As Persephone must return to Hades at the end of every summer, so the wildly popular musical “Hadestown” returned to San Diego. Last seen in the Spring of 2022, the musical came back for an extra-season event from Broadway San Diego with five performances from Nov. 8-10.

Friday night’s performance also coincided with Broadway San Diego’s 48th anniversary. The organization began in 1976 as San Diego Playgoers with its first show, “Equus,” at Spreckels Theatre. Since then, it has brought nearly 500 Broadway shows to San Diego. In 1986, the organization found the home it has today at San Diego Civic Theatre. On its 25th anniversary in 2001, the organization renamed itself Broadway San Diego. Blockbuster “Hamilton” launched its tour from San Diego in 2018 with a special declaration of Hamilton Day in the City of San Diego. Other record-setting shows “Wicked” and Disney’s “The Lion King” have also been embraced by local audiences. “Hamilton” and “Wicked” are both returning during Broadway San Diego’s 47th season, which resumes next year.

“Hadestown” won the Tony for Best Musical in 2019 and has remained popular on Broadway since, with the only breaks in showings being due to COVID-19. It was one of the first musicals to reopen after 2020 and its Broadway tour launched in 2021 for a whirlwind 980 performances across 85 cities before its conclusion this May. This new tour kicked off on Nov. 6 in San Luis Obispo. San Diego is only its second stop.

The tour is directed by Keenan Tyler Oliphant based on the original Broadway direction and features a new tour concept by Rachel Chavkin. For those who saw the Broadway version or even the original tour, this is a much more slimmed-down version due to being non-Equity. The set from David Arsenault in particular is one area that suffers from the lower investment. Without an elevator or turn table it does not sell the industrial setting. The choreography by T. Oliver Reid based on the original choreography by David Neumann could have been reworked more dramatically. Instead, the missing turn table was unpleasantly obvious during some chorus dances. As for the rest of the creative team: four-time Tony Award® nominee Michael Krass did costume design; Aja Jackson’s lighting design based on the original Broadway design by Bradley King still shined. The show, which has always been known for its moving jazzy sound, was beautiful and resonant. That is in thanks to Tony Award® winners Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound design); Liam Robinson (music consultant and vocal arrangements); and Cody Owen Stine (music supervision). The production team also includes Sightline Productions (Production Supervisor). RCI Theatricals serves as General Manager with Mark Lunsford as Creative Producer. Whitley Theatrical did the casting.

All this to say, the musical was still good, if not dazzling. And the talent certainly did a lot with a little. This tour stars Nickolaus Colón as Hades whose deep singing voice brought so much to the second half of the show. Megan Colton stood out as Eurydice. Her voice had a darkness that stood out even among a cast of talented singers. As to physical acting, the smallest gesture from her expressed so much about her character. Jaylon C. Crump orchestrated the show seamlessly as Hermes, Namisa Mdlalose Bizana danced uproariously as Persephone, and Bryan Munar as Orpheus was heartbreaking. The Fates are played by Katelyn Crall, Miriam Navarrete, and Alli Sutton. The Workers Chorus features Randy Cain, Miracle Myles, Kaitlyn O’Leary, Mikaela Rada, and Joe Rumi. Swings for the tour include Jamir Brown, Ricky Cardenas, Michelle E. Carter, and Julia Schick.

The acclaimed musical was written by singer-songwriter and Tony Award winner Anaïs Mitchell and developed with original director and Tony Award winner Rachel Chavkin. “Hadestown” marked 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. It was co-conceived by Ben T. Matchstick.
Tickets are on sale now at broadwaysd.com/upcoming-events/hadestown-2024.