2019 Potentially Oscar Nominated Movies

I felt underwhelmed by everything put out by Hollywood. Even some movies I gave four stars to I ended up putting in my "Liked" section instead of my "Really Liked" section because so few movies really impacted me. Movies I thought I would "Love" were more "Really Liked." I had a hard time finding mainstream movies I was especially passionate so thank you independent and foreign films.

I didn't have a "not interested" list last year but I needed one this year. I just went back through all my old posts and realized that to this day the only time I have ended up actually watching a movie on my "not interested" list was The Big Short, which was really worth my time. I've thought about watching The Martian since I ended up reading and liking the book but overall I seem to have a decent sense of which movies are skippable.

Movies I Still Need To See:
* If Beale Street Could Talk

Movies I'm Not Interested In:
* Green Book: The premise seemed okay until I looked deeper into it. Alex didn't like it which seems like a safe bet to avoid.
* Beautiful Boy: I was bored trying to read a plot description of this. I feel like I've seen this movie at least three times.
* The Wife: See above.
* First Reformed: See above.
* Never Look Back: See above.
* Boy Erased: I already watched a gay conversion movie this year and while this one got praised a lot for Nicole Kidman's performance, I just don't know if it's worth my time.
* Mary Queen Of Scots: I already watched a few period dramas this year and while this one got praised a lot for its costumes and makeup, I just don't know if it's worth my time.
* First Man: Another biopic. I'm sorry but all biopics are basically the same to me at this point. Most lack a fundemental purpose outside of telling a story of a life and trying to inject purpose often comes off as false. You're literally trying to give meaning to life.
* The Mule: See above although John Mulany and Pete Davidson's review of it made me wonder.
* At Eternity's Gate: See above although the premise seems marginally interesting compared to the other two biopics on this list.
* The Ballad Of Buster Suggs: I hate westerns. I liked Mudbound last year but no thanks.
* Mary Poppins Returns: I love and worship Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda but I don't need this in my life.
* Isle Of Dogs: The animation freaks me out somehow.
* Ready Player One: Well, how much will you pay me to watch this?

Maybe I'll get around to the other animated movies but I don't really feel strongly about them enough to really bother.

Movies with a + were not nominated for an Oscar.

Previous Years: 2018   2017   2016   2015   2014   2013   2012   2011



Movies I Loved:

Cold War: This movie broke into my house, murdered me, and stole everything. I was literally glued to my screen the whole time and off and on crying. The only non-doc movie I gave a full five stars to. I do have a very unemotional explanation for why I liked it so much (directing, cinematography, editing, acting, USE OF MUSIC) but every beat of it kept hitting me in just the right way that it also gave me a lot of feelings from beginning to end.

The Favourite: A lot of people seem torn about this movie. Complaints seem to include historical inaccuracy (I'm of the opinion that you should either go strictly accurate or wildly inaccurate and this did the latter so no problem), unlikeable characters (that was kind of the point), and tone shifts (it was a comedy, guys, but like the kind of comedy this Greek madman makes). Sorry, I loved it. It was visually beautiful on every level, the plot was interesting and layered with lots of character development, and even when I think Yorgos Lanthimos makes a film I don't think is particularly good (The Killing Of A Sacred Deer) I'm always entertained.

Roma: I was a bit on the cusp of Really Liked and Loved with this one but I bumped it to Loved for the directing, which was impectable. It reminded me a lot of La Dolce Vita for some reason but that's another movie that's long, well-directed and makes me think a lot afterwards so i guess the comparison is apt.

Burning: Same conflict with the cusp of Really Liked and Loved but once the movie was over I thought about it for about a half hour and I realized just how many layers there were and I was shook. The social commentary aspect was in the back of my mind while watching and it hit me like a ton of bricks afterwards. I'm kind of floored this wasn't nominated for Best Foreign Film.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch: Wikipedia told me this was a movie so it is. Black Mirror is literally one of two shows that I watch so I may have an inherent bias, but this was one of the best movies of the year. I can already hear people claiming that it's gimmicky but the thing is, this movie basically created a genre of movie and then destroyed it with its content and themes at the same time. Amazing. 

Director's Cut: Technically this movie is from 2016 but it wasn't released until 2018. Speaking of movies that someone could dismiss as gimmicky, this film is unique and darkly hilarious and its gimmick really works to unfold a narrative. There need to be more fun movies in general to be honest.

Blindspotting: After watching something like 15 movies in a short amount of time, I saw this and immediately texted everyone I know to say that I finally saw a good movie. It's got a comedic friendship, drama about police brutality, gentrification, and race, and it involves a scene were someone is so angry they can only rap their feelings. It's quality.

Eighth Grade: Last year I mentioned that Lady Bird was a movie that felt almost too real but didn't quite hit all the notes to make it really amazing to me and I have sense realized that film men seem to like it more than film women. Eighth Grade hit the beats that Lady Bird felt like it was missing for me. The juxtaposition of the YouTube videos was brilliant.

Pick Of The Litter: I called this movie the best movie of 2018. I was joking but also not. My other five star movie.

Free Solo: So stressful but so satisfying.

RBG: This documentary was so well edited that I couldn't believe how seamlessly the narrative of RBG's life with her present managed to fit together.


