A few weeks ago my family members dragged me along to a performance of Hadestown in Theater Carré, in Amsterdam. And yes, dragged along is the right phrasing here. I had told them I was busy and didn’t have the money, but they had already seen a performance several weeks ago and were impressed (to say the least). So, a few weeks later, they drove to Amsterdam again, and this time I went along.
Now, driving nearly 2 hours to see an expensive musical is pretty incredible on its own. Doing it twice within a month is pretty special. So I did somewhat trust them that it was going to be very good.
I wanted to write this short article to say yes, Hadestown in Amsterdam was great.
All the actors’ performances were very strong. The musicians were great too. The staging was large and impressive, there were even subtitles, and the whole thing was at a very high level from start to finish. Dare I say a higher level than I’ve ever seen before. Suddenly you realize how much more sleek, professional and awe-inspiring a performance can be when you aim a little higher.
Maarten Heijmans as Hermes was great. A strong singer and actor, yes. But he clearly has fun and really makes the role his own, leaning into the general vibe of the show. After all these years of seeing show after show in the theatre, I’m honestly more impressed by someone having fun than singing pitch-perfect notes with no emotion.
I mean, he made a few mistakes, such as switching the order of lines, or his voice cracking at a funny moment. But it was just that: funny. Fitting. Without subtitles, the switched order wouldn’t even be noticeable anyway. He’s just doing his thing and taking you along on the fun ride.
I had Simon as Orpheus, who did an admirable job singing his ridiculously difficult songs. The others had Macrooy the first time and say he was really good, but also struggled with some high notes. There’s just this range, in the middle somewhere, where most voices are unsure if they should stay in chest voice or go into falsetto. Sometimes they figure it out … sometimes they don’t and it sounds a bit strained or muted. No big deal.
My Hades was Edwin Jonker. The others had another Hades the first time and said he was fine, but that Edwin just has more of a … presence. I agree. His large stature, his voice, his acting, it all fits the role perfectly. You really feel like he could be some powerful god of the underworld. He actually towers over Orpheus in their scenes together. I thought he was great.
Eurydice and Perspehone were the same in both performances: Sarah and Joy. They were also great. Especially Joy has an amazing voice that can seemingly do anything at any time. Sarah is a bit less noticeable, I guess, because I can’t really think of anything to say about her performance. She was good, not outstanding, I’m tempted to say. But that might also just be the nature of the role she plays.
The staging was very (very) true to the original. That’s a good thing, I believe. All the elements (the rotating circle, the hole, the playfulness with lights) just fit really well and I see no reason to change that for Carré.
The story is of course the same as it always was. But it’s an adaptation of the myth of Orpheus & Eurydice, which I’ve written about before as I think it’s a shining example of good storytelling. The way the musical twists this story to be about Hades & Persephone too, linking the two in a natural way, makes the whole thing an improvement on the raw myth if you ask me.
For me, Wait For Me (first time; basically end of first act) was probably the best moment. You know the one—the moment when music can give you massive goosebumps. There’s just a massive strength and power in the bridge (?) of that song, and when you combine it with all those moving lights finally coming into play and swinging into the crowd—it’s great.
And I know it’s great, because the theatre applauded … and they applauded again … and they cheered … and they had to wait a full minute before they could resume the show.
Which brings me to my actual reason for writing this article. I’ve intentially kept the review part rather short.
What I noticed on my visit was how eager the audience was to be amazed. Or, perhaps, how ready everyone was to adore the shit out of this performance.
Several strangers around me chatted about where they sat last time they saw the show. It seems my family were far from the only ones to enjoy the performance so much they went to visit multiple times.
As stated, after the highlight songs of the show, everyone clapped and cheered as if it had been the climax of the show. Some knew the songs so well they were subtly dancing along, or waving their arms, or preparing for what was about to happen in two seconds.
To be honest, that impressed me the most. Just how ready all these people were to let the performers know how much they wanted to be part of this performance. How much they adored it from start to finish. It made me realize why others make negative remarks about Dutch people, such as that we’re “always complaining” and “stoic” and all that. Because I can’t remember any other show I’ve seen where the audience was so ready to love it. Where the audience could somehow elevate the entire performance by making it feel like it was a masterpiece played on the biggest stage in a large stadium.
