In the myth, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture and the harvest, and sister to Zeus⁽¹⁾. Persephone's father is Zeus, king of gods and ruler of the sky⁽²⁾.

Persephone and Demeter were practically inseparable. Demeter loved her daughter very much and was very protective of her. One day, Persephone was plucking flowers⁽³⁾ in her mother's field with a group of nymphs when Hades' saw her and became entranced by her beauty. He would wait until one of the rare times she wasn't with her mother, cracked open the earth, and burst from the Underworld in his chariot pulled by black horses. He took Persephone in his chariot and brought her to the underworld to be his queen. ⁽⁴⁾

Demeter came back to find the nymphs distraught and unable to offer anything on the whereabouts of Persephone. Demeter began her search for Persephone, neglecting her duty to grow crops as she does. Meanwhile, in the Underworld, Persephone slowly grew accustomed to life in the Underworld. She was given the power to rule alongside Hades as his equal, as opposed to his subordinate.

Back up above, Demeter comes across the goddess Hecate who is unable to offer any information but urges her to go to Helios, titan of the sun⁽⁵⁾⁽⁶⁾. Helios saw everything from his place in the sky and told Demeter everything that happened. Enraged she confronts Zeus on Mount Olympus and swears that nothing will grow on Earth, and the humans will starve and die so long as Persephone remains in the underworld. Seeing that she would hold true to her word, Zeus sends Hermes to go down and get Persephone. ⁽⁷⁾

Before she left Hades offered Persephone some pomegranate⁽⁸⁾⁽⁹⁾, and she ate some of its seeds.

Because she ate some of the fruit of the underworld, she unknowingly tied herself to the place and would be forced to return. Hades argued for her complete return since she ate some of the fruit, but Demeter objected, and so it was compromised that Persephone would stay in the Underworld for part of the year. One month per seed she ate⁽¹⁰⁾.

1. We see little mention of her parents and the effect her kidnapping had on Demeter. Part of the reason the kidnapping affected Demeter so much was because of the tight-knit relationship she shared with Persephone. Also important to note that the whole reason we have seasons and the earth dies is because Demeter was so overwhelmed by grief that she couldn't grow anything with Persephone done. It's alluded to in "Epic I" on pg. 18, ("the lady loved him and the kingdom they shared, but without her above not one flower would grow.") However, we never outright make the connection to Demeter. Additionally, we don't see the journey Demeter goes through to find Persephone

2. We don't learn about the significance of pomegranate. As an audience, we never learn about why pomegranate is such a key thing to this story, and why Persephone loves it so much. "Epic I" alludes to the deal that was made in which Persephone splits her time between the two worlds, but doesn't explain that the deal was actually a loophole Hades found. Moreover, we never actually hear the word "pomegranate". The only fruit reference in the script is "fruit of the vine", which refers to grapes; this is a phrase commonly seen in Christianity where the fruit signifies the manifestation of one's purpose. However, in this context, it can be concluded that the phrase actually references wine. This conclusion can be drawn from the fact that Persephone is intoxicated for 2/3 of the script, and repeatedly says the lines "Anybody want a drink?" and "Pour the wine".

3. Persephone is older (and drunk). In "Hadestown", Persephone is much older than she was initially married to Hades. It's important for the story that she's older because so much time has passed that she's changed, Hades has changed, and because they've fallen out of sync with each other, the world is falling out of sync. Additionally, it's important to note she's drunk most of the time because she's miserable in this situation, and being drunk is her way of coping with it all.

https://symbolsage.com/persephone-and-hades-myth/

https://www.bookavatar.com/books-about-hades-and-persephone/

https://www.lindseyh.be/2021/11/10-books-to-read-if-you-love-hades-persephone-retellings/

https://persephoneloveshades.weebly.com/modern-references.html

Orpheus was the son of Apollo⁽¹⁾ and the muse Calliope. Hailing from Thrace, Orpheus was divinely gifted in music⁽²⁾. He was amazing with the lyre and had a voice so powerful no one could resist the charm of its sound. It is said that even trees and stones seemed to move closer to him as he sang.

One day as he traveled in the forest he came across a wood nymph (dryad) named Eurydice. The two fell in love at first sight and soon became wed. However, the two were warned by the god of marriage, Hymenaios, that their union would not last long⁽³⁾.

