Podcast Summary: All Of It – "Hadestown, Live In The Greene Space"

Host: Alison Stewart
Date: November 28, 2025
Setting: Live at The Greene Space, part of WNYC’s "Broadway on the Radio" series
Guests:

• Kurt Elling (Hermes)
• Paolo Schott (Hades)
• Rebecca Naomi Jones (Persephone)
• Morgan Dudley (Eurydice)
• Jack Wolfe (Orpheus)
• Liam Robinson (Musical Director)
• Hadestown Band

Overview

This special episode celebrates the all-new principal cast of the Tony Award-winning musical "Hadestown." Host Alison Stewart welcomes the cast and band for live performances, in-depth conversations, and candid insights into their approach to these mythic roles and Anaïs Mitchell's celebrated music. The event immerses listeners in both the creative and emotional worlds of "Hadestown," highlighting how each artist brings fresh perspective to this now-iconic show.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening & Live Performance: “Road to Hell” (00:07–06:37)

• The event begins with a high-energy in-the-room performance led by Kurt Elling, introducing the principal characters through the musical’s signature prologue.
• Memorable moment: Kurt Elling’s charismatic narration and interaction with the audience and cast, establishing the mythic, cyclical themes of the show.

2. Kurt Elling’s Broadway Debut (06:37–13:03)

Transition from Jazz to Musical Theatre

• Kurt Elling on new challenges:
  “This is my theater debut from the time I was in high school...Thirty years on the road as a jazz musician...Now I get to have this adventure.” (06:46)
• Elling stresses the thrill and challenge of singing a tenor’s role (“I have to sing higher than I would like to...They wrote all of this for a tenor, which I am not, so especially not at this hour of the morning...” 07:31), but embraces learning and adapting to musical theatre’s demands.

Balancing Careers

• Elling describes balancing his performance schedule with ongoing album releases and international jazz gigs, revealing a lively, hectic artist’s life.
  Quote: "Last week I did the Tuesday one show and the Wednesday two shows, and then I got on a plane to fly to Stockholm...and then I got on the plane in Vienna to come back to do the Tuesday show, start the week off again." (12:27–13:03)

3. Band & Musical Direction (08:16–09:46)

• Musical Director Liam Robinson introduces the Hadestown band, many of whom have been with the show since its early off-Broadway days.
• He emphasizes the joy of arranging for the distinct voices and the sense of continuity and evolution within the Hadestown creative team.

4. Hermes as a Meta Role (09:46–11:28)

• Kurt Elling describes playing Hermes:
  “It’s such a meta role. There are so many layers of consciousness that I get to try to inhabit. I get to tell the story to the audience...sometimes I’m in the story...sometimes I’m sort of in-ish the story...” (09:52)
• On nightly changes:
  “Every night there’s some other layer. I’m really trying hard to get as much of the right messages across with nuance and with the clarity that it needs.” (10:36)
• Interplay between jazz improvisation and theatrical structure is discussed; acting with inspiration and presence each night is likened to musical improvisation.

5. Live Performance: “Wedding Song” (13:22–16:13)

• Jack Wolfe and Morgan Dudley perform “Wedding Song,” showcasing the innocence and urgency of Orpheus and Eurydice’s connection, with mutual vulnerability foregrounded.

6. Character Deep Dives: Orpheus & Eurydice (16:13–22:32)

Eurydice’s Backstory

• Morgan Dudley:
  “The whole point of her running away is just kind of moving around to survive...when she meets Orpheus, it’s the first time that she’s realized that she’s missing something in her soul.” (16:34)

Orpheus’ Reluctant Heroism

• Jack Wolfe on Orpheus:
  “I was really interested in the idea of this Greek myth sort of hero who is really reluctant to be one...he’s like a vessel to something that’s much bigger than him.” (17:17)
• Their rapid, cosmic connection is discussed—“It speaks to the myth in that it’s this cosmic connection...as soon as he locks eyes on Eurydice, he knows, like, that is his whole future.” (18:34)

Entering Iconic Roles

• Both actors reflect on the process of stepping into well-known parts:
  • Dudley describes meditating to clear preconceived ideas and “learning to trust myself.” (21:50)
  • Wolfe notes the challenge of imposter syndrome but embraces the opportunity to “create a character almost fresh.” (22:37)

7. First Impressions & Musical Legacy (19:29–21:02)

• Both Dudley and Wolfe describe first encountering Hadestown through earlier cast albums and performances; Wolfe highlights being a “fanboy” of Anaïs Mitchell and others in the show’s musical tapestry, feeling “grateful” to join it.
• On differences between New York and London audiences, Wolfe remarks:
  “There is maybe a slight reservation in audiences in New York. In London, you never really know if they’re on your side until the end, whereas here it feels like a real sort of family thing.” (21:02)

8. Live Performance: “Epic I” (25:08–28:51)

• Jack Wolfe (Orpheus) and Kurt Elling (Hermes) perform the show's powerful retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone, shining with vulnerability and immediacy.