Which brings me to my final point: I see two reasons for this.
First, this is a pretty unique event in the Netherlands. We don’t get many large-scale musicals like this, we don’t get many foreign productions/actors, and if we do, it’s usually the same old same old. Even worse, they translate it to Dutch and cast terrible influencer actors in hopes of drawing a crowd ;)
But Hadestown isn’t any of that. It’s an ambitious production that stays true to the original. One that blends local actors with those from overseas. One that stays in one place, sure, but is pretty reachable and approachable for a regular person. Driving to Amsterdam, getting a spot close to Carré, and then walking there … was quite easy and cheap. It was far less annoying or time-consuming than we feared. The whole experience was quite informal and welcoming, and I could just walk in wearing a random summer outfit and take my seat.
As stated earlier, the quality of this production is definitely a level above most of what I’ve seen in my life. And as the son of the boss of one of the Netherland’s major theatres, I’ve seen a lot. Hadestown is simply a bit larger, better, more ambitious, more polished, more of a theatre experience than we usually see in the Netherlands. It isn’t around for long, and it’s a very popular show with young people, which probably explains its popularity here.
Secondly, Hadestown is, for lack of a better word, for the commonfolk. It’s a story about being poor. A major part of the story is about good people who just get no money and no food and so, logically, terrible stuff happens. A major part of the story is about the seasons and how vital simple stuff like growing food and not dying from cold are to most people.
I mean, the entire song at the end of the first act is about “why they build the wall”, and the answer is “we build the wall to keep out poverty”. The staging is simple and realistic, not polished. The buildings and attributes are weathered, worn, half-broken. The costumes actually look like what some poor person years ago would wear. When Eurydice stops the song about Hadestown being rich and shiny and all to sing “kinda makes you wonder how it feels”, you’re like yeah, it DOES make me wonder what life would be like if I didn’t have to worry about money and food all the time. In any other musical, that would feel on-the-nose and like breaking momentum for no reason.
Maarten can have a dozen voice cracks and it actually makes the music sound better, because it was designed for that jazz-folk-country vibe. (Bonus advantage: you can sing the songs at home with a terrible gruffy morning voice and also sound better than you have any right to.)
Most musicals I’ve seen are the opposite of that. They’re polished, shiny, for the elite. They’re stories about rich people, powerful people, people who have first-world problems but they seem bigger because they sing a dramatic song about it. Most musicals made me feel like they weren’t for me, but for the rich family sitting next to me drowning in their jewellery. I just can’t really relate. Their conflicts seem like minor inconveniences to me. The decor looks too new and perfect.
Hadestown is “real”. It’s raw. The music, the staging, the actors, all of it. It’s a good story with a clear theme of poverty and the dangers of authoritarian power, without hitting you over the head with the message. And no, it doesn’t have some happy ending where the main character suddenly becomes rich and all their problems are solved, or something like that. The whole thing is raw and broken from start to finish, and that’s real to most people.
Of course that’s going to speak to a lot of (young) people. Of course that’s going to make more sense and feel more impressive. As far as I can tell, Hadestown has barely done any marketing or promotion … yet they’re selling out show after show, even in the middle of the summer holidays.
And I say: good. Let this show that productions like these can be done in the Netherlands. Let this show that most people would take a larger interest in musicals/theatre if the stories were actually relatable for regular folk. Let it reveal that they would even visit the same show multiple times, spending their hard-earned money on it, because it’s such a new and fresh and great perspective.
If you read this and the show is still running, I obviously recommend seeing it. Between three performances—because yes, another family member of mine saw the show on her own too—my family has basically seen all possible actors for each role. And they’re all good.
If not, I hope this showed some insight in my experience and my thoughts on the production, audience, and general state of (musical) theatre in the Netherlands.
Now I have to get back to work. The enemy is poverty, and the war is never won, and the work is never done …
Tiamo
