Hadestown: Are We Living In Hell On Earth?

Contributor Siya Pujari compares present-day reality to the mythological saga of Hadestown, drawing uncanny links and similarities.

In the summer of 2022, clips of the original Broadway cast of Hadestown found me during my daily doom scroll, and its alluring world dragged me into its mythological storytelling—healing my heart and breaking it into pieces, again and again. This pattern repeated, much like the myth itself of Orpheus and Eurydice, where over the years I distanced myself from the underground of the musical, only to be lured back into its thematic revelry of hope and community, mirrored with the sometimes futile world, pulling me down into Hadestown again. Finally, a few weeks ago, I was able to embark on the journey of watching Hadestown in the Theatre Royal, which was truly a dream for my little musical-theatre-nerd self. 

Sitting down for the opening number, ‘Road to Hell,’ initiated by our guide and narrator Hermes with the company following, I braced myself to be transported to another world. And yet, chillingly, throughout the entirety of the musical, all I felt was déjà vu. Not the cyclical nature of the myth with Orpheus and Eurydice being sent upon their tragic path once again in the musical’s final moments. Instead, it served as a stark reflection of our current sobering reality. 

The gist of the tale can be found in the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, but the musical chooses to delve further into the underground hell of Hadestown, switching up character motivations and incorporating modern beats into its musical journey. Hermes, as the narrator, combines the stories of Orpheus and Eurydice with Hades and Perspehone, both love stories ultimately sharing a sliver of commonality that contributes to the heart of the musical. As Eurydice accepts Hades’ offer for a full belly and warmth over the starving artist life Orpheus can provide, we are dragged into the industrial underworld run by the looming leader Hades, where workers are treated as slaves. Orpheus eventually arrives through a journey of perseverance to rescue Eurydice and grips onto the workers’ frustrations to upstand a revolt against Hades—which all comes crashing down in the most tragic way and yet…

Hadestown, I believe, exists as deeply relevant in our irony-poisoned culture. Orpheus is a direct opposite to this cultural touchpoint; he is constantly openly honest and hopeful and so vulnerable with his emotions—a deep contrast with the life of Eurydice that has been corrupted by the greed of man and the rotting environment as well during the gutting journey down to Hadestown. Anais Mitchell, the prophetic creator of the musical, in a previous interview with the Hanover Theatre, explained that:

 “Orpheus was by far the hardest character for me to write, in part because he’s 

  more “pure” than any other character. Hades, Persephone, and even Hermes and  

  Eurydice have a sort of jaded quality, a world-weariness that is much easier to 

  grasp and to write for. Orpheus is a dreamer, a genuine optimist, and that has 

  been a challenge to discover and to express in writing. It’s hard to take an 

  optimist seriously!”

We lack this general drive of optimism in society. The pervasive hustle culture has rotted our brains and the endless scroll of every single media platform has exhausted us to this extent that no one believes that a world will exist in the future that deserves our hope—at least, not meaningfully. The current political climate does not help either. 

This second term with Trump holding the reins of America seems darker and more perilous than the last one governed by the same man. With the introduction of ‘political’ actors such as Elon Musk (frustratingly) and J.D. Vance, a wretched tone has been overcast on all of politics and culture, with any statements they make or actions they take reinvigorating the sense of doom for our collective futures. It is not easy to remain hopeful when the youth that surround us are more and more likely to enter the new audience of Gen-Z, especially men, who have been swept into the conservative diaspora being dispelled across the internet, particularly with the rise of low IQ podcasts and YouTubers infiltrating the space. Images and videos fill our daily doom-scrolls, alternating between the meaningless drivel expelled by influencers and the damage caused by the world’s political leaders, with America transforming itself into a fascist administration. Again, the infiltration of these burgeoning tech billionaires (with the attitude of the worst frat brothers to exist) into the White House with their blatant pandering to Trump’s administration in their defence contractor roles, essentially, makes it so easy for my generation to be completely and utterly miserable about the future that awaits us. 

Reuniting this reminiscing of misery with Hadestown, there is overlap to be drawn between the fabric of the current reality and the woven piece of the musical. The devastation of the climate crisis looms above our heads – and it does the same for Eurydice. Eurydice starts out cold and hungry and desires a crushing escapist fantasy, which unfortunately results in her facing the other isolating, degenerating reality within Hadestown itself—ultimately, a capitalist vacuum that consumes all identity and vision for hope. The deeply political underworld is controlled by Hades, reflecting the modern reality of worker exploitation and climate disaster. The villain of the work shares a commonality with a certain, orange-tinted dictator—both being hedonistic creatures that thrive off of our current inability to congregate together as a community and world with hope. With the world’s jolting political shift towards the right and tethering conservative ideals, it is easy to embrace the negativity and settle into a place where we don’t actively fight against these rising fascist regimes. Still,it does not help, ultimately, to be jaded.

Going back to Orpheus and his role as the young, idealistic artist who believed in his ability to change the circumstances of his world, Hadestown portrays him as a valid protagonist. This musical creates cracks in the supposed ultimate victory of the pessimistic way of thinking. It tries sincerely to remind us that there will always be a necessity in continuing to try even when times feel futile. 

Similar to the exhibition of hope in the story, the unexpected rise of those who sit at the bottom of the social and economic totem pole of Hadestown against the plutocratic governance held by Hades gripped me as an important message to absorb. Orpheus, even while surrounded by the benign devastation of the world and ever-present disaster of it all, chooses to resist being trampled on:

 “I believe that we are many

 I believe that they are few

 And it isn't for the few

 To tell the many what is true  (Lyrics within “If It’s True”)

There is no Perfect Nexus between hope and the insurrection of the masses, but there is an intersection. They both emerge from a place of being suppressed by those who can afford not to care against those who cannot, with the excesses of the few trampling over the needs of the many that struggle underneath. 

Leaving the theatre that night reinforced within me a seed of understanding that, when come into fruition, will bloom into optimism for the future and carry along the lesson that Hadestown provides for its audience from Orpheus himself—that he “could see how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is." This stands as a message of hope, and how in spite of our current reality, maybe one day things will go right; that despite the inherent disdain and disappointment, good exists and even with it at one point being buried in the underground, you can choose to stand for something. And not let hope be wrought out from inside of you.