"HADESTOWN" DESCENDS ON THE BUSHNELL MARCH 7-12

Clever composers have been turning the most unlikely subjects into fascinating musicals over the decades. Shows like an unsinkable ship hitting an iceberg and going down (Titanic) or a number of men and women who tried and often succeeded in killing a president (Assassins) or a gang of black youth accused of raping a white woman (The Scottsboro Boys) or a giant green ogre who is friendly and sweet (Shrek) are not screaming musical and yet here they are. Get ready for another unusual choice: a musical about the underworld called “Hadestown.” Get ready to travel down, down and down a little more, courtesy of the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, from Tuesday, March 7 to Sunday, March 12 for Anais Mitchell’s ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, the winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical, “Hadestown, and directed by Rachel Chavkin.” Take a trip down under, way past Australia to the underworld where strange things happen on a daily basis. The Greek god Hermes will be your messenger, narrator, storyteller as he introduces the principal characters of the tale in the stirring “Road to Hell.” The harsh weather and the persistent famine introduce us to the dire circumstances always associated with this dreaded place. Eurydice is starving and seeks food and is willing to work in these terrible conditions to get nourishment and escape the cold. She soon regrets her choice to go there as now she needs Hades’ permission to leave. Her young singer-songwriter lover Orpheus, Hermes’ ward, arrives to take her home but Hades appears with a contract Eurydice signed that won’t allow her to return to earth. Orpheus is attacked, yet he pledges to free Eurydice. Persephone hears his plea and promises to help by persuading Hades to let Eurydice go. Orpheus must complete a song, but risks being killed. He reminds Hades of his love for Persephone. Hades consents to let them leave on one condition: Orpheus cannot look back to see if Eurydice and the other workers are following him. If he does, Eurydice is fated to return to Hadestown forever. For tickets ($51-164), call the Bushnell, 166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford at 860-987-5900 or online at bushnell.org. Performances are Tuesday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Immerse yourself in the lore of ancient Greece and follow this tale of star-crossed love that is fated to test the boundaries of its soul, but ultimately to offer “hope, faith and rebirth."