One day as Eurydice traveled the forest, she came across a viper, a fatally poisonous snake, who bit her on the ankle, killing her instantly⁽⁴⁾. So overcome with grief, Orpheus came across the idea to head down to the Underworld and speak to Hades himself. He journeyed where no human had gone before alive, charming Charon, Cerberus, and the spirits of the dead⁽⁵⁾.

Orpheus arrives in the palace of Hades and pleads his case to get Eurydice back. It is said that the song he sang was so beautiful that Hades wept. Hades agreed to let Eurydice go with him back above ground, however, he was not allowed to turn around on his way out. He would have to trust that Hades upholds his end of the bargain and that Eurydice would be right behind him as he traveled.

And so, Orpheus began the long, arduous journey back to the mortal world. He walked and he walked and he walked. However, he was unable to hear Eurydice's footsteps and began to question whether or not she was actually behind him. Just as he reached the surface, Orpheus turned around and found Eurydice staring right at him⁽⁶⁾.

Orpheus tries to follow Eurydice down to the Underworld again but finds the entrance blocked as no mortal can enter the Underworld alive twice.

Overwhelmed with grief from the loss of Eurydice a second time, Orpheus traveled the world singing his song of mourning calling for death so he could join Eurydice again in the Underworld. In his grief, Orpheus shied away from the advances of girls seeking his affection. Enraged by his denial of their affection, Orpheus is brutally and fatally attacked by followers of Bacchus⁽⁷⁾⁽⁸⁾.

It is said that Orpheus' head survived the attack and floated along in the water still singing his music until it washed up on the island of Lesbos where it was rescued by the Muses and saved. Additionally, his lyre survived the attack and was placed in the sky as the constellation Lyra.

• The Death of Eurydice episode which occurs in Book IV of Georgics by Virgil (29 BC) and Book X of Metamorphoses by Ovid (8 AD)

• The poem "Orpheus and Eurydice" in The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius (594 AD)

• Sir Orfeo, an anonymous narrative poem (c. late thirteenth or early fourteenth century)

• The Tale of Orpheus and Erudices his Quene, a poem by Robert Henryson (c.1470)

• "Orpheus. Eurydike. Hermes", a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke (1907)

• Sonnets to Orpheus, an allusive sonnet sequence by poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1922)

• The Song of Orpheus, part of volume 6 (Fables and Reflections) of the Sandman by Neil Gaiman (1990)

• The Ground Beneath Her Feet, novel by Salman Rushdie (1999)

• Veniss Underground, a novel by Jeff Vandermeer (2003)

• "Hymn to Persephone", a poem by Craig Arnold in Made Flesh (2008)

• "Eurydice's Footnote", a 1995 poem by A. E. Stallings

• "A Song for Ella Grey", a 2014 novel by David Almond - also adapted for the stage in two different versions in 2017 and 2024 at Northern Stage

The Fates have the final say when it comes to destiny and the life of someone. Death waits for no one, and that is why Atropos is called "the inflexible". Not even the gods could change the fate of someone Only one god was able to change the fate of someone they cared for who the fates destined to die.

After learning the destiny of a beloved mortal, Apollo got them all drunk and bartered to save his life if he could find someone else worthy. Apollo was unable to find a replacement until the human's wife stepped forward and embraced death.

The Fates are usually depicted as older, stern women, however, they've been depicted as young, beautiful women, in some artworks. Both ways, they are usually depicted with a staff, spinning wheel, and thread.

The Greek chorus is a dramatic mechanism most commonly used in Greek tragedies such as "Antigone" or "Medea". It has also been adapted for modern shows such as "Little Shop of Horrors" and Disney's "Hercules". The chorus originates from choral performances made up of 50 men who sung dithyrambs, which were lyrical hymns dedicated to the god of wine, Dionysus.

The dynamic of the Greek chorus changed as authors used them differently. Actors were introduced into the mix, and the number of chorus people were decreased. The role of the chorus was then shifted to mostly a commentarial role as actors became the main focus of productions.

The chorus serves mostly to draw the audience in, deliver exposition, expose principal characters' thoughts, and to give principal characters a moment offstage to change and/or take a break. Additionally, the chorus often represented a group of people and would serve to voice their thoughts (ex. the chorus of Corinthian women in "Medea").

