Anaïs Mitchell on the Making of Hadestown and How an Old Tale Became a Modern Classic

Where'd you get that melody? I don't know, it came to me. The Broadway production of Hadestown began performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre in March 2019, but the idea to create a folk opera based on the Orpheus myth first came to singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell in 2005. As if she'd known it all along...

Under the working title of "A Crack in the Wall," the Vermont native used a small arts grant from her home state to bring her earliest collaborators on board. With arranger and orchestrator Michael Chorney and director Ben t. Matchstick, she put on two productions, in 2006 and 2007. "The characters were all played by friends of ours from bands around Vermont," Mitchell says. "Back then it was more abstract, with about half as many songs, but they were some of the songs that are still iconic in the show."

More than two decades later, Hadestown has surpassed seven years on Broadway and earned eight competitive Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score for Mitchell, who penned the music, lyrics and book. The original Broadway cast recording won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and a live capture featuring the original stars comes to cinemas this month. Mitchell's inspired take on the "old tale" remains achingly poignant, inviting in new audiences and bringing back fans to sing it again. Follow Mitchell as she re-traces her road, revealing her muses, reflecting on the story's enduring impact and looking ahead to what's next.

What sparked the idea for Hadestown?
I was early in my career as a singer-songwriter and driving an impossibly long distance between two gigs when the chorus of "Wait For Me" dropped into my lap in the car. The lyrics seemed to point to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, which had always been a favorite of mine as a kid. I think as a young, idealistic, creative person I was inspired by this character who believes if he could just make something beautiful enough, he could change the way the world is.

How early did you conceptualize Hadestown as a stage musical?
From the very beginning! Hadestown began as a DIY community theater project in Vermont. The concept album was phase two of the project, and the whole piece then lived exclusively in the music world for a few years, but I always wanted to see it staged again and develop it further as a theater piece.

How did Hadestown evolve from community theater project to album, concert and ultimately Broadway musical?
From about 2008 to 2010, I worked with the producer Todd Sickafoose on a concept album of the songs. (Todd later became an orchestrator alongside Michael). The album had some fairly famous guest singers on it: Ani DiFranco, who put it out on her record label, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Greg Brown. The music managed to travel around on its own legs and grab the ears of folks who would never have seen the Vermont production. One of these was the producer Dale Franzen, who came to see a concert version of Hadestown at a club in Santa Monica and then said she'd like to help develop the work. She partnered with Mara Isaacs and later Tom Kirdahy and Hunter Arnold to support the show’s development. Around the time I met Dale and Mara, I discovered Rachel Chavkin and absolutely flipped. We began working together in 2013 and many workshops and readings later we opened off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016. In 2017 we put up the show at the Citadel in Edmonton, Canada, and in 2018 we opened at the National in London. Finally, we opened on Broadway in 2019, a full 14 years after I got the initial arts grant for it in Vermont!

What was the songwriting process like?
What I loved right away about writing songs for Hadestown was that they could absolutely be larger-than-life and that was totally appropriate! They could be epically romantic or political or poetic or unhinged in a way that didn’t feel right for my own little songwriter world.

Did you approach the project differently than your previous work?
Once the development of the piece was underway in New York, the process also felt much different in that there was so much feedback. Feedback from my director Rachel, my dramaturg Ken Cerniglia, certain producers, actors in the room—suddenly the choices I made at the desk affected a whole roomful of people. It wasn’t enough for a song to be poetic or have a catchy melody, now they had to work hard on behalf of the larger story. I found it intimidating at times but more often than not it was inspiring. Writing songwriter songs is like playing tennis without a net. Drama world has a big old net!

In what ways did working with Rachel help the musical become what it is today?
Rachel is an ambitious and visionary director and I think more than most she is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and develop a new work for literal years, which is often what it takes to bring it to fruition. She’s a gifted storyteller and together with Ken, she helped me understand what was working and not working in this retelling of the Greek myth. I like to tell folks she kicked my ass with a smile on her face for years. She also assembled a gorgeous and intuitive design team and found a way to make this particular piece, which is heavy on music, metaphor and poetry, sit on a dramatic stage in a way that I hope satisfies theatergoers and music heads alike.

