From the Underworld to the Stage

On the road to hell and a theater near you is Broadway’s 2019 Tony Award winner for best musical, “Hadestown.” The production was intended to open last year’s Broadway Across America schedule at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, but was sadly postponed due to complications surrounding the reboot of theater following the COVID shutdown.

Now the moment we’ve all been waiting for has arrived, with “Hadestown” taking the Arsht Center stage from Dec. 6-11. Lamentably a short run, it should trigger any self-respecting theater lover to plan way ahead or risk missing it altogether.

“Hadestown” is a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back that intertwines two tales from Greek mythology – that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife, Persephone. Grammy award-winning melodies by Anaïs Mitchell and poetic imagination by director Rachel Chavkin pit industry against nature, doubt against faith and fear against love. It promises to be a haunting theatrical experience for the ages.

To quote New York Times theater critic Jesse Green, “‘Hadestown’” moves the tale to an earth that resembles sassy New Orleans, with hell a demonic foundry. As such, Ms. Mitchell’s score combines folk, pop and Dixieland with rhythmic work shanties and, for the lovers, ethereal arias.”

And as the sea rises and real hurricanes keep upending our world, you’ll find that the struggle between Hades and Persephone naturally becomes a parable of climate change, in which the devastation of our earth compares to infidelity. But no more spoilers!

Also of note is the participation of Miami native Alex Lugo as assistant dance captain and understudy for Swing, Eurydice and The Fate.

Tickets to “Hadestown” run from $35-$165 and may be purchased now at the Arsht box office by calling 305.949.6722, or online at ArshtCenter.org.

Audience Immersion

In a case of if you blink, you’ll miss it (but don’t), “The Head & The Load” will be at the Arsht Dec. 1-3 to coincide with Miami Art Week.

Taking its title from a Ghanaian proverb – “the head and the load are the troubles of the neck” – this epic theatrical-music production tells the neglected story of the millions of African porters and carriers who served British, French and German forces during WWI.

This monumental piece by South African artist William Kentridge is considered his most ambitious project to date, combining music, dance, film projections, mechanized sculptures and shadow play in a visionary theatrical alchemy.

Audiences will be invited directly onto the largest custom-built stage in Arsht Center history to be embedded in a moving, visually striking live performance in the Ziff Ballet Opera House for an unparalleled immersive experience.

“The Head & The Load” promises to be a rich and multilayered performance featuring an international cast of singers, dancers and performers – a majority directly from South Africa. The score is performed by musicians from the New York-based chamber orchestra known as The Knights, who are joined by musicians from Italy, South Africa and Guinea.

Kentridge’s large-scale works are known for delving into the history of colonialism in Africa and the aspirations and failures of revolutionary politics.

Tickets to “The Head & The Load” run from $50-$175 and may be purchased at the Arsht box office by calling 305.949.6722, online at ArshtCenter.org.

The Circus Returns

The world premiere of Miami New Drama’s “Elián” runs at the Colony Theatre in Miami Beach on Lincoln Road now through Nov. 20.

The play is aptly promoted as “The Circus Returns” because the little boy’s Miami existence really was a three-ring spectacle. Those of us who lived through it remember the cavalcade of politicians lining up to meet the little Cuban miracle child and media from around the world who camped outside his relative’s Little Havana home. We remember how his every move was chronicled and politicized; from the moment he was plucked from the ocean in an inner tube on Thanksgiving Day 1999 (his mother perished at sea) to the second he was removed at gunpoint by federal border patrol agents on April 22, 2000, and returned to his father in Cuba.

Promotional materials for the play say “With the help of key players, new information has been uncovered that paints a completer and more accurate picture. This fast-paced, energetic, and emotionally charged play, revisits an event that left its mark on our community and our country.”

It sure did leave its mark. Elián Gonzalez had more paparazzi following him than Princess Diana. So, if you remember every excruciating moment of that time, you may want to take a pass. If you are new to South Florida, it will be quite an education and worth every minute of your time. Miami New Drama is bound to do a great job with this explosive material.

Tickets to “Elián” run from $46.50-$76.50 and may be purchased at the Miami New Drama box office by calling 305.674.1040, or online at MiamiNewDrama.org.

In Case you Missed it

“Hamilton” is the Broadway blockbuster by Lin-Manuel Miranda that needs no introduction. It graced the stages of both the Broward Center and the Arsht last season, but if you missed it or have a hankering to see it again (who wouldn’t?), “Hamilton” and its multicultural cast will be back at the Broward Center Nov. 22 – Dec. 11. The musical is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography of American founding father Alexander Hamilton. It has won Tony, Grammy and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for drama and an unprecedented special citation from Kennedy Center Honors.

Tickets to “Hamilton” run from $49-$189 and may be purchased at the Broward Center box office by calling 954.462.0222, or online at BrowardCenter.org.