Movies I Really Liked:

BlackkKlansman: This movie is at the top of my "I need to watch this again because I don't think I gave it a fair shake" list. I really liked it, for sure, (my only real criticism is that Spike Lee got obvious even for him at the end) but I was distracted during the first 20 minutes so it made it hard for me to catch up, interest wise. This movie deserves better than that.

Black Panther: Every year there is one superhero movie that I actually bother with and it was great that this year's superhero movie also came with a bunch of thought provoking aspects, cool characters, and a clearly passionate team behind it.

Widows: I saw this in a New York City theater with Alex and the people were INTO it. I honestly think it's Steve McQueen's weakest film but Steve McQueen's worst is still really good. I also immediately noticed Gillian Flynn's incluence on the script and it was highly appreciated because I love how she writes characters.

A Private War: Very intense. Biopic with a point.

How Could You Ever Forgive Me: Less intense but still very good.

Shoplifters: Not my favorite Kore-eda (nothing will beat "After Life" for me I think) but definitely a good one.

The Hate U Give: I really liked the book and I thought this was a great example of how to adapt a book for film even if I have a few minor nitpicks about things they should have kept in. A lot of the changes really supported the story and tightened up the theme. 

Love, Simon: I really like the book and this movie was very, very different. It completely functions well as an separate product although I think I'm an old curmudgeon who is a little tired of Hollywood conventions (yes, it's great to have a film where two guys kiss with their classmates cheering them on; I'm not that miserly).

On Chesil Beach: It seems like the people who didn't like this movie, wouldn't have liked the book either. I love the book and I thought the movie was a great adaption of it. Like The Hate U Give, there were a few changes made that really strengthened the themes for a visual medium.

The Death of Stalin: I need to watch this again. I enjoyed it but I was kind of distracted while I watched it and I think I would enjoy it more a second time. I did laugh a bunch though. I love a good dark comedy about death.

Thoroughbreds: Speaking of dark comedy, I kind of thought this would be a Loved and while I did really like it, something kept me from putting it all the way up top. It's not quite the new Heathers but it's a solid watch for fans of Heathers.

Support The Girls: This was just such a nice, earnest movie that happened to also have some social commentary buried under all the wholesomeness. It's a family film, I swear.


Crazy Rich Asians: I watched this on a plane because I had just watched two documentaries and I wanted something fluffy. I was super pleased that it was more about family relationships than a romance and it was just fun to watch with a lot of shiny to keep you entralled. Call me a cornball but that proposal scene hit me in the gut.

Three Identical Strangers: This one's a wild ride. It reminded me of the doc The Imposter in terms of technique but I thought this one was better.


Movies I Liked:

Bohemian Rhapsody: I said earlier that all biopics are the same to me, and I continue to stand by that, which is why I only watch biopics about people who I actually like or find interesting. This biopic at least had a theme that ran through it, and I'm always happy to listen to Queen's music. 

Vice: This movie was enjoyable, particularly with the acting, but it had a lot of pieces that really didn't come together for me. Adam McKay needed to tone down his Adam McKay-ness and pick a mood because it was jarringly inconsistent for a topic that has elements that are still, you know, emotionally traumatic for your target audience.

Incredibles 2: A perfectly adequate sequel from Pixar. I don't think Pixar is particularly capable of making bad movies.

The Miseducation Of Cameron Post: A very decent film about gay conversion therapy, not to be confused with that other movie about gay conversion therapy. I saw this in a tiny theater in Burlington while on vacation with Alex and I remember us being very amused (and also two of the four people in the theater).

Colette: This was really the year of WLW in film, I swear. Twenty GayTeen indeed. Anyway, this film was fine but nothing special. Biopic historical drama with some bisexuality.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before: Sometimes you just need to watch a cute and earnest teen movie and this movie was a great one for that. Wouldn't mind this becoming a classic in the genre. My one problem with this film was that some of the boys looked the same and I kept getting confused.

A Quiet Place: This year's one good horror movie.

Ocean's 8: This movie was fun as hell. I loved the cast dynamic.

Leave No Trace: It's definitely unfair to compare this movie to Mr. Fantastic, which I really liked, but I think my problem with this film was the organization. I spent way too long wondering where it was going and even for a character study like this, I shouldn't have spent so much time looking for a purpose to the journey.

Mandy: It wasn't boring or conventional and it knew exactly what it wanted to be. Considering how many movies bore me nowadays, this movie gets a lot of points.


Movies I Thought Were Okay:

Disobedience: This movie had a good sense of style but was really underwhelming when it came to substance. I discussed it with my friend Rene who sees every lesbian movie that comes out and we managed to break down the problems in this film to two main ones: 1. The main character is weirdly underdeveloped. Her motivations, her relationship to her community, and everything about her background is never discussed and 2. The spitting. 

A Star Is Born: What worked: Lady Gaga. What didn't work: the plot, Bradley Cooper's character, Bradley Cooper's directing. 

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindlewald: I think this one barely escaped the bottom category because I enjoyed parts of it. It's a damn mess though and needed a million rewrites. I don't think the franchise is unsalvageble though, which is why it was better than the next one.


