Hadestown leads set final performance dates in the West End

Two Hadestown leads – Grace Hodgett-Young and Dónal Finn – have set their final performance dates in the West End production of Hadestown. 

The show is a genre-defying new musical that tells two mythic love stories – that of Orpheus (Finn) and Eurydice (Young), and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone – with both on a journey to the underworld and back. It received a glowing review from critic Sarah Crompton, with the show being praised as “the most exhilarating ride”.

Having opened at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in London from 10 February 2024, it features music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell, a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, and direction by Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin.

WhatsOnStage Award-winner Young will be jetting over to New York for the US premiere of Jamie Lloyd’s multi-award-winning production of Sunset Boulevard, while the third season of Finn’s hit series The Wheel of Time is expected to be released next year. The pair are set to play their final performances on 25 August 2024. Expect some replacement casting news for Young and Finn very, very soon.

Taking on the role of Hermes is Melanie La Barrie (& Juliet), with Persephone played by Gloria Onitiri (Cinderella) and Hades played by Zachary James (Philip Glass’s Akhnaten). 

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.