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But there it is, and here we are.
Mitchellhas quippedthat any similarities between her wall-building underworld boss Hades and certain contemporary figures are purely archetypal.
earnestness left me a little under-roused.
Or rather, more thats just as different.
Burn it down with love, and then build it back up again.
Hadestownis more opera than straight musical, and it still retains the feeling of a concert.
In the meantime, hes wiping tables in a dive bar located somewhere on the road to hell.
Mitchells lyrics are image-rich and clever, her confident tunes exhilarating as they hop genres and tones.
Delivering them, Page and Gray are the twin sensations of the show.
Its a tough row to hoe: Innocence is rarely as compelling as vice.
And Carneys Orpheus in particular is a wide-eyed blank slate.
Even the climactic, inevitable looking back moment seems strangely empty.
/ Hotter than a crucible / It aint right and it aint natural.
Hell is Times Square and Las Vegas and the Rust Belt all rolled into one America, concentrated.
Its rampant capitalism and overcompensation and irresponsible industry and thoughtless technology and the ever-accelerated murder of the Earth.
May more inventive, uncompromising new songs even if theyre also old songs follow in its footsteps.
Hadestownis at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