Movies I Didn't Like:

Solo: A Star Wars Story: I liked this movie less the more I thought about it. My signother and I actually talked about it and revised it to be a trilogy with all the same characters and major moments but actual story beats and it became clear that the basic material of the film wasn't bad, but it was constructed so wrong. I doubt there'll be another Solo movie.

Unfriended: Dark Web: I was about two-thirds of the way through this movie when I realized I really wasn't having a good time. I felt bad for the characters and irritated that there wasn't anything they could do to stop what was happening. This is a fundemental problem with a horror movie. Unlike the first Unfriended which involved a bunch of unlikable teens and a ghost as a enemy, this one features a bunch of very likeable 20-somethings just trying to have a nice game night over Skype being brutally hunted down by a bunch of merciless dark webbers. It felt like a really depressing episode of Black Mirror without a morale.

The First Purge: The worst one since the first. New movie, same critique: less violence, more politics. The only part that really interested me last about 5 minutes where the psychologist realized that her predictions weren't working and you find out why. The politican's intentions with what they were trying to sell to the public didn't even make sense.

God's Not Dead: A Light In Darkness: Bad movie night watch.

Cool Cat Kids Superhero: Bad Movie Night. The original Cool Cat was much better.

The Myth Of Persephone in "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"

 I watched the episode of “Hercules: The Legendey Journeys” called “The Other Side” (Season 2, Episode 8) and oh man, was this 90s cheese at its finest. I kind of vaguely watched parts of this show as a kid when I was on vacation without cable and it is glorious in the not particularly well acted (Kevin Sorbo is frequently the only one really trying and even then look up “hercules disappointed”), slapsticky, low budget although this show probably cost more than you think way. Also, Ancient Greece is aesthetically like a really 90s version of medieval times for some reason. You can make a peplos out of a bedsheet! I don’t understand. 

Also, their take on the myth is basically removing all the problematic elements entirely. It’s very 90s mainstream third wave feminist-y. 

Here we see Demeter and Persephone just wandering around. Demeter somehow had three nice, peplos-inspired dresses and Persephone's dress came from the mall but they RenFaired it up. It looks a little better in a wide shot but she’s mostly in mid shots like this.

So she picks a yellow flower which I guess could be a narcissus although it looks exactly like the flowers she’s holding and Hades comes out of a cave thing on his chariot.

He has the silliest helmet, which is doing a poor job of making him invisible by the way, and I almost didn’t notice it because of the fact that the camera does a drama!zoom on Persephone as she shouts out “Hades!” right before this. Although it was hard to miss his weird collar and leather pants.

Hercules, being the main character, gets incorporated into the story and sees this happen. Demeter says Hades did this “Because he hates me.” What. She asks Herc to go get Seph or else she’ll keep wintering it up and killing people so he goes.

I just need you to see Charon’s design because I kind of hate it.

So the relationship between Persephone and Hades is established pretty quickly. They appear to have been courting or something, Demeter is not down, so Hades took action. Persephone goes from angry to aroused in like, one minute.

“Hades, I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

“Sorry for the bad timing but your mom is annoying and I love you.”

“Oh, that’s reasonable.”

In what I call the B plot, Herc finds his dead wife and kids who don’t know they are dead. They have happy family time and then boning.

For some reason, Hades and Persephone are watching this.

“Hades, don’t be a voyeur.”

“Instead of watching other people have sex, we should do it."

And obviously he’s down.

But he forgot to turn off his peeping screen as they fall onto the floor.

So first Herc tries to talk to Hades about letting Seph go. Hades is just like, whatever Demeter is a drama queen. Somehow the plot point about the Underworld getting crowded from all the people killed by Demeter’s winter is completely gone. Probably because in every version Hades notices this and is a bit more willing to let her go in order to restore balance and this whole episode fringes on Hades not wanting to let her go (and she’s not too keen on it either).

Cerberus looks terrible. Is this what early CGI looks like. If you know your myths, you know these two have a history but he gets past him to Seph’s bedroom (or Hades’ bedroom because yeah).

Herc is confused by her reluctance to leave and her statements that she thinks Hades is “wonderful,” “misunderstood,” and “kinda sexy.” Herc kinkshames her and then is like, “People are dying!” and she’s like, “Well, shoot, I guess I better go.”

These two idiots fist fight it out while Seph stands in the corner telling them to stop. They eventually just give up and talk it out.

Hades makes a plea to emotion (”They won’t even let me in the Elysian Fields anymore because I’m too gloomy! She’s the only bright spot here.”) and tells Herc that he will let Herc take any of the dead he wants out of the Underworld if he let’s Persephone stay. Herc is tempted to resurrect his family but has to do the right thing so he and Seph go to say goodbye to them.

One of Herc’s kids offers Seph a . . .could they not afford a pomegrante . . . or red paint.

On their way out Seph has another change of heart and is like, “Wait, I love him” and Herc is like, “We don’t have time for this” as Hades shapeshifts into his wife to try to beg him to take the deal. BUT LOOK WHO’S HERE

After some arguing Herc is like, “Let’s ask Persephone what she wants” and she’s like, “I choose both, I guess” and Herc is like, “Okay, six months with each of them.” Seriously, Hercules is an idiot. Let her move freely or at least weekly. Whatever it’s a silly television show that needed the main character to play a big role.

