“Hadestown,” a musical that won eight Tony Awards in 2019, including Best Musical, arrives in Wichita this weekend with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday. All performances are at Century II Concert Hall.
The book, lyrics and music were written by singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. She introduced audiences to the concept via her 2010 album, “Hadestown,” which featured guest appearances from The Haden Triplets, Greg Brown, Ani DiFranco and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). Mitchell continued working on the concept over the next several years, with further development from Rachel Chavkin, who served as the initial director.
“Hadestown” ultimately debuted on Broadway in 2019 and became a major success.
This weekend’s production, which is presented by The American Theatre Guild, features South African-born Namisa Mdlalose Bizana in the role of Persephone. The actress appeared in productions of “The Color Purple,” “The Full Monty” and “Kinky Boots” in her native country. They included appearances at the renowned Fugard Theatre in Cape Town, named after the legendary South African playwright Athol Fugard, who is known for works such as the highly celebrated drama, “Master Harold and The Boys.” Bizana has also lent her talents to the animated series “Supa Team 4.”
She recently spoke with KMUW about “Hadestown” and her varied experiences on the stage.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You grew up in South Africa and were educated there, started acting there. Was it always in the cards that you’d take your career international?
My 7-year-old self decided for me. [Laughs.] When I was 7 and I discovered I wanted to act, she made the decision that that was what we were going to do, so I am here off of the back of my 7-year-old self’s dreams. So thanks to me. [Laughs.] I could not have orchestrated how it happened, but it happened!
When did you first become aware of the show?
The first audition season! Actually, I lie. The first time I became aware of the show is when Keenan Oliphant, who is the associate director of the show, started associating with “Hadestown.” I know Keenan from back home because I did a show with his best friend, so I knew him before “Hadestown,” before I came to America. He’s South African and he actually went to music school with my husband in South Africa and knows my sister. We’re all just connected.
When I saw on the internet [that Keenan was involved in the show, I said], “Oh my gosh! Congratulations! That’s such a big deal! You’re going to be associate director for the show!”
I didn’t look into the show. I just thought I would go see the show because Keenan was associate director. I never made it to New York City and then I got the brief and said, “Oh my god! Is that the show?” Then I saw that Keenan was on the brief and said, “Let me Google it, because I have to audition for it now!” [Laughs.] I went online and said, “Oh, awesome, that makes sense.” I got “Livin’ It Up on Top” as my first audition cut. [I thought], “Great I’m just gonna sing it. Just do what I feel and what I see.” I did it and went to work. A few weeks later I got a call to do an in-person (audition), and the rest is history.
What did you think as you started to discover the rest of the show?
People ask me, “Was ‘Hadestown’ a dream role?” and I said, “It couldn’t be a dream because I didn’t know it existed.” Being in it is a dream that I never had.
I didn’t grow up with traditional musical theatre. Theatre in South Africa is always musical. People are always singing. It’s very natural for us. We do have musical theatre but even in plays there’s singing, there’s some sort of expression musically. It doesn’t feel very far off, it doesn’t feel strange for me. Having to explain to other people who don’t necessarily know musicals … I have to say to Americans, “This isn’t a traditional musical.” If I were to go home I wouldn’t necessarily pitch it that way. I would pitch it as maybe New Orleans-style jazz. It would be possible to go anywhere. We’re a very improvisational … it’s the backbone of our history. As a South African and the way I’ve been taught, the most important part is the storytelling. How it manifests itself is how it manifests itself. We are process over product. Most of the time.
What I really love about “Hadestown” is that it can be anything. We were speaking to a group of teachers who were adjudicating for these kids who were doing competitions and a lot of schools are doing “Hadestown.”
The question comes up: “Why do you think it works? Why is it so popular?” Someone said, “Because it’s so easy to translate.” It doesn’t require an entire orchestra. It only requires a seven or eight piece band. It can exist anywhere, anyhow. The gods can be anything. There can be five workers, there can be three workers, there can be 100 workers. Not a lot of theatre can say that. We can exist as we are with three trucks, 17 cast members, seven band members, but it can become much smaller or much bigger.
Let’s talk about Persephone. What do you love most about that role?
What I love most about the casting direction is that if you’ve been cast in this show they don’t want you to be anyone but what you have and what you bring to the fold. They’re not asking me to be like any other Persephone that’s ever been played. They’re asking me to interpret it through my body, through my lived experiences and through the way that I see the world that’s been put up. What I also love about playing a god is that no one’s ever been a god before! [Laughs.] No human being has ever been a god before. I can be exactly what I want. I can be anything I want to be.
Don’t you have a moment in the show that you look forward to every night?
Yes! I always look forward to “Epic III.” That’s because if somehow “Livin’ It Up” didn’t go the way I wanted it to go, if “How Long” was kind of sketchy, if my voice cracked in “Lady of the Underground,” I know for a fact that I can hang onto “Epic III.” I can hang onto it because I’m doing it with Nickolaus Colón and we have performed that over 300 times. Every last bit that I have is put into that scene. I can point it to someone and I can give myself to someone else. I respect him in that scene and myself. I can fall flat on my face [elsewhere] but not for Nickolaus or whoever is playing Hades that night.
That is the scene that I look forward to, especially when I am tired, especially when [I feel like] I’m not having the greatest show or if my voice doesn’t feel phenomenal or I’ve only had four hours of sleep. Whatever it may be, that is the crux, that is the backbone of this world of the story.
