Try Again: The Powerful Message of Hadestown
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the show Hadestown.
In January, I had the pleasure of seeing Hadestown live, and it was brilliant. I highly recommend listening to or going to see the show. When I left the show though it wasn’t the stellar acting, amazing musicians, or impactful songs that stuck with me. What stayed with me on the drive home was the message of the show.
Hadestown is based on two different stories from Greek mythology: Hades and Persephone, and Orpheus and Eurydice. Like me, those who know the myth of Orpheus going into the show already know how it’s going to end. Even during “Doubt Comes In” as Orpheus and Eurydice attempt to make their way out of the underworld I found myself holding my breath. I kept pleading “Don’t look back, don’t look back. Let them change it. Let them change the ending.”. My pleas fall on deaf ears as the song ends with Orpheus looking back at his love at the last moment. Eurydice falls back to the underworld and after all their trials the lovers are forever separated.
If one pays attention to the lyrics during the opening song of “Road to Hell” they already know our story ends in sorrow:
“See, someone's got to tell the tale
Whether or not it turns out well
Maybe it will turn out this time”
“It's a sad tale, it's a tragedy
It's a sad song”
Even with the warnings the audience receives as we watch Orpheus and Eurydice fall in love and fight to be together, we can’t help but hope that it will end differently. Despite the tragic ending, the whole audience left the theater with smiles on their faces. Why?
The show closes as Hermes begins to sing the reprise of “Road to Hell” after the end of “Doubt Comes In” and Orpheus loses Eurydice. It starts slowly with only Hermes singing and the occasional sound of the piano accompanying him.
“And that is how it ends
That’s how it goes
Don't ask why, brother, don't ask how
He could have come so close”
Then the music starts to build as Hermes sings the following lyrics:
“But we sing it anyway
'Cause here’s the thing
To know how it ends
And still begin to sing it again
As if it might turn out this time
I learned that from a friend of mine”
The music builds and gets louder as Hermes continues. The actors reenact moments between the two lovers from the show. As the song ends the stage is set back to the first scene of the show, the moment Orpheus and Eurydice met. The lights cut out after Eurydice enters and the story starts again.
The finale brings the message of the show home. Most of the audience, like me, came knowing how the myth ends, but hopes maybe this show will have a happier ending. There are so many things we embark on in life that end with us hurt such as love. If there is a chance of being hurt, if we know things can end badly, then why do we try? We try because we also hope that things will end differently. The show ends with the start of the scene from the beginning of the play because they hope maybe when they tell it this time things will end better. The message of this show is so heartfelt and powerful. It’s a reminder that no matter how bad things may be, to not lose hope and keep trying again. It leaves the audience with a renewed hope of their own as they exit the theater to try again in their own lives.