her. She has become entirely complacent with the mistreatment of the workers.
Some understandably dislike this progression and conclusion, but I find it to be fitting. What is more accurate to our time than someone in a position of power only making superficial gestures to support those that need it, when they are in some cases the only ones with the capacity to create actual change? Persephone's resistance to meaningful action feels like a very appropriate character and narrative choice.
Hope you like the analysis! Thanks for the support!
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talentlessmuse · 1 year
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Alright everyone, I saw a post recently talking about Hadestown costuming, specifically in reference to the removal of layers of clothing representing the characters revealing more of themselves as people.
I want to talk about an aspect of the costume design as well, but instead of being about the bigger themes of the costuming overall, I'm going to focus in on one aspect of one costume because I find it very interesting.
I present to you Mr Hades in his Act II attire:
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There's a lot that's been discussed about his costume both in terms of aesthetics and what it represents from a character and storytelling aspect. I'm not looking at the costume as a whole though. Specifically, I want to talk about the bands he's wearing around his arms because they are far more interesting as a design choice than I think most people realize.
Those bands are called sleeve garters. Yes, garters weren't just for holding stockings up on your legs or to be used as a part of modern wedding traditions. In the past, men would wear specifically designed garters on their shirtsleeves.
Nothing strange about that. Was quite common back in the latter part of the 19th century and into the early 20th century because ready made shirts were all made with a single extra long sleeve length. Men wore the garters to let them customize the sleeve length to fit when wearing the shirt under a jacket and so that the shirt cuffs wouldn't become dirty from daily use.
Okay. It's normal. Why is it worth focusing on then?
Because the sleeve garter was normal for the working class. The wealthy would get their shirts tailored and have the sleeves adjusted to fit them. Not wearing sleeve garters was another show--if a slightly more subtle one--of wealth.
We know Hades is wealthy. The lyrics make that very clear to the audience, so why is he wearing them?
Like what they do with the tattoo, it manages to call back to the idea of Hades having built himself up. Those sleeve garters are something a working man would wear, and for someone who is as conspicuous about his wealth and power as Hades is, it's an interesting choice. He dresses in fine suits and doesn't have to worry about getting his hands dirty anymore now that he has workers, but he still chooses to wear sleeve garters. Personally, I like to think he has a number of little behaviors that call back to that time when he wasn't the king of silver and of gold. Things he isn't even consciously aware of but hasn't managed to shake because he did know what it was like to have nothing.
The truth is probably that he wears them because aesthetic. It looks appropriately old-timey and also just looks good as a part of the whole ensemble, especially with the snakeskin design on them. Excellent costuming choice there. However, if that was an intentional choice, I have nothing but absolute love for whoever had that idea.
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yourmusicmuse · 2 years
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Muse Overanalyzing Hadestown #1:
In the intro Wait For Me Reprise, when Hermes asks Orpheus and Eurydice if they trust each other, it is an immediate "we do", but when he asks if they can do this whole thing (walking out of the Underground), there is a pause before they say "we can". Orpheus and Eurydice love and trust each other more than anything, but that does not void the uncertainty they have about this journey.
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abearthatwrites · 2 years
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thinking about how in chant ii (nytw version) hades calls orpheus "son" while persephone calls eurydice "sister" and this is actually a thing throughout the show, nytw and broadway alike - persephone and hermes call everyone "brother" or "sister", while in why we build the wall hades calls the workers "my children"
then in working on a song, in the notes for why we build the wall, anaïs mitchell talks about her arabic lit professor and how she hated hosni mubarak and expressed nostalgia for former egyptian president gamal abdel nasser and then anaïs provides this quote from the professor:
"what did nasser call the citizens? brothers and sisters! and what does mubarak call us? my children."
and anaïs mentions that this is probably where the "my children" language in why we build the wall comes from
but i think this quote ultimately impacted all the gods and the language they use throughout the show
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Thinking about how many musical tragedies feature the narrative almost as a character of its own. Like a force within the story, divided from the characters. Out of their control at times.
Orpheus had to turn around, that’s just how it goes. That’s the way the story is told.
Tony had to go and get himself killed. Of course he did. He’s Romeo. The story wills it so.
Jesus must die. No matter how much he wanted to live, no matter how much the people around him wanted him to live. It’s his role to die.
Alison can’t go back and change the events of that last car ride with her father. It’s set in stone, there in the past where it will always remain.
And then there are musicals like Once On This Island and Ride The Cyclone that embrace the role of inevitability in their stories and find joy anyway.