Caption this on your own.

I just liked this shot. It’s so ACTING.

I watched another episode with Hades in it called “Highway To Hades” where Sisyphus has escaped and Herc has to bring him back. That didn’t happen in mythology but Sisyphus cheated death twice, once by tricking Thanatos and once by tricking Persephone, so that tracks as a premise. Hades basically asks him to do it because he’s really busy with dead soldiers from recent wars and because he has inventory coming up, which is just about the most Hades thing I’ve ever heard. Although the episode implies that Zeus is his boss which I don’t like. Hades is the boss and takes his job very seriously. Basically every myth gets that right.

The only other episode they both appear in seems to be a season three episode called “Not Fade Away” (with a cameo by Cythnia Rothrock!). They both got new hairstyles. 

I think this is a marked improvement actually. They look cute. Although Hades’ armor got shinier for some reason. Maybe someone recently found out he’s also the god of wealth.

Herc’s friend stuck in between their arguing.

Hades obviously lost said argument. It’s funny how her hair is more controlled and his is less controlled. There’s a point though since Hades spends this entire episode being stressed out.

Don’t worry though. They’re still adorable and in love. I would literally watch a show entirely about them.

Anyway, I loved this version. It’s ridiculous and corny and I will watch it again for sure. 

I Saw "Hadestown" In London: An Analysis

I saw “Hadestown” on December 27th and right afterwards I wrote a quick post where I went over a few main points that I wanted to dissect further. Previously I listened to just the bootleg where I did truthfully miss a bunch of stuff and made a lot of comments and I may refer back to some of them in this post so the link for that post is here.

To understand my perspective: The original is quite possibly my favorite musical of all time, I’m a person who sees shows in New York City on a regular basis, I’m an American who basically went over to see my British boyfriend who lives in London (also a fan of “Hadestown” but not as much as me) on the agreement that he buy the “Hadestown” tickets and I pay the air fare, and I have stolen his laptop for the evening to write this. Also it has been two days since I saw it and he and I have discussed it a lot so the overwhelming aspects have worn off and I may forget some hopefully minor details.

8. The set and staging give me LIFE. During “Way Down Hadestown” I literally smacked my boyfriend’s leg just to ensure that he was seeing what I was seeing. We also did a lot of pointing but it was mostly at either Amber Gray or Patrick Page doing subtle acting things in the corner.

I’m actually going to start on a positive note and end on a positive note so let’s talk about this first since it will help lay the groundwork for other details.

I was originally pretty unimpressed with the set. There was no curtain or anything so the set was just there when we got in and when the show started the actors just went out and took their seats. I remembered reading in a review of the show that it looked like the backroom of a church in New Orleans and I kind of see what they mean but it was more evocative than direct. It actually reminded me a bit of the set from “Once” with less character.

It’s a mostly light wood set in a half circle with steps and the musicians are sitting on the steps. Above that there’s a balcony that is very French Quarter with a black iron spiral staircase and there’s a huge set of double doors behind the balcony. When the show starts, Hades and Persephone are sitting on the balcony and they basically chill there until their respective entrances into the show, which I thought was cool but I was constantly watching them just because I love them and both Amber Gray and Patrick Page never stop acting so it’s fun to see little things like Hades reading the newspaper and Persephone fanning herself and looking bored. It also hurt my brain to contemplate that they are Underworld gods who are in the Underworld when they are on the balcony but they’re above everyone else? It doesn’t totally make sense but it looks cool.

On the half circle stage below there are a bunch of tables and chairs during the first half of act one where the chorus are chilling in modern work clothes (I forgot to mention the clothes, damnit; I’ll do it after this). Most of the Orpheus and Eurydice action in the first half of act one happens here with some minor going-up-on-the-steps. Hermes is positioned stage right for nearly the whole show with a few small moments of dancing with Persephone during “Living It Up On Top” and “Way Down Hadestown.” This fact will be important later.

The first really key aspect to the staging is the turntable on the floor. I don’t know the proper terminology but it’s a three layered turntable, which doesn’t do anything in the show all the way until “Way Down Hadestown” at which point it becomes an essential feature. Amusingly, the audience seemed fairly unsure of the show until that song, which seemed to win everyone over because 1. it’s a banger and 2. that’s when the show started to get epic. That song is obviously a big number and it starts with this dance Persephone instigates that I will discuss specifically in the section on Amber Gray’s performance but what you need to know is that she’s in the center of the circle and most of the action happens there. Of course, if you are watching above you see Hades in the balcony putting on his coat and sunglasses before he descends the spiral staircase for “You’re early.” “I missed ya.” He helps Persephone put on her coat and then they go to stand in the center circle which raises up to put them above everyone which is the position they’re in when Eurydice says her line. This gives Hades a good vantage point to notice her, setting the stage for “Hey Little Songbird.” After Hades’ “one, two, three, four” the platform descends slowly into the ground as smoke raises up around them and I lost myself. It was epic.