9. Hades & Persephone: Relationship and Characterization (34:23–41:56)

Hades’ Perspective

• Paolo Schott:
  On inviting Eurydice to Hadestown: “He sees her really on the edge of suffering in her own life and decides to get there and to give her a little push.” (34:23) On choosing the role: “...when I first saw the music, I was in love with the music. I left the show thinking the music is the star of this show.” (40:33)

Persephone’s View

• Rebecca Naomi Jones:
  “I think it’s beautiful the way that in this musical it’s set up such that these two people actually do love each other...there’s this dichotomy between the light and the dark and the hope, hopefulness versus just a sense of nothing is...and I think where both couples meet is where there’s magic.” (35:20)
• Rebecca enjoys "going big and getting weird": "I have a full exorcism on stage where I get to like shake myself and kind of try to box the demons away...just a lot of this for no reason. And yeah, there's a lot of room for fun." (39:15)

On Acting in Musicals vs. Opera

• Schott highlights the physical and vocal demands: "Everybody, you know, that's the first thing. What's the difference? And I say eight shows a week...In opera we have two shows a week...That was the biggest challenge for me." (36:57)

Text and Verse

• Jones on Anaïs Mitchell’s writing:
  “Text is exciting and I think there’s always more to be harvested than we think at first glance...Anaïs did a beautiful job layering a lot of...information into these songs.” (38:16)

10. Persephone’s Song: “Our Lady of the Underground” (42:43–49:07)

• Rebecca Naomi Jones delivers a vibrant and mischievous rendition of Persephone’s Act II opener, discussing her approach: “It is kind of like Persephone’s little, like, sneaky, drunken cabaret act that she does when her husband, the boss, is not paying attention.” (42:45)
• Jones relishes the chance to showcase Persephone’s wildness as release from the character’s internal struggles.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Kurt Elling on Hermes:
  “There are so many layers of consciousness that I get to try to inhabit...And of course, there’s my own consciousness as a person telling this story to this audience on this day with the news of the world happening and how this story plays into that or comments on that.” (09:52–10:36)

• Morgan Dudley on Eurydice’s journey:
  “When she meets Orpheus, it’s the first time that she’s realized that she’s missing something in her soul.” (16:34)

• Jack Wolfe on Orpheus’ reluctant heroism:
  “He’s like a vessel to something that’s much bigger than him, much greater than him...as soon as he locks eyes on Eurydice, he knows, like, that is his whole future.” (17:17, 18:34)

• Rebecca Naomi Jones on Persephone:
  “We meet Persephone in a time in her life where she’s self medicating with alcohol and acting out, because she’s having a hard time holding on to that hope...so there’s justification for me to just act out and be weird.” (39:21)

• Paolo Schott on the challenge of musical theatre:
  “That was the biggest challenge for me...how to pace, how to learn to do that for eight shows a week and not be absolutely destroyed.” (36:57)

• Rebecca Naomi Jones on the show’s core:
  “Trying to have hope and trying to connect with each other amidst chaos in the world...I love that [Persephone] is capable of deep sadness and garnering deep strength and deep love. And she’s fun.” (42:01)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:07 – Introduction & “Road to Hell” (Kurt Elling, Cast & Band)
• 06:37 – Alison Stewart interviews Kurt Elling about his transition to Broadway
• 08:18 – Liam Robinson introduces the band and talks musical direction
• 09:46 – Kurt Elling on the complexity of playing Hermes
• 13:22 – Performance: “Wedding Song” (Jack Wolfe & Morgan Dudley)
• 16:13 – Discussion: Orpheus and Eurydice’s inner lives and meeting
• 18:34 – Mythic love and “wedding song” expounded
• 19:36 – First encounters with Hadestown (Dudley & Wolfe)
• 21:02 – New York vs. London theatre audiences
• 21:50 – Discussion on inhabiting iconic roles
• 25:08 – Performance: “Epic I” (Jack Wolfe & Kurt Elling)
• 30:33 – Performance: “Hey, Little Songbird” (Paolo Schott, Jack Wolfe)
• 34:23 – Hades and Persephone relationship analysis
• 36:56 – Opera vs. Broadway performance requirements
• 38:16 – Rebecca Naomi Jones on the text and verse of Hadestown
• 39:15 – Jones on “going big and getting weird” as Persephone
• 42:43 – Performance: “Our Lady of the Underground” (Rebecca Naomi Jones)

Conclusion

This episode offers a joyful and in-depth celebration of the new Hadestown cast. Through powerful live music and candid round-table discussions, listeners glimpse the talent and spirit driving this legendary Broadway show into its next chapter, as well as the personal and artistic journeys of the performers themselves.
Whether you’re a seasoned fan or new to Hadestown, the live performances and insightful commentary provide a rich, engaging experience that captures the heart of Broadway’s creative community.

Listeners are encouraged to watch the event on WNYC’s YouTube channel for the full visual impact.