Hadestown
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hadestown |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | Anaïs Mitchell |
| Date(s): | 2006 - present |
| Medium: | Musical |
| Country of Origin: | USA |
| External Links: | Hadestown on Wikipedia, Hadestown official website |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Hadestown is a musical retelling of the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice set in a post apocalyptic, Great Depression-esque era by Anaïs Mitchell. It has a long production history, having first been produced in Vermont in 2006, released as a concept album in 2010, produced off-Broadway in 2016, and finally premiering on Broadway in 2019.
Versions/Productions
The musical has gone through a lot of changes in terms of plot, characterization, lyrics etc in various productions before opening on Broadway. Fans mostly focus on:
- The concept album from 2010
- The off-Broadway production from 2016
- The National Theatre, London production from 2018
- Broadway production from 2019 to present
- West End production from 2024 to present
Fandom
Hadestown was the most popular musical on Tumblr Fandometrics' Year in Review 2019. Like most theater fandoms, interaction between fans often involve searching, trading and gifting bootlegs.
Pairings
Canon het pairings of Orpheus/Eurydice and Hades/Persephone are the most popular pairings. Among femslash pairings Eurydice/Persephone is popular. Gen relationships such as Orpheus & Hermes are relatively common as well.
Tropes / Trends
- Fix-it: As Hadestown has a sad / bittersweet ending following the original myth, alternate endings or fluffier takes are popular. Similarly, AUs that change the nature of the ending are popular.
- Time Loop: The circular narrative of Hadestown is often interpreted as time loop, making the trope somewhat popular. This often goes hand in hand with fix it fics where the time loop is broken.
- Post canon: Fics exploring the aftermath of canon are popular. This includes fics that center on - what happens to Eurydice in the Underworld & to Orpheus on Up Top, reunion of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hades and Persephone's relationship post-canon and how it changes etc.
- Fics often borrow lyrics from various productions of the musical as titles.
Challenge
Fanworks Example
Fic, art, gifsets and animatics are common among the fandom.
Fanart
- Where is the man with his hat in his hands? by lynvaren Archived
- Orpheus petitioning Hades during “Epic II” by tomato-bird.
- some character design practice through hadestown by shrylia.
Fanfic
- In the darkest time of year by anamia Archived. "An example of post canon & gen fics."
- Reprise by UpsideofCrazy. "An example of time loop & fix-it fic."
Gifset
- let the poet bless this round by musicalgifs. "A gifset depicting Orpheus' speech during Livin' it Up on Top from various productions."
- hadestown+colours by bigprincess-energy. "A gifset focusing on the Hadestown characters and color symbolism."
- the red carnation by jesterlesbian. "A gifset about the symbolism of red carnation flowers from the musical."
Animatic
- Wait For Me by foolscapper. "An animatic of the song Wait for Me from the musical."
- Flowers by gigi. "An animatic of the song Flowers from the musical."
Zine
- Flowers & Machinery [1] by tess-of-the-road & kuzupekos. "A Hadestown themed fanzine."
External Links and Resources
- Hadestown tag on Tumblr
- Hadestown - Mitchell works on AO3