From there the turn tables got used a lot. “Chant 1” had Hades and Persephone on the center as a platform with the chorus on the first outer circle and Orpheus or Eurydice on the furthest circle. “Chant II” was similar with Eurydice in the middle circle with the workers, Orpheus in the first rung, and Hades and Persephone on the outer rung walking in opposite directions, opposed to each other. In “Wait For Me II” the turntable is used to break part Hades and Persephone’s clasped hands. During “Gone I’m Gone” Eurydice descends into the floor the same way Hades and Persephone did in “Way Down” and she doesn’t emerge again until her solo in “Why We Build The Wall” where she literally comes out of the floor to show her devotion to the cause. I’m pretty sure Orpheus also descends into the floor during “Wait For Me” among a ton of smoke. During “How Long” the circle is open which literally forces Hades and Persephone to sing to each other across a gap between them (symbolism!). And finally, when Orpheus turns around, Eurydice descends into the floor again, slowly and tragically.

The other really big set thing that happens is during “Wait For Me” when the set breaks apart into three pieces, creating two narrow streets that characters can walk down. This is basically the Underworld set and through the magic of lighting mostly, looks entirely different. At this point, I kind of understood why the set was so bare and bereft of color. Once “Why We Build The Wall” starts, you feel less like you are in an enclosed area and more like you are in a huge city. The table and chairs on the balcony disappear and that huge set of double doors is now the entrance to Hades’ office.

Some aspects of the original NY production remain but in different ways. The double headed mic which was apparently integral to the original staging is still there but it is mostly off to the side. Hades uses it during “Why We Build The Wall” and it gets a few other cameos but it no longer seems to have any symbolic meaning itself. The swinging lights from “Wait For Me” are there and the Fates still use lanterns during that song and “Doubt Comes In” which was expertly staged with lighting and smoke to have Eurydice disappear and reappear. 

Oh and during “I conduct the electric city” there’s a little explosion of the lights because Hades is a drama queen.

I forget costumes. Okay, here you go.

I said this before somewhere else but the costumes need work just because they are not really cohesive. The gods are all in some kind of 1930s-ish look (although Persephone’s dress (it’s two dresses but they are the same in two colors) could read as 80s) and seem to have varying levels of shiny to their outfits. Hermes and the Fates have very shiny outfits, Persephone’s has some kind of glitzy in the detailing on her dress and the pinstripes on Hades’ suit really sparkle in certain lights. Hades also has shiny sleeve garters (is that what they’re called) and, curiously, a red back on his vest. My boyfriend said that the red back isn’t really apparent until scenes where Hades is vulnerable with Persephone so I guess that’s it’s symbolic purpose.

Also, Hades’ wall tattoo. I don’t know. It’s somehow cool and lame at the same time.

This is contrasted with the chorus and Orpheus and Eurydice who are kind of in shabby modern clothes. It’s weird and it may have something to do with choices made regarding the setting that I will get to at Point One.

1. The addition of the climate change thing, Orpheus’ ignorance about the gods, and the new “Epic” origin and how this diminishes the essence of a creator and kind of makes Eurydice seems more unreasonable.

So I said in my bootleg post that I liked how they redid “Anyway The Wind Blows” to be a character development moment for Eurydice and I stand by that but it also instigates a more overt addition of climate change as a theme in the show. Eurydice sings, “Strange things happen in the world today./Fall comes early, spring comes late” which I didn’t know the meaning of when I listened to the boot. Climate change was already kind of an under-the-surface idea in the original but now it’s very literal.

It turns out that the weather has changed because Hades is basically trying to keep Persephone with him as much as possible. This is explained directly as him keeping her with him because their marriage is going poorly and he’s afraid if he lets her leave that she won’t come back. I think this is totally fine, by the way, especially because it suits the original theme about doubt and trust.

Here’s where it gets weird. Orpheus was always kind of magic. His singing manifests Persephone in both the original and this one when he sings about her. In this one, Orpheus first creates a flower with his music which he gives to Eurydice and it becomes a big symbol in the show. The change is that in this production, he seems to be singing about the story of Hades and Persephone because he somehow has dreamed up this “la la la la la la la” tune which Hermes tells him straight out is the tune of an old song that, if he can bring about the rest of the words, will fix the climate change. This really takes away Orpheus’ music credentials and kind of changes his motivations from “write music, save girlfriend” to “write music to save the world and oh my girlfriend too”. More on their relationship in Point Three.

To digress slightly, Orpheus doesn’t even know that the gods are real until Hermes (a literal god, by the way) tells him that Hades and Persephone are real and they control the weather. His lines from “Way Down Hadestown” have gone to Persephone since he doesn’t actually know anything about Hadestown. This asks the question: is “Hadestown” set in the modern day? The near future? It doesn’t seem to be an alternate Great Depression setting, which the original seemed to be. If it is the modern day or near future, what’s up with the gods throwback clothes?

Anyway, in the original Orpheus’ commitment to writing a song about Hades and Persephone came off more as the devotion a creator experiences when they personally connect with a subject. He is fixated on their relationship, not because fixating on it will have some grand purpose, but because he connects to their story and is moved by it (and because it ends up as a parallel to his own). In the original, it also seems that Orpheus is kind of friendly with Persephone, like they’ve met before, so that could be a very strong case for his commitment. This is why in the original “Chant I”, Eurydice very much so has every reason to be pissed at him for ignoring her for the song. It is the essence of someone who creates to be fixated on their creation, occasionally to the determent of their relationships. In this version, since Orpheus is trying to write the song to literally save the world, Eurydice’s complaints feel more selfish.

