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| Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Last Edit: robert_j 10:01 pm EDT 06/19/19 | |
| Posted by: robert_j 09:49 pm EDT 06/19/19 | |
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| I had been on the fence about this one but I decided to go this afternoon and I am so glad that I did. I was very taken by this production. It is so well directed, so beautiful and atmospheric, setting just the right tone for the story. I do think it helps to know some of the score going in, to get the melodies in your ear and to get a feel for the style of the piece. That is often the case for shows like this (I cannot believe that, on first hearing, I thought that the Light in the Piazza was dull and tuneless…). Perhaps instructive, the number that got the biggest applause was the one from the Tony Awards (“Wait for Me”). Not sure if that was always the case, but I suspect the audience’s familiarity helped. Certainly, the number had much more impact on me in the house than it did on the broadcast, probably because I knew it already. I also thought Reeve Carney came across much better than expected. Maybe I just had low expectations based on the word-of-mouth, but I respected what he was going for and I thought that many times the effect was quite beautiful. To be sure, I prefer his voice more in the range it was in for Spider Man, but technically I think his performance was quite accomplished. I do not know how he sustains that high falsetto 8 times a week. In general, I thought that the cast was pretty fabulous. I can see how people might say that this is not a cast dependent show, but IMHO the OBC is pretty iconic. Particularly Andre de Shields, who is the glue that holds the production together. So much of this show is about atmosphere, and De Shields hits exactly the right note. But really the whole cast, including the ensemble, contributes so much to the spell the show casts. In many ways, Hadestown reminded me a lot of Spring Awakening, another show that was heavy on atmosphere and had a pretty iconic OBC. Like that show, I think Hadestown will wear well on disc and be remembered as having a better score than people thought it did at first listen. |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: JohnPopa 09:58 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Hadestown this Afternoon - robert_j 09:49 pm EDT 06/19/19 | |
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| I saw the show in May and "Wait For Me" got the biggest ovation then too. While I'm sure there's some recognition from the broadcast, I think it's pretty stunning to behold in the theater, with the swinging lights in that much more confined space mixed with the show's most ear-friendly melody. It's where it all comes together in a pretty spectacular and climactic way. | |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:05 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Hadestown this Afternoon - robert_j 09:49 pm EDT 06/19/19 | |
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| Or maybe it's the show. I saw it at NYTW without knowing a note, and only the story vaguely. I absolutely loved it and couldn't wait to hear the score again (but I loved Piazza on first listen, too). I'm sure Andre de Shields is even better, but for me, Chris Sullivan was a stand-out (along with Amber Gray and Patrick Page, especially). Maybe Orpheus is tough to cast well; that casting was a rare low point to me, and Carney on the Tonys wasn't better (not judging his whole performance - I still hope to see it). |
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| I didn’t know any of the music | |
| Posted by: dramedy 02:21 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Hadestown this Afternoon - Ann 09:05 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| And was humming portions when leaving the theater. Couldn’t put words to what I was humming. | |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: robert_j 09:33 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Hadestown this Afternoon - Ann 09:05 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| I feel like Orpheus is pretty much uncastable, or at least resists stunt casting. The typical baritenor hunk is not going to cut it. Maybe an Adam Lambert? Someone whose voice really lives in that countertenor range. Interestingly, casting Orpheus this way is quite defensible from a classical standpoint. The Orfeo in Gluck is also a countertenor (or mezzo). But it is much harder to pull that off with Broadway trained voices, particularly when the score does not commit fully to a countertenor approach, going more for a baritenor with solid falsetto extension. |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:37 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Hadestown this Afternoon - robert_j 09:33 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| It seems he should be, or appear, pretty young. In that aspect, they seemed to cast it well. | |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: robert_j 09:50 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Hadestown this Afternoon - Ann 09:37 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| The thing about the falsetto voice is that it is really hard to put volume behind it and keep it stable. So it either sounds weak or inconsistent or both. I thought the fact that Carney could manage a fair amount of power while retaining so much beauty was quite an accomplishment. The way they used to do it was by castrating young boys. A castrated male can retain the power of an adult trained voice while retaining the ethereal, heroic range of a countertenor. But obviously that option is off the table. So either you really train your falsetto (which is an imperfect approximation), or you roll the dice and hope that you can get someone whose genes caused their voice to develop naturally in a manner similar to the range of the castrati. But there are not a lot of people like that! So I think the production did very well with Carney. |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:54 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Hadestown this Afternoon - robert_j 09:50 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| Is it that high (I'm not musically trained)? Is Mary Sunshine (listed as a countertenor) not that high? | |
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| re: Hadestown this Afternoon | |
| Posted by: robert_j 12:17 pm EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Hadestown this Afternoon - Ann 09:54 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
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| Have not seen Chicago in a while, but as I recall that part is a more classically trained countertenor falsetto that stays in that range throughout, not the pop barihunk falsetto belt mix that they are going for in Orpheus. It is the blend of all those things that makes it so hard. Someone like Adam Lambert can make it sound effortless. | |
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| Great post... | |
| Posted by: GrumpyMorningBoy 07:40 am EDT 06/20/19 | |
| In reply to: Hadestown this Afternoon - robert_j 09:49 pm EDT 06/19/19 | |
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| I too have been super hesitant about this. It just seemed like such an old, uninspired idea. But the atmosphere in the Tonys number really captivated me, and it was clear that this was a production that new when to take its time. That alone intrigued me. I'm glad to read your report. I'll be planning to see this soon. - GMB |
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