As I continue battling this damn summer cold, I've had plenty of time to listen to music and reflect on my complicated relationship with musicals. I'm not one of those people who breaks into song at the mere mention of Broadway.
But every now and then, a show grabs hold of me and refuses to let go. And when that happens, I have a tendency to listen to it on repeat until friends, neighbors, and innocent bystanders begin questioning my sanity.
Apparently, getting sick only makes my obsessive tendencies worse.
This past week, I’ve been obsessed with Hadestown.
Until recently, I wasn’t much of a fan. In fact, I barely knew anything about the show beyond its name. That all changed when I saw the filmed stage production on the big screen for the first time last Sunday. By Thursday afternoon, I was back for a second screening. And as soon as I’m no longer contagious, I’m planning to see it a third time.
In between those trips to the theater, I’ve listened to the original cast recording at least a dozen times. Maybe more. I’ve honestly lost count.
If you’re not familiar with Hadestown, it’s a Tony Award-winning musical by Anaïs Mitchell that reimagines two Greek myths: the doomed romance of Orpheus and Eurydice, and the long, complicated marriage of Hades and Persephone. But don’t let the ancient mythology fool you. This isn’t a dusty history lesson.
The world of Hadestown feels part New Orleans jazz club, part Depression-era America, part Southern Gothic folktale, and part industrial dystopia. The score blends folk, blues, jazz, gospel, opera, and musical theater into a pastiche that sounds both classic and modern.
It’s also one of those rare musicals where every song earns its place and moves the storyline forward. There are no throwaway numbers. Every melody deepens the story, reveals a character, or circles back to a theme introduced earlier. By the time the curtain falls, the music has woven itself into your subconscious.
At least, that’s what it’s done to mine.
The songs have been rattling around in my head all week.
Which is probably appropriate, because recovering from this cold has felt a little like making my own journey into the Underworld. Or maybe like getting run over by one of Hadestown‘s railroad trains.
Every time I think I’m turning a corner, the fatigue barrels back in, the congestion returns, and the coughing starts up again. It’s as though Hades himself looked at my calendar, and said, “Step into my office.”
So it’s back to sipping tea, blowing my nose, taking another nap, and listening to Hadestown again.
What fascinates me most about the musical is that everyone already knows how the story ends. Orpheus will look back. Eurydice will be lost. Spring will come and go. The wheel will keep turning. And yet we keep telling the story anyway.
As Hermes says in the opening number, “It’s an old song….and we’re gonna sing it again.” That’s the point.
Hadestown is a tragedy, but it’s built on hope. Fragile hope. Stubborn hope. The kind of hope that persists even when experience tells you better. The characters keep believing that this time love might win. This time the world might change. This time the ending could somehow be different.
Recovery feels a lot like that. Every morning I wake up convinced today will be the day I finally feel like myself again. Every night’s sleep is another chance to reset the clock. Every bowl of soup, every cup of tea, and every extra hour of rest is its own small act of optimism.
Maybe this is the day. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after that.
If this week has taught me anything, it's that sometimes the best medicine isn't medicine at all. Sometimes it's discovering a story that won't let go of you. Sometimes it's finding a musical you have to hear just one more time.
And sometimes, when you're feeling just a little underworld-adjacent, you sing the old song anyway. Not because you believe you can change the ending, but because telling the story reminds you why hope matters in the first place.
Keep calm and keep your head low…
Clint 🌈✌️
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ICYMI = IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
SUNDAY = How Clint’s Getting His Groove Back
MONDAY = The (Good) Bad Touch
TUESDAY = Bridging Our Divides
WEDNESDAY = Time, Time, Time...
THURSDAY = Happy Birthday To Us!
FRIDAY = Slowly I Turned...Inch By Inch
SATURDAY = Easily Distracted
FROM THE ARCHIVES
NSFW MONTAGES = On Substack
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BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
08-02 = James Baldwin (1924-1987) = American novelist, poet, and critic 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.”
James Baldwin
“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word "love" here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace - not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.”
James Baldwin
There is absolutely no science behind it. None. But bunches of double-blind studies show that it seems to work at least as well as conventional medicine for chronic conditions, even some infections. Hell, it even works on animals, who you would imagine are immune to the placebo effect. Inexpensive, relatively harmless (unless you neglect your own MD, which I don't). But, homeopathy. The British Royal family's go-to medicine. Crazy, right? 'Nuff said. Maybe too much. I'm discovering to my great surprise (I like science, dammit). That it seems to work on my sorry, overweight and ancient a**. YMMV. You're welcome, I think. I always respect your musical intuitions, they haven't failed me (or us) yet!
Hadestown is one of my all-time favorite musicals (for reasons that might be obvious and others no-so-obvious).
Thanks for sharing this!!! I am cheering you on and grateful to be friends with you.