| Hadestown this afternoon | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 07:33 pm EDT 07/19/23 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 07:29 pm EDT 07/19/23 | |
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| Everyone who posts here regularly has seen this Tony winner but me. As with Come From Away, which I delayed until its final two months, I just didn't get to the show -- mysteriously, it didn't feel like an early must-see -- and unlike Come From Away, it wasn't on TDF, at least not when I was checking. To my eyes, it's in gorgeous shape, almost 4 years on, and was appropriately cheered to the rafters of the Walter Kerr. I attribute much of its freshness and audience access to the gracious warmth of Lilias White, Broadway royalty, who is tasked with welcoming us from the lip of the stage with a big-hearted confidence that pulls everyone forward immediately. But the quartet of leads is terrific, the two young stars the originals. I've read a fair amount of disappointment about Reeve Carney, but he was in beautiful voice today, as centered as anyone could imagine. Not only did I not detect long run fatigue with Carney and Noblezada (soon to depart), I felt an aching emotional investment, in every way present. Technique is the disciplined actor's best friend playing eight shows a week for years, and I don't doubt that these two have found ways to keep this intricately staged show new. Yet it (still) feels lived in, in that way new shows do. (To my point about White: the company fairly crackles in celebration of the immediacy of the connection with the audience.) Though I get reservations about the Carney vocals -- not mine, but I read some only last week; not everyone's taste -- I can't see that these two stars are giving anything less than their all. Going in familiar with the soulful, lyrical Mitchell score enhanced my appreciation, but it's terrifically performed in the Kerr, the sound superb, robust volume in service of a show that has breathtaking crescendos, sung and via instrumentation. Chavkin's visual storytelling is the co-event, reaching a peak the the coup de theatre that defines "Wait for Me" near the close of act one. The seemingly simple unit set transforms repeatedly, Chavkin finding invention in the smallest adjustments in stage pictures (Bradley King's lighting, poetic collaboration), the blocking and choreography in service of a tale delineated by strung-together set pieces more than incremental movement in narrative. Yet the storytelling never feels handed down to us; everything is mostly shown rather than described. Considering how circumstantial the myth generated plotting is -- events tend to be defined by departures and arrivals and stated changes in loyalties -- the show feels powerfully nuanced, its smallest moments -- like the final exit -- among the most heart rending. Late to the party, but I am a deeply moved party guest. |
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