"The River Styx is a river of stones. And Hades lays them high and thick, with a million hands that are not his own. With a million hands he builds a wall around all of the riches he digs from the earth. The pickaxe flashes, the hammer falls. And crashing and hounding, as rivers surround him, and drown out the sound of the song he once heard." (pg. 35- "Epic II")

“Lover, what have you become? Coal cars and oil drums. Warehouse walls and factory floors. I don’t know you anymore. In the meantime up above, the harvest dies and people starve, oceans rise and overflow. It ain’t right and it ain’t natural” (pg.42- "Chant")

When we talk about capitalism changing people, I'm often reminded of billionaires. When you think about it on a large scale, there's no real way to become a billionaire and make money as a billionaire, without someone suffering along the way. In modern-day, this is usually workers in sweatshops who produce massive amounts of goods for America's economy. A prime example would be clothing brands selling crochet clothing.

Crochet is an art form of making things with yarn similar to knitting. The big difference between the two is that you can recreate knitting via machine and there are crochet stitches/techniques that mimic knitting, but the reverse is not true. Crochet is a labor of love and cannot be recreated by machine. When stores sell "crochet" pieces", it is either fake crochet, or it is real crochet from a worker who was severely underpaid to make it.

Jumping back to the point of billionaires, because someone has to suffer along the way, the billionaire always ends up sacrificing their morals, altering their morals, or giving into greed entirely, because again if we keep everything on the up and up, 9/10 the billionaire isn't making any actual money. Therefore, capitalism has changed this billionaire.

In the original myth of Orpheus & Eurydice, it is said that rocks and trees seemed to move closer to him when he sang. It was also said that in his journey to the Underworld, his voice calmed the three-headed dog Cerberus, distracted Tantalus from his hunger, and stopped Sisyphus from pushing his boulder up the hill. In the number "Come Home with Me Reprise", Orpheus himself says, "I sang a song so beautiful, the stones wept and they let me in." (pg.66)

Orpheus isn't the only personification of this theme; in "How Long?" we see Persephone talk to Hades and ask how long things are gonna go on like this. She expresses pity for Orpheus and urges Hades to let him go. The workers also speak and stand behind in "If It's True" and "Chant Reprise". The pressure from all sides is what ultimately forces Hades to give Orpheus one last chance to plead his case. Everyone just as easily could've kept quiet, but Orpheus' courage to question everything gave everyone else the courage they needed and that is the true power of one's voice.

"I believe that we are many, I believe that they are few…and it isn’t for the few to tell the many what is true." (pg. 72/73- "If It's True")

“Magic. The melody spontaneously produces a flower, surprising them both. ORPHEUS gives it to EURYDICE.” (pg.15- stage directions)

“Some flowers bloom, where the green grass grows, our praise is not for them. But the ones who bloom, in the bitter snow." (pg.102- "We Raise Our Cups")

It's also intriguing that love is found through the most trying times in this piece. Amidst climate change and poverty, Orpheus and Eurydice still seem to find each other. Hades and Persephone reconnect with each other just as the world is set to crumble around them.

"You take me in your arms and suddenly there's sunlight all around me. Everything bright and warm, and shining like it never did before. And for a moment I forget, just how dark and cold it gets. All I've ever known is how to hold my own. All I've ever known is how to hold my own, but now I wanna hold you..." (pg. 26- "All I've Ever Known")

"Orpheus was a poor boy, but he had a gift to give. This poor boy brought the world back into tune, is what he did. And Hades and Persephone, they took each other's hands. And brother you know what they did? They danced." (pg.82- "Epic III Instrumental")

"Looking low and looking high. There is no food left to find, it’s hard enough to feed yourself, let alone somebody else. I’m trying to believe, that the song he’s working on is gonna harbor me, from the wind, the wind, the wind" (pg. 40- "Chant")

"And sometimes you think, you would do anything, just to fill your belly full of food, find a bed that you could fall into, where the weather wouldn’t follow you.” (pg. 10- "Any Way the Wind Blows")

"Hey little songbird, let me guess. he's some kind of poet, and he's penniless. Give him your hand, and he'll give you his hand-to-mouth. He'll write you a poem when the power is out. Hey, why not fly south for the winter?" (pg.44- "Hey Little Songbird")

"Only one thing to be done, let them go but let there be some term to be agreed upon, some condition. Orpheus, the undersigned, shall not turn to look behind. She's out of sight, and he's out of his mind." (pg. 87- "His Kiss, The Riot")

This model of preying on the vulnerabilities and desperation of those lower on the social ladder is something we often see in today's world. We see it when companies walk over their employees because they know they can't afford to not be working. We see it in healthcare and insurance companies when they prey on citizens who don't have the finances or knowledge to buy a health insurance plan. There are an infinite number of examples.

