LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Tony and Grammy award winning musical opened Tuesday in Louisville at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts.
Hadestown, which won eight 2019 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, and then took a 2020 Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album, was the most honored show of the 2018-2019 Broadway season.
Written by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell, the show debuted on Broadway just before the pandemic, and was one of the first shows to reopen.
The North American tour opened in 2021, and is now finding its way to Louisville.
WHAS11 News got the chance to speak to actors Matthew Patrick Quinn, who plays the role of Hades, and Maria-Christina Oliveras, in the role of Persephone.
The show follows two intertwining love stories, inspired by Greek tragedy. Hades and Persephone are locked in a discordant marriage, reignited upon seeing the young love of Orpheus and Eurydice.
"They've been together for millennial and have gone through it and they're inspired by young love and the young people and the power of Orpheus's song," Oliveras said.
Hadestown takes the classical story and sets it in a booming Louisiana-style speakeasy, featuring a band playing the score live on stage.
"Some people don't like traditional music theater, but welcome to our concert, welcome to our speakeasy," Oliveras said.
Persephone's yearly departures have taken a toll on Quinn's ominous Hades, tasked through the show with finding their connection again.
"I wanted to do justice to that concept that they had created," he said of his artistic choices.
The actors call the show "non-traditional," saying the music and instrumentals drive the show forward.
They said despite the fact that many may know the story already, every audience interprets the message differently.
"You really never know how you're going to touch somebody with the show you're doing in the different areas you get to perform it in," Quinn said. "The piece of art never changes, but the people change."
Hadestown will be at the Kentucky Center from May 16-May 21, and you can purchase your tickets here.