T. Oliver Reid to Play Hermes in Hadestown on Broadway

T. Oliver Reid is going to be showing the way in Hadestown! He will take over the role of Hermes on Broadway beginning on June 14. Tony winner André de Shields played his final performance at the Walter Kerr Theatre on May 29.

Reid has understudied the roles of Hermes, Hades and members of the Workers Chorus. In March of this year, when a COVID surge was impacting Broadway, Reid went on at the last minute as one the Fates, the trio normally played by female-presenting actors. Reid is also a co-founder and co-artistic director of Black Theatre Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to building a sustainable ethical roadmap that will increase employment opportunities for Black theater professionals. His additional Broadway credits include Once On This Island, Sunset Boulevard, After Midnight, Sister Act, Mary Poppins, The Wedding Singer, La Cage aux Folles, Never Gonna Dance, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies, Kiss Me, Kate and Chicago.

Reid assumes the role in a cast that also features Eva Noblezada as Euriydice, Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Tom Hewitt as Hades and Jewelle Blackman as Persephone with Jessie Shelton, Kay Trinidad and Soara-Joye Ross as the Fates. The chorus of Workers are played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Alex Puette, Trent Saunders and Grace Yoo. The cast includes swings Sojourner Brown, Tara Jackson, Sayo Oni, Yael “YaYa” Reich and Davis Wayne.

The musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, opened on Broadway on April 17, 2019 and tells the story of two intertwining mythic tales—that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone—as it invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Hadestown won eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.