"Don’t forget that times are hard. Hard times in the world of men." (pg.5- "Road to Hell")

"Weather ain't the way it was before, ain't no spring or fall at all anymore. It’s either blazing hot or freezing cold, any way the wind blows” (pg.8- "Any Way the Wind Blows")

"In the coldest time of year, why is it so hot down here? Hotter than a crucible, it ain't right and it ain't natural." (pg.36- "Chant"

It's important to note that the world is so out of town because Hades and Persephone are out of tune with each other.

It's also important to note that Persephone spends the majority of the show drunk because she is exhausted, miserable, and frankly doesn't want to face what's going on around her. She's been doing this cycle for hundreds if not thousands of years by this point. her husband is a jerk, and they've fallen out of love, and the alcohol helps her get through it all.

“Let’s not talk about Hard times! Pour the wine it’s summertime!” (pg. 21- "Livin' It Up on Top")

“Who says times are hard” (pg. 22- "Livin It Up on Top")

"Anybody want a drink?" (pg.23- "Livin It Up on Top")

“(hungover)” (pg. 28- stage directions)

“Gonna have to import some stuff just to entertain myself. Give me morphine in a tin. Give me a crate of the fruit of the vine. Takes a lot of medicine to make it through the wintertime.” (pg.30- "Way Down Hadestown")

“And lady’s Persephone’s blinded by a river of wine” (pg. 39- "Chant")

Additionally, this working even in death concept is something we see in Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice". There's a moment where we see Eurydice's father head out to work in a suit with his briefcase.

“Everybody hungry, everybody tired. Everybody slaves by the sweat of his brow. The wage is nothing but the work is hard, it’s a graveyard in Hadestown.” (pg.30- "Way Down Hadestown")

"The River Styx is a river of stones. And Hades lays them high and thick, with a million hands that are not his own." (pg. 35- "Epic II")

"The deal is signed? Yes. 'Bout time, get on the line." (pg.59- "Way Down Hadestown Reprise")

“Down in the river of oblivion, you kissed your little life goodbye. And Hades laid his hands on ya and gave ya everlasting life. And everlasting overtime in the mine, in the mill, in the machinery. Your place on the assembly line, replaces all your memories” (pg.61/62- "Way Down Hadestown Reprise")

“And the ones who deal the cards, are the ones who take the tricks. With their hands over their hearts, while we play the game they fix.” (pg.71/72- "If It's True")

Regardless, I thought it was important that this be discussed because the concept of forgetting who you are is so prominent in not only this piece but also the mythology behind the piece. Further, the concept of Eurydice forgetting who she is, is best personified in Sarah Ruhl's "Eurydice", an adaptation of the original myth where Eurydice gets to spend more time with her father in the Underworld. She encounters Hades who realizes she still has self-awareness and says to her "We'll have to dip you in the river again and make sure you're good and dunked." (pg.28).

(1): Also important to note, there are some exceptions to coming in contact with River Styx. Heroes like Achilles for instance, were able to bathe in the River and be imbued with invincibility and strength.

(2): Some versions of the myth name her father as Zeus, while others do not name her father at all. Nonetheless, she is a daughter of Zeus for certain.

(3): Some sources note that Persephone was plucking narcissus flowers. Some also speculate that the flower was planted specifically for its sweet smell to be used as a lure to get her alone.

(4): Some sources claim that Zeus was a part of the abduction and that it is he who planted the narcissus flower. Other versions of the myth frame the abduction as something Hades down of his own accord.

(5): Titans ruled the world before the Olympians did. They are a result of the union between Gaia (Mother Earth and goddess of creation) and Uranus (god of the sky).

