Tony-winning ‘Hadestown’ comes to Schuster Center
When “Hadestown,” was named “Best Musical” at the Tony Award ceremony in 2019, co-producer Heni Koenigsberg was among those heading to the stage to accept the coveted honor.
The Broadway show, which earned eight Tonys including “Best Score,” “Best Direction” and “Best Orchestrations” will be performed at the Schuster Center March 12-17 as part of Dayton Live’s Broadway series.
Koenigsberg, who grew up in Dayton, attributes her passion for live theater to early theatrical experiences in the Miami Valley. She’s been part of the producing team for more than 100 musicals and plays and has been involved with Tony-award winners including “Leopoldstadt,” “The Lehman Trilogy,” “Company,” “The Band’s Visit” with Tony Shalhoub and “Hello
Dolly” with Bette Midler.
The heralded production of Hadestown is a sungthrough musical that features 32 songs blending contemporary folk music with New Orleans jazz. The story reimagines and intertwines two ancient Greek myths: the love story of Orpheus and Eurydice and the tale of Hades and Persephone. Don’t be scared away if you don’t remember much about the myths. Thanks to the character of Hermes, who is both inside and outside of the action, you’ll still enjoy and appreciate the musical.
“My job is to take care of the audience so they understand what’s going on, understand the other characters and the story,” said Will Mann, who has played the leading role both on Broadway and on national tours. When he first heard the “Hadestown’’ album in 2018, he knew immediately it was unlike anything he’d ever heard before and could envision himself as Hermes.
Mann says what’s so special about this show is composer, singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell.”
She’s a tremendous poet and terrific songwriter,” he said. “Every song will tell you something and make you feel something.”
Mitchell, who was a student at Middlebury College in Vermont when she began performing the concept album, believes “Hadestown” resonates with audiences because of its themes of resilience and hope.
“The message of ‘Hadestown’ is one that really speaks to this present moment,” she has been quoted as saying. “It’s a story about hard times, and how people respond to those hard times. It’s also a story about the necessity of believing in each other and in our togetherness.”
Mann thinks an important take-away from the show is that love is worthwhile “even if it’s for a moment, lifetime or
can even be studied outside of eclipses. Jose uses the example of a flower, saying “In full sunlight, red flowers look bright against the green leaves. But as it gets darker, this flips: the reds turn dark red or almost black, while the green leaves and any blue flowers start to look brighter.”
Another example of the Purkinjie effect is “the dress.” Those on social media know of it: A photo of a striped dress made it look white and gold to some, and blue and black to others. An article from al.com further discusses this potential:
“There has obviously not been a scientific study of the Purkinje shift and its relation to the question of the color of the dress. But the fact that the color changes for some people may be linked to differences in lighting and how dilated (or not) one’s pupil is at a given time, and therefore how much light is being let into the eye’s cones and rods, and the role the Purkinje effect plays in shifting perceptions.”
Before anyone goes to the eclipse wearing their brightest red and green Christmas sweater, Jose said for the effect to truly be seen, it has to be done with a crowd of people.
“Two or five in a group of 100 wouldn’t help,” she said.
Jose recommends getting a large crowd of people together to create an incredible optical phenomenon to compliment the already incredible solar event.