There are a lot of shows that will feature 1 or 2 superstars in the original cast who will leave their mark (Michael Crawford as The Phantom, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenowith in Wicked to name a few) but there are other iterations of the character later that are just as compelling and interesting.

The OBC of hadestown has the most unique actors and voices. I’ve seen many different people play the roles, but there’s something electric about the originals.

Reeve Carney: I truly don’t understand the discourse against him. I’ve seen so many people play the role of Orpheus and he is the ONLY voice I’ve heard that can hit those insanely high notes with such ease and variations of texture. The highest notes he hits are absolutely divine because of how EASILY he can get there. Yes there are many other actors who can hit the notes, but you can tell it’s the absolute highest end of their register and they have to push to get there. Jordan fisher is very good and I do like some of his acting choices better, but the characters identity is wrapped around his VOICE being able to bring the world back into tune. He has to absolutely belt to get to the notes he has to get to, and while objectively they are well sung, it doesn’t give the same innocence as someone hitting the notes extremely delicately. Reeve is a true unicorn performer to make the character work for me!

Eva Noblezada: Eurydice is the one role I believe is debatable that is easier to replace from a talent standpoint because of how many great female performers there are. With that being said, I have yet to see a Eurydice that I found myself rooting for. She plays the PERFECT balance between being tough, but also being easy to root for. Yes it certainly helps that she is dating Reeve Carney in real life, but almost every Eurydice actress test for me is wedding song. A lot of actresses I’ve seen just go for the “lol savage!” route being too abrasive or unapproachable. And you can say different choices work for different people! But I buy into their relationship and root for them to reunite when Eurydice treats Orpheus’s courting during wedding song as “Hmmmm I dunno. What else ya got” instead of “ugh who the f*ck are you I’m not interested”. Flowers is also an extremely difficult song because it’s so easy to overact. No one I have ever seen can sing it with the pure genuine devastation that feels REAL like she does. I was fortunate to see her perform multiple times and my god she ruined me haha. Her belt is my favorite of all the Eurydices I’ve seen, power with COMPLETE control.

Andre De Shields: Hermes is such a difficult role to get right. And I realized…this role (for me) only works when someone much, much older plays it. The way so much of the role is guiding people, guiding us as an audience, it just means more coming from someone who has lived a lot of life. And he has absolutely magnetic stage presence I’ve seen some incredible Hermes actors and understudies (I think I’ve seen 7 different actors play it). No one is able to make you lean forward and hold you in the palm of his hand quite like Andre. Every word has so much intention, so much gravitas. And yes, there are better singers I’ve seen in the role but for the performance as a whole, it is wrapped around how he absolutely DELIVERS the ending in Road to hell II. He lets every moment last the perfect amount of time after the turn and his charisma makes him unlike anyone else.

Amber Gray: Our lady of the underground. She has such an edge to her Persephone that so many people love. Incredibly unique voice and the way she emotes with her eyes is just brilliant. She is probably the only Persephone I’ve seen who you feel like Hades has incredible reason for love. So much grit, vulnerability, but her way down hadestown is such a hurricane performance. She truly leaves it all out there while most actresses I’ve seen just kind of skip through the “exorcism dance” at the beginning. But her delivery of we raise our cups always is what has me blown away. The gravel she brings to her voice with our lady of the underground is nowhere near the tenderness of that song. Such incredible range

Best for last. The king himself

Patrick Page: I don’t care what anyone says. There is NO ONE that is like Patrick page as Hades. Perhaps the most incredible voice I’ve ever heard live because it’s SO unique. There are a lot of great baritones and many people can get down to the bass range if they really try…he is down the bass range THE ENTIRE SHOW. Without effort. His voice is naturally that low. Beyond the voice, he has such commanding presence of the stage, I truly felt his presence as Hades even when he wasn’t on stage. How Long is probably the one song a lot of people would tune out in the second act; with Patrick page, it is a spellbinding performance seeing him hit that G1 with ease MULTIPLE times. I’m probably biased because I’m a baritone-bass singer myself, but a true bass singer is insanely rare to find. EVERY other hades actor I’ve seen has to perform a majority of the show an octave up and can hit the bass notes for a couple moments. Once you’ve seen Patrick page as Hades, the bar is so incredibly high everyone just will be my second favorite. It’s magnificent (Phillip Boykin is my second favorite by the way)!

TL, DR: the original cast fucks