(6): Helios was the sun titan. He was charged with pulling the sun chariot across the sky every day. This journey of pulling the sun chariot is how the sun rises and falls every day. The Olympic god Apollo, would eventually take his place.

(7): Hermes is the messenger god. He is most known for delivering messages between Mount Olympus & the underworld, guiding souls to the underworld, and the winged sandals he would wear giving him the power of flight.

(8): In some versions of the Myth, Persephone discovers the pomegranate tree while wandering around the Underworld and is possessed by her hunger and eats from the tree.

(9): It is debated whether or not she is tricked into eating the pomegranate or eats it willingly. Either way, the important thing is that she does the pomegranate and that's what ties her to the Underworld.

(10): In some versions of the myth, I've seen it argued that she was only required to stay in the underworld for 1/3 of the year, 4 months, and 6 months. 6 months is the only correct answer. Persephone is above ground for Spring & Summer, and below ground for Fall & Winter. Each season is approx. 3 months long. Additionally, the length of time is referenced several times throughout the piece in the songs "Epic I", "Epic II", and "Way Down Hadestown" on pages 18, 28, and 35 respectively.

(2): Orpheus received his musical gift from both parents; Apollo the god of music and his mother Calliope, whose name means music.

(3): In some versions of the myth, Hymen forgot to bless the union between Orpheus and Eurydice and that is how their love became doomed. In Greek myth, not receiving Hymen's blessing is just as bad as a negative forewarning.

(4): I've seen conflicting information around the actual circumstances behind the snake bite. In several retellings of the myth, Eurydice is running from unwanted advances by the shepherd Aristaeus. In others, Eurydice is wandering the forest with other dryads when she randomly steps on the viper. No matter what, the common thread is that she always dies via snake bite.

(5): Charon is the ferryman of the dead. He guides souls across the River Styx and provides safe passage into the Underworld. Cerberus is the fierce three-headed dog who guards the gates of the Underworld.

(6): In some versions, Orpheus actually makes it out of the Underworld and then turns around to greet his love, but she's a few steps behind still in the Underworld and thus becomes trapped.

(7): Each Greek god has a Roman form. Bacchus is the Roman incarnation of the Greek god Dionysus, god of wine-making, orchards, festivity, and more.

(8): The followers of Bacchus were also known as "Maenads" or "Bacchae". They would party with Bacchus and drink his wine to access a frenzied state in which they were said to be imbued with his strength.

Film and stage

• The Orphic Trilogy, a series of films by Jean Cocteau (1930–1959)

• Eurydice, a play by Jean Anouilh (1941)

• Orfeu da Conceição, a play by Vinicius de Moraes (1956)

• Orpheus Descending, a play by Tennessee Williams (1957)

• Black Orpheus, a film by Marcel Camus (1959)

• Evrydiki BA 2O37, a film directed by Nikos Nikolaidis (1975)

• Parking, a film by Jacques Demy (1985)

• Shredder Orpheus, a film by Robert McGinley (1989)

• An episode of The StoryTeller: Greek Myths (1990)

• Highway to Hell, a very, very loose adaptation film by Ate de Jong (1992).

• What Dreams May Come, a film by Vincent Ward (1998)

• Orfeu, film by Cacá Diegues (1999)

• Moulin Rouge!, a film by Baz Luhrmann (2001)

• Metamorphoses, play by Mary Zimmerman (2002)

• Eurydice, play by Sarah Ruhl (2003)

• Orpheus and Eurydice: A Myth Underground, a theatre production written by Molly Davies with music by James Johnston, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for the National Youth Theatre at the Old Vic Tunnels, directed by James Dacre (2011)

• You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet, a film by Alain Resnais (2012)

• Jasper in Deadland, a musical by Hunter Foster and Ryan Scott Oliver (2014)

• Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo, a French film (2016) by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, queering the myth^[5]

• Moulin Rouge! (musical), a theatrical production based on the film by Baz Luhrmann

• Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a film by Céline Sciamma (2019) that uses the myth as a common thread

• "The Fugitive Kind" (1960 film version of T. Williams' play "Orpheus Descending,") directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Marlon Brando, Anna Magnani, and Joanne Woodward.

