John-Michael Lyles Says Hadestown Still Takes His Breath Away Every Night

John-Michael Lyles knew Hadestown long before he became its Orpheus. Introduced to Anaïs Mitchell's music while he was in college, the Texas native rushed to see the musical during its New York Theatre Workshop run and left obsessed, never imagining he'd one day lead the Tony-winning Best Musical on Broadway. Since then, Lyles has built an eclectic career that includes A Strange Loop and The Heart of Rock and Roll on Broadway, a spritely guest spot on The Other Two and his own work as a singer-songwriter. Now starring as the hopeful dreamer at the heart of Hadestown, Lyles sat down with Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens to discuss joining an established Broadway hit, the artistic journey he shares with Orpheus and the advice he's learning to live by.

Joining a long-running Broadway production marked a new experience for Lyles, whose career has largely been spent developing new work. Instead of learning changing scripts in previews, he stepped into a production that was already set in stone. That gave him the freedom to focus on discovery once the memorization was behind him. “I could show up in rehearsal and really feel free and liberated to really dive into my impulses,” he says. “That was the most surprising and unique bonus of it already being a functioning machine.”

For Lyles, Orpheus isn't simply a gifted musician—he's an artist trying to hold onto belief when success feels out of reach. “In our culture, we spend so much time celebrating success stories and happily ever afters,” he says. “But as an artist in New York, there are so many days where it feels like everything can't come true and that you're hitting up against a wall.” He sees his own life reflected in Orpheus' journey. “Sometimes I wake up and I feel like I can do anything, and then I get on the subway and I'm like I don't know if I can do it. Every day as an artist you can feel like you have to go through that journey of, ‘Can I make it? Can I make it out of hell alive without turning back?’”

That perspective comes from experience. After graduating from college, Lyles worked in the restaurant industry while pursuing acting. Rehearsing the opening moments of Hadestown, he found himself cleaning a table onstage and instantly remembered those days. Recently, an old friend texted to congratulate him on leading a Broadway musical. Looking back through their earlier messages, Lyles found one he had sent after a difficult shift at the restaurant. "The next text saying, ‘Hey, you're really amazing leading this Broadway show.’ You just never know what's in store.”

The same could be said for the show itself. “The crazy thing about Hadestown is, if you're familiar with the myth, you know how it ends," Lyles says. That doesn't stop audiences showing up to see the show, more than seven years after its Broadway debut and around 2,500 years since the first record of the ill-fated tale in 5th century B.C.E. "Little did we know that it would have the trajectory that it has had, because it's hard out here for new musicals. And Hadestown has indeed made it all the way.”

Even after performing the story night after night, Lyles says the ending never loses its emotional impact. “Sometimes I feel it in the auditory sense, like there's a literal gasp that happens,” he says. “But just energetically you can feel it. I know my lines. I know how it goes, but still, emotionally, it feels so intense and surprising and immediate.”

Now, as he settles into one of Broadway's most coveted leading roles, Lyles is trying to appreciate every moment. “I've had lots of people give me the advice of: Stay present. For all of it. I'm trying my best to do that,” he says. “Sometimes I'll be sitting in my dressing room and I'm just like, 'Is this real life?' It's really artistically fulfilling and it's really cool to see what I'm capable of.” Through hell, Lyles has found heaven.

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