“‘HADESTOWN’ IS QUITE SIMPLY ONE OF THE MOST EXQUISITE WORKS OF MUSICAL STORYTELLING I’VE SEEN IN MY MORE THAN 25 YEARS AS A THEATER CRITIC.”
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FOR RELEASE ON JUNE 3, 2019
THE MOST NOMINTED SHOW OF THE YEAR
“HADESTOWN”
ANNOUNCES UPCOMING “CHARACTER DROP”
ROLLOUT OF HIGHLY ANTICIPATED
ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST ALBUM
THREE SONGS FROM UPCOMING DOUBLE-ALBUM
RELEASED TONIGHT AT 12:01 AM
“‘HADESTOWN’ IS QUITE SIMPLY
ONE OF THE MOST EXQUISITE WORKS OF MUSICAL STORYTELLING
I’VE SEEN IN MY MORE THAN 25 YEARS AS A THEATER CRITIC.”
CHARLES MCNULTY, LOS ANGELES TIMES
New York, NY (June 3, 2019) – Today, Sing It Again Records announced that the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Hadestown, the most nominated show of the season with a leading 14 Tony Award® nominations including Best Musical, will have a release schedule unlike any cast album in Broadway history.
As previously announced, on Friday, June 7, 13 tracks from Hadestown, written by celebrated singer-songwriter and two-time 2019 Tony Award nominee Anaïs Mitchell, developed with innovative director and 2019 Tony Award nominee Rachel Chavkin, will be made available digitally. Three of those songs, “Way Down Hadestown,” “Our Lady of the Underground,” and the showstopping “Wait for Me,” will be released tonight at 12:01 AM.
The rest of the double album which features 40 tracks spanning over two hours of music will be rolled out in three curated character-themed drops.
Anaïs Mitchell said, “A huge thanks to all of our friends for their patience as we take a little more time with our Original Broadway Cast Recording than originally anticipated! We got deep into editing and mixing these two-plus hours’ worth of beautiful performances and realized we didn’t have the heart to rush what feels like a very special recording that we hope will live for a long time! We’ve decided to release the entirety of the album in a few installments over the course of the next few weeks as ‘character drops.’ We hope this will give folks a chance to appreciate all over again the unique gifts of our unicorn company and give us the time we need to make sure we are creating the most magical recording possible!”
The schedule for the drops is:
Tonight at 12:01 AM
“Way Down Hadestown”
“Wait For Me (“Hey, the big artiste…”) [Intro]”
“Wait For Me”
“Our Lady of the Underground”
Friday, June 7 – Additional highlights from Hadestown, including
“Livin’ It Up On Top”
“Hey, Little Songbird”
“When The Chips Are Down (“Songbird vs. rattlesnake…”) [Intro]”
“When The Chips Are Down”
“Gone, I’m Gone”
“Why We Build The Wall”
“Why We Build The Wall (“Behind closed doors…”) [Outro]”
“Flowers”
“Road to Hell (Reprise)”
Friday, June 28 – Character Drop 1: Hades and Persephone
Friday, July 12 – Character Drop 2: Hermes, the Fates, and the Workers Chorus
Friday, July 26 – Character Drop 3: Orpheus and Eurydice
The Hadestown Original Broadway Cast Recording is produced by David Lai, Todd Sicakfoose, and Mitchell, co-produced by Mara Isaacs and Hunter Arnold, and executive produced by Dale Franzen, Tom Kirdahy, Craig Balsam, and Thomas M. Neff. The album is distributed by ADA Worldwide in partnership with Arts Music
Hadestown is the winner of Best Musical by both the Drama League Awards and the Outer Critics Circle Awards and is nominated for 14 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The show is already the highest-grossing musical in the history of the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street) and continues to sell out nightly.
The Broadway cast of Hadestown is led by Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada, and Patrick Page. They are joined by Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad as the Fates. The Workers Chorus is played by Afra Hines, Timothy Hughes, John Krause, Kimberly Marable, and Ahmad Simmons. The full cast includes swings Malcolm Armwood, T. Oliver Reid, Jessie Shelton, and Khaila Wilcoxon.
Hadestown marks the first time in over a decade that a woman has been the solo author of a musical: writing the music, lyrics, and book, and is the fourth time in Broadway history a woman has accomplished this creative feat. The show originated as Mitchell’s indie theater project that toured Vermont which she then turned into an acclaimed album. With Chavkin, her artistic collaborator, Hadestown has been transformed into a genre-defying new musical that blends modern American folk music with New Orleans-inspired jazz to reimagine a sweeping ancient tale.
Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers, and singers, Hadestown delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience.
Welcome to the intriguing and beautiful world of “your next musical theater obsession” (Vogue).
Hadestown is produced on Broadway by Mara Issacs, Dale Franzen, Hunter Arnold, and Tom Kirdahy. The creative team features Rachel Hauck (set design), Michael Krass (costume design), Tony Award winner Bradley King (lighting design), Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design), Chita Rivera Award® winner and three-time Bessie Award® winner David Neumann (choreography), Liam Robinson (music direction and vocal arrangements), Michael Chorney, Sickafoose (arrangements and orchestrations), Ken Cerniglia (dramaturgy), and Stewart/Whitley (casting).
Hadestown electrified audiences with its 2016 world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop, which is the longest-running show in that celebrated theater’s 40-year history. The production then received its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre in 2017 and then a 2018 sold-out engagement at the London’s National Theatre prior to Broadway. Hadestown was developed with funding from the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center and was further developed by The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Hadestown was co-conceived by Ben t. Matchstick.
Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, by calling (877) 250-2929, or visiting the Kerr box office.
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