And then on the exact opposite side of the spectrum there’s the radical freedom from the narrative that’s seen in Into The Woods. The narrator is dead and now the story is no one’s but the characters. And there’s the lack of protection that comes with that, the chaos and confusion. But it’s theirs and it’s tragic but they make the best with it.
Those themes of Inevitability vs. Freedom and the meta understanding of story within a story. I can’t seem to get enough.
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attheendoftheline · 1 year
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I could talk for days about the costuming in the show, and I probably will. One of the small details I’d like to point out is Persephone’s hair. It’s easy to point and talk about her change from vibrant greens to dressing like she is headed for a funeral but I think her hair speaks volumes (ha)
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Up top Persephone let’s herself loose. She’s dancing and moving- hell! She floats from person to person absolutely buzzing with excitement as everyone in the bar is so alive - literally! She’s loose and very telling with her body language. Her hair is down and wild as she is. She has a nice bit of flowers braided in too.
Down below she’s stiff. It’s like her clothes confine her just as much as the town and hades himself does. She still moves and has expression but she’ll toss her wrist instead of something full body. She gestures , she stands and she walks instead of floating. Here her hair is put into a snood, her hair is caged. All that wild energy is subdued, even the little flowers on it are black and dead (likely as apart of the snood and not real flowers but the point stands).
I just— this show has so much loving detail put into it down to the floors and the smallest fiber oh costumes and I’m so in love.
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lost-forest-heart · 9 months
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I fucking love how like the original cast recording of Hadestown in Wait For Me it sounds like Hermes is mocking Orpheus, but in the Broadway Cast Recording, Hermes sounds like a dad trying to gauge how upset his son will be about the fact that his hamster died and whether or not he'll notice if he replaces it.
"heeeeey the big artiste 😅 ain'tcha workin on your masterpiece???" versus "'Eeeey! The big artiste! Ain'tcha workin' on yer masterpiece?😆 "
But in all seriousness, he goes from in the OG Cast Recording as just a "spectator". Supposedly he doesn't care, he's seen this happen before, it's no big deal (by the end though I have never heard someone sound so defeated and close to tears than OG Hermes, oh my fucking gods. The way he so softly goes, "Well. Alright," at the beginning of Road to Hell II, and his voice breaks because he's seen this before and knew how it ended and gods he wish it ended differently).
But then in the Broadway recording, we've got a different Broadway actor playing Hermes. From the start of it, you get told Hermes practically raised the boy! You're given how they've got a close relationship, how fond he is, how he protects and guides him and encourages his music and tells him stories to inspire him- 'cause the muses ain't always there.
So in Wait For Me- …he sounds desperate, half begging Orpheus not to go, half begging him to just come back alive. It goes from the OG recording's lighthearted joking, "aw you ain't reaaaally goin', but if you do 👀 here's how you get in in one piece," to the Broadway recording being so full of fear of desperation, of terror, because he's not supposed to go down there and it's dangerous and Hermes might never see him again. From joking around to, "I know I can't stop you, but goddammit, don't you dare die."
His voice is soft and scratchy, telling a secret and scolding Orpheus, making sure the instructions stick. It's something whispered in a dark alley or into a crack in a wall, not something sung in the autumn sunlight, by a joking trickster who doesn't care whether you stay or go. It's sung by someone who's scared because he loves Orpheus and he knows where he's going.
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desertmp3 · 6 months
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way down hadestown (reprise) is earth shattering btw… while eurydice’s story is a myth, these lyrics are the reality of so many people
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kyouka-supremacy · 1 year
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As Oda is a writer, and we're learning this story through a media that was written by someone, I feel these lines to be so multilayered, like a metaphor within the metaphor of an author writing a story (“setting up a charade”) in order to have their character go through a determinate development (“so you could make me say that line”)
Besides, the line in question Akutagawa is referring to here is such an ironic one! It's the one that has Akutagawa say “Those who cast their anger aside and think rationally for the sake of the mission are the ones who end up surviving” which is strikingly opposite to Akutagawa's usual and characteristic behavior of breaking cutting everyone to shreds driven by his fury– which Akutagawa is going to do, again, in a matter of hours after this exchange takes place. I feel like it's fascinating the way this dialogue underlines how those lines, more than spontaneously coming from Akutagawa himself, are implied to be the result of Akutagawa being manipulated into saying them - in the story, by the writer Oda - or of Akutagawa being coaxed to say something so out of character - in real life, by the writer Asagiri - as an ironic hint to what's soon to happen. It's nice. It's also nice how Akutagawa, to an extent, is aware of the fact that he's just a character delivering lines, a role who's story is already written.
