Exclusive: Hadestown announces new West End lead casting

Exclusive: Hadestown has announced its new leads for the West End.

The Tony Award-winning musical, which follows two interwoven tales of fraught love in a re-imagined Greek world, is penned by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin. It continues its run at the Lyric Theatre, where it opened in February five years on from its sold-out engagement at the National Theatre in 2018.

The musical will bid farewell to current stars Dónal Finn (Orpheus) and WhatsOnStage Award winner Grace Hodgett-Young (Eurydice) on 25 August 2024, with the duo having originated their roles in the West End when the musical first opened at the Lyric.

Replacing them from 27 August 2024 will be Dylan Wood (Orphans, No Love Songs), making his West End debut to play Orpheus, with Madeline Charlemagne, having been playing a Fate since the launch of Hadestown in the West End, will step into the role of Eurydice.

Replacing Charlemagne as one of the three Fates from the 27th is Francessca Daniella-Baker (My Fair Lady), playing alongside Bella Brown and Allie Daniel. They join Zachary James as Hades, Melanie La Barrie as Hermes, and Gloria Onitiri as Persephone who continue in their roles.

See rehearsal shots of the new cast in action:

Lauren Azania, Tiago Dhondt Bamberger, Beth Hinton-Lever, Waylon Jacobs, and Christopher Short continue to play the Workers, with Lucinda Buckley, Winny Herbert, Ryesha Higgs, Ediz Mahmut, Miriam Nyarko, Brianna Ogunbawo and Simon Oskarsson as swings.

Hadestown opened in 2016 at the New York Theatre Workshop before a production in Edmonton, Canada, and its sold-out run at the National Theatre in 2018. The show then premiered at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre, winning eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical. It now holds the record for the highest-grossing musical and longest-running show in the theatre’s 100-year history.

The Hadestown creative team features Obie Award winner and Chita Rivera Award winner David Neumann (choreography), Tony Award winner Rachel Hauck (scenic design), four-time Tony Award nominee Michael Krass (costume design), two-time Tony Award winner Bradley King (lighting design), Tony Award winners Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design), Liam Robinson (music supervision and vocal arrangements), Tony Award winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations), Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy), Maria Crocker (UK Associate Director), and Tarek Merchant (musical director). Casting for the London production is by Jacob Sparrow.