50 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021
ARTS&LIFE
THEATER
O
n March 12, 2020, the
day that Broadway
shut down, Bex
Odorisio was in final rehears-
als for the world premiere
opening of The Visitor at the
Public Theater in New York
City. She also had a callback
for the North American tour
of Hadestown.
One year later, Odorisio got
an email that Hadestown was
going to be the first musical to
resume on Broadway on Sept.
2, and begin its tour on Oct.
13, and would she audition
again.
“That was quite a surprise;
I didn’t expect shows to be up
and running yet. So I did a
video audition from my living
room. It was very surreal,
” says
Odorisio, who is now on her
first Broadway tour featured as
a Fate in Hadestown.
Hadestown comes to Detroit’s
Fisher Theatre Nov. 23-Dec.
5 followed by performances
at the Wharton Center in
East Lansing from Dec. 7-12.
Hadestown is the winner
of eight 2019 Tony Awards,
including Best New Musical and
the 2020 Grammy Award for
Best Musical Theater Album.
It was also honored with four
Drama Desk Awards, six Outer
Critics Circle Awards, including
Outstanding New Broadway
Musical, and the Drama
League Award for Outstanding
Production of a Musical.
Hadestown is helmed by a
dynamic female production
team spearheaded by music,
lyrics and book writer Anaïs
Mitchell; and Jewish director
Rachel Chavkin.
“Rachel Chavkin describes
the Fates as a ‘supergroup’
where we have standout solo
moments, but we also meet in
harmony on the same level,
”
says Odorisio, who’s onstage
with two other Fates for the
majority of the show.
“We are pulled straight from
Greek mythology as the con-
trollers of the lives of mortals
and sometimes gods,
” she adds.
“We embody the fears and
impulses. If we’re not actively
meddling, we’re actively observ-
ing so that we can meddle later.
”
Hadestown weaves togeth-
er two love stories — of the
young Orpheus and Eurydice
— with King Hades and his
Hadestown comes to Michigan for two stops.
From the
Underworld and Back
JULIE SMITH YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“WE EMBODY THE FEARS AND IMPULSES. IF WE’RE NOT
ACTIVELY MEDDLING, WE’RE ACTIVELY OBSERVING
SO THAT WE CAN MEDDLE LATER.”
— BEX ODORISIO
PHOTO BY T CHARLES ERICKSON