Music and ballet

• Euridice, an opera by Jacopo Peri and Giulio Caccini with librettist Ottavio Rinuccini (1600)

• Euridice, an opera by Giulio Caccini with librettist Ottavio Rinuccini (1602)

• L'Orfeo, the first opera by Monteverdi (1607)

• Orfeo, an opera by Luigi Rossi (1647)

• Orpheus, an opera by Georg Philipp Telemann (1726)

• Orpheus and Euridice, an ode by William Hayes (1735)

• Orfeo ed Euridice, an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck (1762)

• Orfeo ed Euridice [it], an opera by Ferdinando Bertoni (1776)

• Orpheus in the Underworld, an operetta by Jacques Offenbach (1858)

• Orpheus und Eurydike, an opera by Ernst Krenek (1926)

• Orpheus and Eurydice, a ballet choreographed by Dame Ninette de Valois with music by Gluck (1941)

• Orpheus, a ballet made by choreographer George Balanchine to music by Igor Stravinsky (1948)

• Orpheus in the Underworld, an album by Don Shirley (1956)

• Orpheus and Eurydice, a rock opera album by Alexander Zhurbin (1975)

• The Mask of Orpheus, an opera by composer Harrison Birtwistle and librettist Peter Zinovieff (1986)

• Orpheus, a song by English singer-songwriter David Sylvian from the album Secrets of the Beehive (1987)

• Metamorpheus, an orchestral album by former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett (2005)

• Hadestown, an album of songs, and a stage musical, from the folk opera of the same name by Anaïs Mitchell (2010)

• Orpheus Alive, a ballet by Missy Mazzoli (2019)

• Eurydice, an opera by Matthew Aucoin with librettist Sarah Ruhl (2020)

• Orphee l'Amour Eurydice, opera created for the Dutch National Opera (2022)

• Orpheus & Eurdice, a song cycle in two acts, by Ricky Ian Gordon (2001)

• “Talk” a song by Hozier (2019)

Orpheus Mourning the Death of Eurydice, 1814 painting by Ary Scheffer.

Orpheus glances back at Eurydice, 1806 oil painting by Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein Stub.

• Orpheus and Eurydice, stone relief, second century, Šempeter, Slovenia

• Orpheus and Eurydice, a painting by Titian (c. 1508)

• Landscape with Orpheus and Eurydice, a painting by Poussin (1650–1653)

• Orpheus and Euridice, a painting by Federico Cervelli

• Orpheus Mourning the Death of Eurydice, a painting by Ary Scheffer (1814)

• Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld, a painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1861)

• Orpheus and Eurydice, a painting by Edward Poynter (1862)

• Orpheus and Euridice, a painting by Frederic Leighton (1864)

• Orpheus and Eurydice, a sculpture by Auguste Rodin (1893)

• Orpheus Searching Eurydice in the Underworld, a painting by the Antwerp school

• Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici as Orpheus, a painting by Agnolo Bronzino (c. 1537-1539)

Video games

• Don't Look Back (2009), a Flash game and modern adaptation of the legend created by Terry Cavanagh, which follows a man who ventures into the underworld to guide the spirit of his deceased lover out of the caverns.

• Hades (2020), an indie rogue-like game developed by Supergiant Games. The player, Zagreus, meets Eurydice and Orpheus, and is given the option of reuniting them.^[8][9]

• Titan Quest (2006) The player can accomplish quest "Eurydice and Orpheus" in Upper City of Lost Souls, and save Orpheus life using "Mirror of Psyche"

There's a clear similarity between the story of Lot and the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice in that, the act of looking back causes the loss of someone we love. Orpheus lost Eurydice. Lot lost his wife and the mother of his children. Both men were forced to go on suffering the loss of the women they loved.

(1): It's debated whether or not Lot's wife looked back at the city out of her love for sin and wickedness, or just sheer human curiosity. It's most likely the latter. Christianity (or more specifically some of its followers) has a history of using bells and whistles to make something bigger than what it means, so take any source denoting the former with a grain of salt.

Down in Hadestown, Persephone sees the changes Hades made while she was away and begins to question why things are the way they are. She tells Hades that she doesn't recognize who he's become, and that things are horrible for the humans above them while he spends his time bolstering his industrial empire.

