i saw the hadestown proshot last night and i need to write down some thoughts:
overall i love it and i'm so happy it exists!! so many people are going to discover theater through one of my favorite musicals and that's special!
+ i'm so glad patrick didn't have to drop out after tearing his achilles; he's in a huge bedazzled boot and uses a cane throughout.
i've seen this show many times so there were very specific moments that i knew would set the tone for For Me wrt how well this capture translated the experience of seeing it live:
the choreo in all i've ever known (the handstand fucking): 10/10, lighting was beautiful, one of my favorite movement pieces in the show is as transcendent as it is live
persephone's demon exorcism choreo at the beginning of way down hadestown: 5/10, there was a lot of cutting between character close-ups at odd angles that took the focus off persephone
the lamps in wait for me: 8/10, i wanted more camera stillness to let the lamp swinging enchant by itself but the stage splitting open made me almost shriek in my seat it was so perfect, so it's a net win
i know amber gray made some comments that she thought the proshot missed important moments/not everything translated from the stage. (i can't find that source right now so if this rings a bell for anyone pls link me?) that's true to some extent, but i'd never expect it to capture all of the improvised, lived-in exchanges we get from all the characters tasked with hanging out onstage watching the action (a rachel chavkin trademark). persephone does a lot of that and i did think she got lost a bit in act two (rip to her chant ii verse)! but i know not everyone spends the entire show tracking amber gray and the tears leaking out of her face like i do.
that being said, two of my most treasured hades/persephone moments are captured:
hades kisses persephone's hand during chant, gingerly, tenderly; she missed him but he betrayed her and she feels it all so much; she allows the intimacy but he knows she'll startle if he pushes too hard; osha doesn't exist in hell
after why we build the wall persephone is swaying in her own world, the dissociation of the damned, and hades touches her lightly on her arm to snap her out of her trance; she reacts as if she's been shocked; it is misery but also very hot
i have nitpicks because i'm a deeply annoying person but that was always going to happen. they're mostly way-too-specific grumbles about camera angles/editing but ultimately that all comes down to the fact that the show was created for the stage and moving camera(s) are never going to replicate the experience of seeing it as intended in person and i think that's beautiful!
