Seeing Hadestown at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City last night felt less like attending a musical and more like being swept into a living, breathing myth. This touring production delivers on every promise. Vocally, visually, and emotionally, Hadestown offers a masterclass in how music, movement, and design can converge to tell an ancient story with urgent modern resonance.

At the heart of the production is Jose Contreras as Orpheus, whose voice is nothing short of spellbinding. Contreras leans fully into Orpheus’s otherworldly nature, floating effortlessly into a high falsetto tenor that feels fragile, hopeful, and almost supernatural. His singing doesn’t just tell the story, it becomes the story, especially in moments where Orpheus believes music alone can remake the world.

Opposite him, Hawa Kamara as Eurydice grounds the show with emotional honesty and strength. Kamara’s performance captures Eurydice’s weariness, pragmatism, and longing, pairing a rich, expressive vocal tone with deeply human acting choices. Her journey feels painfully real, making every decision she faces resonate long after the lights dim.

Nickolaus Colón’s Hades commands the stage the moment he appears. His deep, resonant bass reverberates through the theater, embodying power, control, and quiet menace. Colón’s Hades is imposing but layered, revealing cracks of vulnerability that make his relationship with Persephone compelling rather than purely tyrannical.

That complexity is beautifully balanced by Namisa Mdlalose Bizana as Persephone, who brings warmth, sensuality, and defiant joy to the role. Bizana’s vocals are full-bodied and expressive, and her physicality radiates life, making the contrast between the world above and Hadestown below feel stark and personal.

Serving as both narrator and guide, Rudy Foster as Hermes is the connective tissue of the show. Foster’s performance is smooth, soulful, and magnetic, blending storytelling with musicality in a way that draws the audience in from the very first note and never lets go.

The Three Fates: Gia Keddy, Miriam Navarrete, and Jayna Westcoatt, are chillingly precise. Their tight harmonies and synchronized movements create an ever-present sense of inevitability, acting as both conscience and prophecy throughout the story.

Musically, Hadestown shines thanks to its onstage musicians, whose visible presence reinforces the show’s raw, folk‑jazz soul. The set’s industrial scaffolding, combined with strategic use of lighting, glowing ambers, stark whites, and ominous shadows, intensifies each emotional turn, transforming the stage into a shifting landscape of hope and despair.

By the final moments, Hadestown doesn’t simply end, it lingers. This production at the Eccles Theater is a powerful reminder of theater’s ability to move, challenge, and connect us, proving once again that some stories are worth telling over and over, especially when they’re told this beautifully.

Hadestown runs through Sunday, March 29th at the Eccles Theater. For tickets, call ArtTix at 801-355-ARTS (2787) or visit  www.artsaltlake.org.