Hello!! This past Saturday, Johnny and I had Part Two of our Valentine’s Day celebration: A night at EJ Thomas Hall in Akron to see our favorite musical, Hadestown. Two years ago, we saw Hadestown for V-Day at Playhouse Square and it was magnificent so I just had to jump on the opportunity for us to see it again. We both went into the show knowing that it wasn’t going to be as good as our first viewing and we were spot on about that. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty about it that we liked. However, this show had some glaring issues that were difficult to look past. Let’s get to it:
First things first, let’s start with the good because there were two standout performances. Jaylon C. Crump as Hermes really helped carry the show and was so solid from start to finish. His vocals were phenomenal and he was exuberant, which was very necessary especially considering the times when the actors on stage just seemed tired. Johnny and I were blessed with seeing Nathan Lee Graham as Hermes at Playhouse Square and, frankly, no one compares to him. Having said that, I could tell that Jaylon found inspiration in Graham’s portrayal and that was good enough for us.
Next up was Nickolaus Colon as Hades who, easily, had the strongest performance of the night. During our first show of Hadestown, the man who played Hades took the dark and mysterious route and that is still my preferred portrayal. Nickolaus had a different approach, playing Hades with anger that boomed and resonated. This was further complimented by his larger than life and looming presence and he made it work so well. We were both really impressed by him and his rendition of “Why We Build the Wall” was one of the best numbers of the whole show.
Finally, we have Megan Colton as Eurydice for Honorable Mention. I loved that she brought some grit to Eurydice’s character and my qualm isn’t exactly directed at her but to her acting partner, Bryan Munar, as Orpheus. Look, I don’t know if he was having a rough night and I am not trying to be mean but he was not good at all. His falsetto, which is such an important part of the vocal performance was simply not there. There was no strength behind it and his performance felt more like one of their first rehearsals rather than a real live show.
Johnny and I were not the only ones to feel this way about Munar. In fact, as we were both in line for the bathroom, literally everyone we chatted with was not impressed with him either and had nothing but negative feedback. He brought the entire show down and because of that, Eurydice didn’t shine as brightly as she should have. This is truly unfortunate and while I understand that everyone has a bad night, I really wish it didn’t happen when we saw it lol. From this performance alone and the fact that he could barely hit his falsetto definitely had me questioning the casting decision.
Last on the “not so great” list was Namisa Mdlalose Bizana as Persephone, which was a major disappointment for me. Persephone is one of my favorite characters of the entire show and I don’t think she was done justice with Bizana’s portrayal. It is no secret in Hadestown that Persephone loves to self medicate with booze and drugs. She is so much more than that, though, and Bizana played her as a falling down drunk. This did little to add dimension to Persephone’s character and Bizana turned her into a caricature. On top of that, her vocals didn’t feel strong enough for such a boisterous lead and she seemed exhausted throughout the show.
It’s funny because I saw Jesus Christ Superstar at EJ Thomas Hall after seeing it at Playhouse Square. I was so surprised because it really was a comparable performance for the most part and there were even aspects that I liked better at EJ Thomas than at Playhouse. Having that experience going into Hadestown made me feel hopeful that we would still be seeing an excellent show despite my ambivalence. I am kind of bummed because regardless of the cast members that shined, this performance felt like a dress rehearsal and not even a good one. Major characters brought the whole cast down and that is a crying shame!
Although this performance of Hadestown was literally nothing to write home about, Johnny and I still had a fabulous time on our date night. Stay tuned for my OOTD coming soon!
What is your favorite musical? Have you seen a play or musical recently? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
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