Hadestown seemingly confirms West End cast recording

It sounds as though Hadestown may be releasing a West End cast recording.

A new social post (below) from the show has teased plans for a recording this morning, raising speculation to a fever pitch.

It comes after two of leads – Grace Hodgett-Young and Dónal Finn – prepare to play their final performance dates in the West End production tonight.

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 Hodgett-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. He also has other screen projects in the go.

We heard you, songbirds. 👀🎶 #WaitForUs #HadestownUK pic.twitter.com/21aAsJDiPJ

— Hadestown UK (@HadestownUK) August 25, 2024

A release date, casting and exact nature of the recording hasn’t yet been disclosed, but stay tuned here for all the details in due course.

Taking over Young’s role as Persephone is Madeline Charlemagne, currently one of the Fates in the show, with Dylan Wood joining as Orpheus from next week.

Continuing in 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). 

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.

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.