"It’s a good time show for bad time times, a hoot that hits its political points hard...Mitchell sticks close to the original myth, fleshing its slight narrative out in song, but she soaks her score in contemporary Americana. It functions like a folksy, old patchwork quilt, pulling musical influences in from across the land...It’s Mitchell’s music that makes 'Hadestown.' Infectious without trying too hard to be catchy, her songs heat up as the show heads down to hell."
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"An evening of evident cohesion...The journey at times threatens to feel interminable...Elaborate drama is in scarce supply. Mitchell’s through-sung approach squeezes out opportunities for richly character-defining dialogue...Before the stinging, melancholy payoff, an almost deadening repetition creeps in that Chavkin’s beautifully lit and propulsive production can’t quite mask...The show finally delivers the heart-stopping goods, but is it fully achieved yet?"
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"Whether you call it a folk opera, a hip oratorio or a musicalised myth, it boasts some cracking songs that far outweigh its dramatic shortcomings...Chavkin’s production, even in a large space, preserves the rough theatre elements that are part of the show’s charm...I’m not sure if Mitchell’s classical update imparts a palpable message, but her beguiling melodies linger on."
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"A defiantly original musical. Its story is thin, transposing the well-known Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice to Depression-era America. But musically it’s a feast...A show that’s lush and haunting, even if overlong...The topical significance, especially in the song Why We Build The Wall, won’t be lost on anyone...With its emphasis on mood rather than action, this is the sort of show that risks being labelled portentous. But it’s tightly choreographed and genuinely inventive."
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"Mitchell and her co-adapter, director Rachel Chavkin, cleverly weave in the story of Hades and Persephone...Mitchell’s songs incorporate elements of blues, New Orleans jazz, and rock...The lyrics and book are, however, less impressive...Yet a similarly informal aesthetic becomes a virtue in Chavkin’s direction. She creates a feeling of organic freedom...The journey of the story is both enjoyable and engaging."
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"Here is one of the great lost-love tales of all time. If it falls a little short in this jazz musical, that is because the whole enterprise is a touch too hip for characterisation or humour to flourish. But this is a show with plenty of spectacle...Despite a certain level of nonsense, the show trots along and has a handsome swagger."
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"'Hadestown’ is not perfect, but it is really, really good. The wonderfully diverse songs of Mitchell’s expanded, virtually sung-through soundtrack are the bedrock...It is a musically thrilling, lyrically eccentric articulation of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth that has gratifyingly little to do with musical theatre convention...It’s a brilliant staging of an album, but nonetheless, the characters and plot are wholly contained within the relatively impressionistic songs."
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"Its cleverness – and it is a phenomenally smart show – is that it takes that age-old story and makes it spark in many directions...Its brilliance is to take those ideas and set them – in Chavkin's truly inspired production – in a kind of Depression-era speakeasy...Chavkin makes joyful use of the many variants of the Olivier's revolve...Her always stylish direction is massively assisted by David Neumann's energetic but finely honed choreography."
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