Meanwhile, in the mortal world, Orpheus figures out that the world is in disarray because the relationship between Hades & Persephone is in disarray. Orpheus continues to ignore Eurydice and miss the signs of a storm gathering around them. Eurydice begins to lose faith in the song Orpheus is working on.

At the end of the song, we see Hades take Eurydice in his office to sign a contract. We end Act I with a sneak peek of Persephone and what happens when Hades isn't looking at her.

That's a really simplified summary, but pretty much the premise of the song. It's arguably my favorite, and not just because of the musical ability we see from whoever plays Persephone. This song spends the entire time teetering the fourth wall. As Persephone sings out directly to the audience it becomes this immersive experience, and for the duration of the song we are in the Underworld with her. We are the souls of the dead hanging out and drinking with Persephone. Additionally, this song adds so much humanity to the character and if you're paying attention enough to the song, you get a much deeper understanding of why she drinks and the effects that her marriage with Hades has taken on her.

We completely break the fourth wall towards the end of the song and we get introduced to the band! It's such a beautiful moment in the song because of the audience participation.

At the end of the song, we have a little breaking-the-fourth-wall moment, and the Fates sing that for Hadestown to keep working, the souls of the dead must continue to be broken and exploited.

Reprise: Hermes opens with a warning about one's thoughts and how the thoughts in our head can be what's most dangerous for us in the long run. Orpheus and Eurydice start their journey, encouraged by the workers who long to find their way back to the surface world. Persephone prepares to head back to the mortal world to start Spring, her and Hades vow to give their love another try when she returns in the fall.

Additionally just as it is in "Anon(ymous)", Hadestown features multiple timelines which intersect and overlap. Sometimes things are happening simultaneously in both, and other times things happen in one timeline and then we transition over to the other timeline and things continue from there.

(2): Elysium is the Greek concept of Heaven. There's no actual heaven because good and bad souls all go to the Underworld. There's a special section of Elysium called the "Isle of the Blest" or "Island of the Blessed". The island is reserved for those who have been reincarnated and sent to Elysium three times in a row. Most people choose to stay in Elysium rather than risk reincarnation and living a bad life.

(3): There are some competing sources between whether or not the Fields of Punishment and Tartarus are the same thing, however, they serve as the same purpose: to store the bad souls and enemies of the gods. Sisyphus was cursed to push a giant boulder up a hill for all eternity. Just before the boulder reached the top of the hill, it would roll back down and he would have to start over. Tantalus was cursed with eternal hunger, and was cursed to be near a giant feast of food he could never reach.

(4): In the show we see Hades give Eurydice two coins, right before she goes down to the Underworld.

“Hades gives Eurydice two coins. Rattlesnakes sound” (pg.44- stage directions)

(5): In this production, instead of being guided by Hermes down to the Underworld, you take a train. This change was made to uphold the continuity of the piece that Hadestown is now an industrial wasteland.

First, they interact with the mortal world and the heroes of our story significantly. Usually, the fates are invisible. They may show up at the birth of a hero now and then, but that's it. In this piece, they guide the story just as much as (if not more than) Hermes. They push Eurydice to sign the deal with Hades. They gave Hades the idea of an ultimatum. One could argue that they're still doing their job by guiding the destiny of the story, but in past instances, they've been able to do so without having direct contact with the players in the story.

Secondly, following the points above, the Fates remind me significantly of "The Erinyes" or "The Furies". The Furies are three divine beings who seek out retribution and revenge. They can be commanded by the Fates to seek revenge if someone alters destiny. They are most commonly associated with the Underworld because it is them who take the bad souls down to Tartarus (the deepest part of the Underworld- see the "Death Practices.." section).

In the Underworld, you are first greeted by Charon, the ferryman of the dead, who takes you across the River Styx. You pay him with the coins buried with your body in the real world⁽¹⁾.

Once you've been transported across the river, you are escorted to the gates of the Underworld, where you will meet Cerberus- the three-headed dog responsible for guarding the gates and keeping spirits inside.

After entering the gates, you are taken to the judgment pavilion where the three judges of the Underworld judge your soul and decide where you need to go. Good souls go to Elysium⁽²⁾. Souls neither good nor bad go to the fields of Asphodel and will reside there for the rest of eternity. Souls who were extremely bad or just enemies of the gods would go to the Fields of Punishment, or Tartarus⁽³⁾.