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themidnightwitch44 · 1 year
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I’m sure someone else has pointed this out before, however, few things in Hadestown show the tension between Hades and Persephone more than how, in “How Long” Hades says “You and your pity don’t fit in my bed”. MY bed, not our bed.
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eldritchpluto · 9 months
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Hadestown Thoughts Because I Can
I saw this show for the second time this past week and I maybe have the most thoughts ever, so here’s all of the shit I’ve been obsessing over the past couple of days. I have HUGE theme thoughts.
I really appreciate that the show takes time to address that Eurydice has been alone for a really long time, and that she needs to take time to trust people. This is best seen in "All I've Ever Known", because Orpheus has to earn the right to touch her. When he goes to touch her and she flinches, away, he respects that and doesn't force her to do anything. It's only once they really fall in love that they're able to, and it's because they trust each other. But after this point, touch is 100% how they express their love. These two NEVER separate. So, when "Gathering Storm" happens and Orpheus begins isolating, it is SO jarring. Because the way they express love for each other has dissipated, and Eurydice only feels more and more lonely. This is something that helps contextualize her choice. But, when we flash forward after "Flowers" and Orpheus appears again, she fully clings to him. She is so desperate to hold him because she's lost that anchor. That scene in general is just so impactful because you can feel how much they've missed each other. This makes the end hurt SO FUCKING MUCH. Because they are finally back together, and now they are forced to not only touch each other, but Orpheus can't even see her. So, that basis of their trust and love has been taken away. They can't be hand in hand, arm in arm, side by side and all of that. And that only increases Orpheus's doubts. And we all know what happens with doubt comes in.
Speaking of "Doubt Comes In", I have big thoughts there too. Firstly, how Orpheus sings the whole melody that I've been thinking about as the "love melody" (The la la las) Because we know that this is the song that represents the connection between him and Eurydice, Hades and Persephone, and the thing that is powerful enough to bring Spring and life. So, he's using this song as his anchor at this moment, right? I think that's partly true, but I also think it is hindering him. The song is reminding him of how much he loves Eurydice, and he has already spent so much time away from her. So, he wants to feel that sensation again, and he has no idea that Eurydice is calling out to him and encouraging him. He only knows silence and his own anxiety. He's so afraid that he's relying so hard on this love, and that Hades may have tricked him, and that he was relying on something that was taken away from him.
Another "Doubt Comes In" thing! The way this song is staged is so incredible. The stage is incredibly dark. Eurydice is following him, but you can't always see her. And, there is the question of if she's fully left the stage, or if she's just in a part we can't see. That adds to the audience's own doubts, even if we have way more information that Orpheus does. And, in this dark place, who has the lights? The Fates. The Fates are the voices of anxiety in his head, and we've seen how impactful they are on other characters. They physically bully Eurydice at multiple points, and they're even able to get to Hades during "Word to the Wise" and "His Kiss, the Riot". They've already impacted Orpheus pretty deeply during "Nothing Changes". (Also just a note, this song has a much faster tempo live, and it really adds so much to that feeling of fear and doubt). So, back to "Doubt Comes In". The Fates are the only people with lights. Because, Orpheus is the dark, is lost in unknowns. And, it always feels like anxiety has the answer and that light. But, giving in and looking at the light/truth is what will doom him. It's just such an incredible representation of what everything feels like for him. And the Fates aren't a malevolent force, they are literally just a representation and a voice to what is already there within all of these characters.
Switching gears! (Also last thing for now), but WOW do I love this version of Persephone. I saw the understudy, and she is incredible. She brings a very intense energy to the performance. At the start, you can see she has a lot of energy, and that she loves fun and latches onto the beauty in the world. But, when you see her in "Our Lady of the Underground", she is INCREDIBLY intense. All of her actions and movements are random and striking. You can tell that she feels trapped and shes lashing out by attempting to hold onto this sense within her. It also doesn't help that she isn't sober, and she is very loose and free with how much alcohol she drinks (as Orpheus says, she's "blinded by a river of wine"). So, when she sobers up and gets involved with the whole Orpheus thing, she begins to go still. She holds her ground with incredible confidence, and her intensity is now focused and purposeful. She is advocating for what she needs and wants, and she won't take any bullshit. The contrast is just SO striking oh my god.
Ok! Those are the big ones I have for now, but WOW this show is living fully rent free in my brain. It's my favorite piece of theater ever!
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meerawrites · 8 months
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Hadestown: we’re gonna sing it again 
“Don’t ask where, brother, don’t ask when…” Hermes sings in our ‘prologue’ of sorts, Road to Hell.
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