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Hadestown cast8/9/2023 ![]() ![]() So by the time we got to the Broadway production, there were many actors who had been on the journey with us since that very first table read six years ago. That’s really rare, and it definitely wasn’t the case with Hadestown. It’s not like a one-chance opportunity where we’re casting a show for Broadway right from the ground up. It gives us a really long time to get to know the actors, and try out actors, and see what they bring to the table both onstage and offstage. One of the benefits of the show having such a long incubation period before ever really getting into the full groove of eight performances a week is that we get the opportunity to really explore talent, and try different talent on the material, through workshops, readings, dance labs, regional theater productions, out-of-town productions. So that would be 2013, with the first table read that Rachel did with Anaïs. We’ve been involved with it since Rachel Chavkin came on board six years ago. Yeah, absolutely, and especially with a show like Hadestown that’s been in the incubation period for many years. The entire audition process allows us some time to assess that. Can he work with Diane Paulus? Can he work with John Rando or Walter Bobbie or Rachel Chavkin?” He has the it-factor, but, boy oh boy, his energy in the room is a little off-putting. And then when you start to get to know these people through the whole process, you start to see, like, “Wow, she’s going to be a great company member.” Or, “Huh, this is interesting. Then you put them through the process, and you can see the dancers that, oh, my gosh, they can’t last the first round, or the singers that can’t last the first round. ![]() You can see a lot of that when they walk into the room. So how do you judge that in an audition? How do you test someone’s work ethic? Duncan Stewart Physically fit people, frankly mentally fit people, frankly, that are just required to keep a machine like Hadestown running eight times a week. We not only are searching for people with “it” factors and incredibly high skill sets and talents, but we also are searching for people who have incredibly high levels of work ethic, professionalism, and maturity. ![]() When people get hired for TV and movies, and even for regional theaters that have limited engagements, there isn’t quite the same kind of scrutiny and necessity of really making sure the person has the stamina and the mindset and professionalism to be able to execute a story eight times a week, six days a week. ![]() One of the biggest things in casting a Broadway musical that is imperative beyond talent, is a professional skill set that looks like it can last eight performances a week and a long run. I wonder if you could tell me what you look for when you’re casting, and what the big signs are for you that someone is right for a part? Benton Whitley To start off, I wanted to talk about casting for theater more generally. The new Broadway musical Hadestown has all the makings of a cult hit Duncan Stewart, left, and Benton Whitley. Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. Over the phone, we discussed the evolution of Hadestown, how to cast a performer who can stick it out eight performances a week, and why when your director asks for blue, you should try giving them a “fucked-up aubergine” instead. They put together the cast of the much-lauded 2013 revival of Pippin, and they handled the cult favorite of 2016 Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (directed by Hadestown director Rachel Chavkin). For the past 11 years, they’ve worked on Chicago, currently the second-longest-running show on Broadway. They’re Broadway vets who have put together casts for some of the most acclaimed shows of the past few decades. To learn a little about that journey from then to now, I went to the Casting Society of America to speak to Hadestown casting directors Duncan Stewart and Benton Whitley. The Tony-nominated cast currently living it up on Broadway - including Amber Gray as Persephone, André De Shields as Hermes, Patrick Page as Hades, and Eva Noblezada as Eurydice - came together through a long, drawn-out process that took place over six years. And as the show changed shape, the cast changed with it. Hadestown began life as a song cycle that composer and lyricist Anaïs Mitchell toured around Vermont concert halls in 2006, meaning that it’s been slowly finding its shape for more than a decade. That’s the most of any show this season, and it includes one nod for Best Musical and nominations in three of the four acting categories for four of the five principles. Hadestown, the hit musical that reimagines the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as an anti-capitalist parable, has 14 Tony nominations. One of the biggest shows on Broadway this season has also had the longest, most public evolution. ![]()
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