A sort of “reveal” about the origin of “Epic” comes in “Epic III” when he is singing to Hades and Hades asks him how he knew about the “la la” melody because apparently, it’s actually a tune Hades came up with as a response to his love for Persephone. When Hades sings the tune he also manifests a flower, which Persephone puts in the pocket of his vest (the flower matches the back of it, by the way). I originally didn’t like this idea on the basis of “but Hades isn’t a musician” to which my boyfriend smartly replied, “but that incomplete melody isn’t something a musician would come up with.” Dang, he’s right.

I don’t mind the explanation about Hades’ doubt that Persephone will return causing climate change or even the fact that the tune was originally Hades’ but I hate both Orpheus’ ignorance about the gods and the directly stated idea that the song will fix the world. They severely weaken both Orpheus and Eurydice’s characters.

2. More on the “revolution” idea I discussed after I listened to the boot and why it conflicts with the main themes of doubt and love. Also how the chorus is both good and bad.

The second half of Act Two has developed communist tendencies and we need to talk about this. I joked a long time ago that Orpheus is a commie and Hades is a greedy capitalist, but that subtext has rapidly become text. In the original, Orpheus shows his red scarf with his line in “Living It Up On Top” about giving you a song for free. This line is gone now, which weakens his character, but let’s focus on the chorus.

Instead of the subtext we now have this “Show me the way” theme in the later portion of the show that seems to imply that if Orpheus can get Eurydice out of Hadestown, everyone can escape and be free. Eurydice even says, “What about them?” meaning the workers when she is encouraging Orpheus to leave***. But like, they’re dead? Why would they have a revolution?

In the original, the threat of Hades losing control of Hadestown was present because the shades were all taught to question by Orpheus in “If It’s True” and then they watched as Hades proposes the deal with Orpheus. There was never really a set up that said the shades would revolt; in fact it was supposed to be Hades’ doubt in their loyalty that drove him to make the deal instead of just letting Orpheus and Eurydice leave outright as a gift for sort of fixing his marriage. By making the threat literal,  Hades seems way more reasonable for his willingness to make a deal and the shades also seem less reasonable when in “His Kiss, The Riot” Hades explains that he gave them jobs because they were suffering. Hell, if his marriage is fixed he may not need all his emotional support industry anymore and he won’t work them as hard.

This whole change reads as trying to fix a problem that was never there.

Now to address the chorus. The original didn’t have a chorus so this is an addition and it is sometimes great and sometimes not. It’s great whenever there are choral bits from the original where the workers are supposed to be singing but were originally just the main actors. The downside is that they overuse the chorus during times when the focus should be more personal. The single worst case of this is in “Come Home With Me” where the chorus is saying Orpheus’ lines with him. It’s also pretty bad in “Wait For Me” where there seems to be way more chorus than before and a superfluous bit where the stones let him in that seems to be added solely to justify the fact that the chorus of workers is singing with him. Dial it back, guys.

All this community really detracts from the core connection between the two relationships at the heart of this story. This is a story that focuses on individual relationships in the grand scheme and now it is trying to fit too many things in at once.

*** There is a slight implied idea that Eurydice is so self interested that this is character development for her, which I guess if she is self interested this would explain her not caring about Orpheus’ world saving song. But also, she learns to care about one (1) singy boy in addition to herself. This brotherhood idea comes off a bit forced.

3. How Eva is the perfect Eurydice and Reeve is an acceptable Orpheus, but there’s something off here (feat. Choreography from “All I’ve Ever Known”)

Going off the idea of personal vs. public moments, let’s talk about Eurydice and Orpheus.

Eva Noblezada is absolutely ridiculous as Eurydice. She blew me away. Every note was astounding. “Flowers”, one of my least favorite songs in the show, made me cry when she sang it because she felt every word and made you feel it. They have seriously lucked out with her.

Reeve Carney is okay. He has greatly improved over time (my boyfriend admitted that he actually likes his falsetto more than Damon Duanno’s) but when he’s up against Eva, Amber, and Patrick, he’s clearly the weakest link. Also, to apologize for something I said in my bootleg review where I was irritated by him singing like Lou Reed, he does this mostly as an acting thing to show Orpheus trying to come up with lyrics he doesn’t already have so it’s fine.

The problem is between them and I’m not even so sure if it’s their chemistry, which I originally suspected. So many of the parts of the show that really drive home how much Orpheus loves Eurydice have been changed so that they focus more on Orpheus’ man pain (especially “If It’s True” and “Doubt Comes In”).

The most awkward part of this dynamic difficulty comes in with the choreography for “All I’ve Ever Known.” Throughout the song, they’re doing a bunch of different things that are clearly meant to show aspects of their relationship: they have a kind of simulated sex moment, laying next to each other, piggy back rides, jumping into his arms, etc. It feels unnatural and like they are trying to convey a passing of time which isn’t really needed if the audience buys the relationship.

