“One of the strongest pro-shots that I have seen of a musical”
Playing on Broadway since 2019, and in the West End since 2024, “Hadestown” has become one of the most popular musicals of the last ten years. Now, it joins the likes of “Hamilton”, “Six”, “Waitress” and “Heathers” with its own ‘pro-shot’, a filmed version of the stage show. For this version, members of the original Broadway cast performed in London’s Lyric Theatre (you can read my 5* review for this show here), with the show captured across three performances in February and March 2025.
The story is based on the Greek myths of Orpheus (Reeve Carney) and Eurydice (Eva Noblezada), and that of Hades (Patrick Page) and Persephone (Amber Gray), with the entire tale being narrated by Hermes (André De Shields), who also acts as a guide and mentor for Orpheus at times. The plot is that of two love stories – Orpheus and Eurydice are torn apart by poverty, as Eurydice is forced to retreat to the Underworld in order to survive, whilst Hades’ lust for power drives a wedge between him and his wife Persephone. What elevates the story is the music and lyrics of writer Anaïs Mitchell, the sung-through musical being infused with jazz and poetry that makes every song incredibly engaging, adds depth to the characters and helps us understand their motivations.
The film, directed by Brett Sullivan, provides us with close-ups of the actors, which helps to bring the story to life. Whilst a lot of Persephone’s songs (such as Our Lady of the Underground) are lively and energetic, being able to see Gray’s facial expressions clearly betrays a hidden sadness underlying her forced happiness, an aspect that I had never properly appreciated when seeing the musical live. There are so many subtleties to Gray’s performance of an alcoholic in a failing relationship that the film emphasises in a way that may get missed on stage.
In a similar sense, Page plays a Hades that appears frail at times, yet still manages to commend immense power at others. Due to an injury to his Achilles tendon, Page appears with a medical boot and uses a walking stick – the head of the walking stick shaped like a dog, reminiscent of Cerberus, the hound of Hades. This injury means some necessary alterations are made to the staging, most notably following Epic III, when Hades and Persephone dance together. The routine is much simplified from the original, and performed relatively tongue-in-cheek, drawing some laughs from the audience, which only adds to the joy of the characters’ reconciliation. The boot also affects Page’s movements, forcing him to prowl the stage almost like a tiger, which is incredibly appropriate given the fact that he practically growls his way through Hey Little Songbird. His voice is so deep and gravelly, it is truly unlike any other in musical theatre, and it is a performance that no other actors have ever quite managed to match, showing us exactly how lucky we are to have this captured on film.
De Shields brings immense star quality to the role of Hermes, immediately capturing the audience’s attention, especially in moments of great silence that brings the entire auditorium to a halt, whilst the film allows us to appreciate the laughter that erupts from the audience as Orpheus fumbles his way through his initial romance with Eurydice, Carney bringing a childlike innocence to the role. The fact that Carney and Noblezada were engaged in real-life at the time of filming (and have since gone on to get married) adds an extra level to their love story – this is a relationship that we fully buy into, which is the crux that the whole musical relies on. If chemistry were lacking between the two, the musical could never succeed as well as it does, but thankfully that is not an issue here. Noblezada gives a particularly emotive performance of Flowers, which is not entirely to my liking (I prefer the understated, softer performance that she gives in the soundtrack), but it does demonstrate exactly how much this show means to these actors, returning to the roles several years after leaving the Broadway production.
The roles of the Fates are taken up by actors from the West End show, with Bella Brown as Clotho, Madeline Charlemagne as Lachesis and Allie Daniel as Atropos. As Hadestown actors always perform in their original accents, it is nice to hear some Britishness brought to the film, particularly Brown’s strong northern accent which adds to the authenticity. It is the change in accents from cast to cast that makes this show so rewatchable – so for anyone who has seen this film and is looking forward to next year’s UK tour, expect a very different atmosphere as the songs can feel quite different with different voices. Previously, I have seen Melanie La Barrie bring a Caribbean flavour to Hermes, and Philip Boykin present a more soulful Hades – which can completely change elements of the musical in the most exciting ways. This film will serve as many people’s introduction to the musical, but hopefully their relationship with the show won’t end there – it is definitely worth seeing again and again.
The film makes use of some interesting camera shots – we are afforded some close-ups of the band members when Gray calls each of them out at the beginning of act two, and we are given an interesting view from the pit as Hades and Persephone descend to the underworld for the first time. Other moments are shot from above, allowing us to fully appreciate the revolving stage which the show has become renowned for (and spawned several TikTok memes of fans recreating Wait for me on airport travellators). During Wait for me, as Orpheus begins his dangerous walk to Hadestown, the camera work becomes more frenetic, adding to the uncertain atmosphere, whilst we are treated to an excellent shot of Hades as he declares his control of the electric city (during Chant II) that steadily pulls out from Page’s face to take in the whole stage.
This is probably one of the strongest pro-shots that I have seen of a musical, one that not only captures the story and the excellent performances, but also enhances the experience by pulling focus onto band members and ensemble members that you may not always find yourself watching during a live performance. The camera work helps to capture the scale of the show, whilst also knowing when to draw us in for more intimate moments, and opening scenes from the film give us a glimpse backstage as the actors prepare for their performance. An excellent introduction for new fans, and one that should inspire many to seek out live performances of this superb musical.
Tom Morley, October 2026
