"...not simply lovers united and separated forever."
The way this is written strikes me as really interesting. In the encore song, it implies that no one knows where Orpheus is, but given he's human, he should have died and gone to Hadestown. Not sure where I'm going with this, just thought it was interesting.
"Costume designer Michael Krass said, “I felt that the workers ‘down below’ needed to be ungendered, but still sexual”. "
I feel like this design choice is a commentary on what being subject to a capitalist society. It lines up with what the Fates say about workers not having names or memories.
"At the beginning and end of each performance, Hermes starts and then restarts the story. Orpheus, determined to win back Eurydice, appeals to Hades by singing the story of Hades’s love for Persephone. Orpheus’s persuasive retelling is echoed by the looping narrative structure of the musical, which opens with the coming of spring, marked by Persephone’s leaving by train to return to the world above."
I find this description of the loop very intriguing. The play itself is a loop of Orpheus and Eurydice's story, but their story is just a parallel of Hades and Persephone's story. It may be about these characters specifically, but it is also just the story of love and tragedy, doomed to repeat for as long as humans love.
Hades describes the continual wall his “children” are building
I find that pointing out that Hades calls the workers his children is really interesting. It reminds me of the idea of 'founding fathers'.
not during the birth of this world we’re in but at the end of it
I find it interesting that the author comments that the show is at the end of the world because the play is a loop of sorts. Asserting that this show is at the end could mean any number of things, but the fact that the play starts back over at the beginning with the last song just seems interesting in relation.
When he miraculously makes his way to Hades without taking the aforementioned train, he breaks the workers (Hadestown’s fabulous ensemble, wearing dirty coveralls and headlamps) from their deadness by prompting them to question Hades’s authority: “Is it true what they say?”
I think talking about questioning authority is interesting. In current politics, there isn't much room to question authority because the fight is just making sure the worse option isn't in power and worrying about what your preferred choice actually has a right to do. There are definitely certain implications of this point toward our current political climate.