My boyfriend actually had a great solution here: Eurydice sings forlornly to herself at the beginning, then she sings to Orpheus during the rest. Instead of choreography, he takes her in his arms like she says in the song and everything is very simple and intimate.

As for the rest? “If It’s True” really needs to go back to its original lyrics. It’s now really strange how a song about Orpheus’ man pain and doubt of Hades’ words is the song that “broke [Persephone’s] heart in two” when the original song was a tearful plea about how much he loved her and much more worthy of Persephone’s sympathy.

4. Amber Gray is literally perfect even when she accidently spills water on herself at the curtain call.

Damnit. Give her the Tony right now, I swear.

I mentioned before that Amber never stops acting for even a second and oh, do I mean it. Amber has been playing this role for a long time and it shows because her performance is fully integrated. There are so many details that just make her a consistent delight to watch.

During “Road To Hell” she’s excitedly clapping for everyone (amusingly Hades claps unenthusiastically for everyone expect Persephone who he stands up for) and throughout the moments leading up to her intro, she’s leaning on the balcony bored, glaring at Hades, looking around like she’s waiting for time to pass, etc.

Right before “Living It Up On Top” she puts on her coat and goes around to give Hades a kiss on the cheek and when he doesn’t really respond she waves her hand dismissively at him before clumsily going down the stairs. “Living It Up” is a weird number to see because I always imagined it really upbeat but this performance felt kind of bleak. I think they slowed down the tempo and also the choreography left a lot to be desired. But even more than that is the way Amber Gray plays it. Instead of being a happy drunk like I was expecting, she’s a drunk with underlying melancholy. She isn’t drinking to have fun; she’s drinking to get through the day and it shows. You can barely bop along with it because you know that this is all artifice for Persephone because her marriage is falling apart.

During “Way Down Hadestown” this somehow gets even worse and it’s brilliantly played. Persephone slumps over when she hears the train coming and looks comatose until she slowly starts dancing in a way that builds and builds until it becomes this frenzied one woman performance that no one knows how to react to. It was some of the best choreography in the show and throughout the whole song you can see this mix of emotions Persephone is feeling. She doesn’t want to go back to Hades because it’s so hard being with him but she’s also sad because she wishes things were better between them, but she’s happy to be above ground but she can never forget her problems really.

“Why We Build The Wall” is such an intense thing in general but again, I was blown away by Amber and what she was doing. During the song, Persephone is now in her black dress (I thought the costume change would be after Act One but nope) and she’s standing to the left of Hades while he sings. It looked to me like the kind of positioning you see when a politician is admitting to something horrible so he has his wife next to him to make him look better. She sings with this expression that says she’s going through the motions, moreso than anyone else.

Then Eurydice comes into Hadestown and Persephone is shook. Initially it seems to be a sort of dull surprise and mild horror that Hades has made good on his statement about finding someone who will appreciate his town. At the end of the song proper, however, she slumps backwards as if she has given up, kind of an opposite slump to “Way Down Hadestown,” and as Hades passes her on his way up to his office with Eurydice, he taps her on the arm which seems to bring her back to life* and she moves downstage, trying to subtly wipe tears from her eyes. It’s kind of the first real moment in the show when you see how much Persephone cares about Hades and it really makes her “Anybody want a drink?” line similar to “Living It Up On Top”: fun in theory but masking a deep unhappiness. The audience still laughed though.

“Our Lady Of The Underground” is a show stopper. Amber sings the hell out of it, but there is this really great moment right at the end when the workers are all raiding her bag and she just looks like she has come down from her high only to have life hit her.

She’s still on stage during “Way Down Hadestown II” when Eurydice comes in now wearing her worker uniform. She lingers near Eurydice and listens to the fact that Eurydice didn’t actually do anything with Hades aside from sign a contract and die and that she’s not special at all but just another worker. When Persephone realizes that her husband didn’t cheat on her and that he was just trying to make her jealous, she kind of scoffs at Eurydice and walks off triumphantly.

“How Long” and “Chant II” I mentioned the staging of and oh, Amber sells the pleading and the anger.

I’ll talk about “Lover’s Desire” and “Wait For Me II” in Point Six.

That’s mostly it. At the end of the curtain call “I Raise My Cup” (which is a bit different and I should probably talk about it) Amber Gray drank from the cup and spilled water on herself. I don’t think it was on purpose but it was amusing and I was just surprised to see there was actually something in the cup.

Again, give her a Tony.

*The arm tap thing is interesting and I’ve thought about it a lot. On one hand, it could be Hades wanting to make sure she’s paying attention to the fact that he’s going to his office with Eurydice, which is a dick move but definitely in line with where Hades is at this moment. On the flip side, he could be trying to reassure her that he sees her and nothing is really going to happen with Eurydice and it’s just business. Clearly, she takes it the first way, but the intention really is ambiguous.

5. What did you do to the later half of act two’s best lyrics?! (AND MUSIC PARTS)

I mentioned most of these as they affect Orpheus and Eurydice’s relationship (“If it’s True”, “Doubt Comes In”) but I will call out a few new things.

“Epic III” is shorter for no reason.

“Promises” is cut in half and no longer has that moment of resolution in the first half that I thought was so amazing for showing the development of Orpheus and Eurydice’s relationship. Also, no string interlude.