How did you find Hadestown’s sound?
I write songs on the guitar with a lot of folksy fingerpicking, which I think brings out a different kind of song than a piano. I was influenced by folk and Americana music, and I’ve also always loved epic pop balladry with a real soft spot for the 1980s. The orchestrators also brought so much of their own character to the music, including the choice of instruments which suggests a New Orleans style street band. Michael and Todd each bring a unique texture but both of them are influenced by jazz and art rock.

It’s such a singular score, but what are some of your musical inspirations?
In terms of musicals, my all time fave is Les Misérables, I will never tire of it. I also love The Threepenny Opera, Sweeney Todd, Hamilton and the classics. I tend to gravitate toward sung-through musicals because I love the rarified world that is created by unbroken music. If it’s musicians you’re asking about, I’ll throw out there Ani DiFranco, Rickie Lee Jones, Tori Amos, Gillian Welch, the trifecta of Bob Dylan/Joni Mitchell/Leonard Cohen, Peter Gabriel, Prince and Cyndi Lauper.

Were you always interested in Greek myth?
I’m not someone who studied them, but this particular myth—the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and the adjacent myth of Hades and Persephone—spoke to me at a very young age.

What about Greek tragedies?
Now that you mention it, I suppose I have always been attracted to tragedy at some level. Which is funny because I think of myself as a pretty joyful person, but as one of my songwriter friends put it, "sad songs make me happy." There’s something curious about the fact that with this myth we’re all set up for the Hollywood ending and then we don’t get it. I think it’s part of what keeps people coming back. There’s some capital T Truth about the power and also the frailty of the human experience.

You've shared that you identified with different characters over the course of developing Hadestown. Who do you most identify with at this stage in your life?
I think I identify with Hermes most now. I’m much older than I was when I started writing Hadestown, at which point I identified most with the young lovers. My identity has shifted many times, but lately I’m owning my role as a storyteller, which is what Hermes is. I’d also say that that character, regardless of gender, is the most maternal character in the show. They take Orpheus under their wing and eventually have to kick him out of the nest. As a mom of two, I identify with that conundrum.

As the musical continues to reach new generations of fans, what are your thoughts on its continued relevance?
It’s wild to me the way the themes of Hadestown seem to come in and out of sync or focus with the times, with current events. It’s not a new thing. I wrote "Why We Build the Wall" in 2006, but in 2016 it suddenly felt like a verbatim speech from our current political leader. "Hey, Little Songbird" took on a different character during the Me Too movement in 2018. I’d just say, this is the power of archetypes at work. In different times, as the kids would say, "they hit different."

When you recorded the Hadestown concept album as Eurydice, did you ever imagine how many more performers would eventually take on the role?
Definitely not, and it’s wild to me that some of the young women who are taking on the role now were literally babes-in-arms when these songs got written. I love hearing different takes on this tough, vulnerable character. When I heard Eva Noblezada sing "Flowers" on our new live capture of Hadestown, I was surprised to feel like I heard that song again for the first time.

Do you ever see yourself writing another musical?
I’m currently working on a play with music. That’s all I can say for the moment, but I’m grateful to feel obsessed with it, a feeling I remember from Hadestown. And so grateful to be working in the medium of theater again!

What do you think keeps people coming back to Hadestown?
I think it simply must be that folks identify with the characters and the story. It means a ton to me that young people are finding themselves in it. I’ve seen a few high school iterations of Hadestown, and it’s powerful to see young people telling this story, which is in large part about young people who can still see how the world could be. Thank god these young generations are always coming up and up and up, clear-eyed, brave and ready to move mountains.

Get tickets to Hadestown!