The accordion interlude in “His Kiss, The Riot” is now really discordant and isn’t as good.

“Wait For Me II” suffers from revolution. Same with “Chant II”. “Chant II” also lost Persephone’s lines about banging Hades in a garden, which is probably because someone said, “Uh, Persephone says she’s going to give Eurydice advice and then doesn’t.” I mean, they’re right, but I didn’t see that as a problem.

And to note a dialogue change, when Orpheus turns around in the original there’s no dialogue, just Eurydice’s gasp, but there was a brief period of time where she said “You’re early” and he responded with “I missed you.” This was iconic and never should have been removed. Now he says “It’s you” and she says “It’s me” which is kind of a callback to what they say when he arrives in the Underworld but oh, the other dialogue is so much more on point. With a good subtle thing like that, maybe they could finally trash Persephone saying outright that Orpheus and Eurydice are just like she and Hades used to be (an additional bit of dialogue before “How Long” which is just lazy).

There’s a specific choice towards the end that I really want to address though. During “Road To Hell II” the show ends by restarting. In theory, this is a great idea because the show is cyclical in nature and with its themes. Eurydice comes in looking for a match in her original clothes. Persephone comes in wearing her green dress.

The problem with this is that they still sing “I Raise My Cup”. They changed some of the lyrics to be more universal but it still talks about where Orpheus is half the time and it’s like, um, he’s standing right there? It doesn’t totally work. I say one of these things need to be cut or “Cup” needs to be completely universal and not about Orpheus at all.

6. Why does the text imply that Hades is evil when his character is the same as it’s always been and he’s actually super sympathetic most of the time? (Feat. How Patrick Page gets Hades in a way no one else does)

I mentioned the disconnect already so I’ll just talk about Patrick Page.

Patrick Page, being that he possesses a voice that sounds like the rumbling of the Earth, primarily seems to play villains. I first saw him as Frollo in “Hunchback” which was great but it took a while for me to hear Hades and not Frollo when I listened to “Hadestown.” Because of this type-casting, he is clearly psyched to play Hades. His Twitter and anything he ever says about the show conveys how much he loves the show and loves the character. Specially, he seems to love the fact that Hades isn’t a villain and that Hades’ primary motivation is really his love for his wife with a secondary motivation of keeping his kingdom running smoothly.**

Like Amber, he has been playing this role since the beginning and it shows. Like Amber, he has all the subtle details down. I mentioned the standing up when Persephone is announced but in the beginning he also rolls his eyes when Hermes is playing to the audience and I’m right there with him honestly. He lowers his sunglasses at Eurydice in “Way Down Hadestown” in this intrigued way. He is genuinely scary during “Why We Build The Wall” and every aspect of act two shows how much he cares about Persephone.

My boyfriend particularly was effected by him in “Epic III” and how he loses his composure and reunites with Persephone when he makes the flower appear.

The dance in “Lover’s Desire” is interesting because it starts as a slow two step (they’re in step now, get it) and then escalates and ends with him really showing vulnerability by burying his face into her shoulder. Yes, I cried.

I think the prime subtle moment for Patrick Page though comes during “His Kiss, The Riot.” When he says the word “beautiful” he looks directly at Persephone before looking away on “poisonous”. Nice.

He also should get a Tony,

**The villain of “Hadestown” is doubt.

7. Andre DeShields is a totally different Hermes.

I have talked at length about the four main characters but technically there is a fifth and there’s kind of a reason why I saved him for last.

Hermes in the original felt very much like a part of the show because he is the narrator but was also very clearly present during all the action of the show. Whenever I see stills of the original show or the Canada show, Hermes is right there with everyone else.

This isn’t how he’s played now. Throughout almost the entire show, he’s stage right. He dances a little with Persephone during “Living It Up” and is actually on stage during “Way Down Hadestown” but even when Hades gives him his plan, Hades goes stage right to do it. Hermes offers all advice to Orpheus and Eurydice from stage right. Hermes even implies that he doesn’t totally know what’s going on until the end when he admits that everything is a cycle.

My boyfriend, a fan of Andre DeShields from “Fortress of Solitude”, said that it wasn’t that this was bad but that it repositions Hermes as more of a god figure than a god who lives in between. Before Hermes was a god like Persephone who will hang out with the commoners but now he is positioned above them. I had once joked that in the class system of “Hadestown”, Hermes is the one with the reasonable job. Even as my boyfriend explained this change from chill god to god who only interacts when necessary, I could see his resolve slipping as he managed to accidentally talk himself into realizing that Hermes was better before. Even the way he’s dressed is flashier and less like a rumpled middle class man in the 1930s.

Mythologically speaking, it makes more sense for Hermes to be the go between as he was the one who brought people to the Underworld. He would understand people and know their stories.

I have to wonder if this change comes from the casting of Andre DeShields who is a new addition.

9. Overall, the show is so freaking enjoyable and I will see it multiple times on Broadway BUT the lyrics and story changes have been detrimental to a show that was nearly perfect, mostly in the name of being more heavy handed and less subtle.

Like I will pay a lot of money because the good that has been untouched or added is so good even with all the problems.

And that’s how the story ends.