This is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice as told in Anaïs Mitchell's album "Hadestown" and stage adaptation.
In depression era New Orleans, young Orpheus and Eurydice fall in love but Eurydice dreams of a better life than the poverty she grew up i...
Persephone showed Orpheus into a living room with white and green walls, furniture of butterscotch hued wood, cream colored leather upholstery.
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Eurydice was sitting in an armchair by a large window. She looked up when she saw them walk in. Her hazy and exhausted dark eyes stared blankly at them for a moment before lighting up with all their previous spirit and vitality. The affect was something like a lightbulb flickering on. She stood up when Orpheus approached her. "I'll leave you two alone," Persephone said, backing into the next room. Now left alone together, Orpheus and Eurydice stared at each other several moments. Orpheus rushed over to her and wrapped her in his arms. He let go of her enough to be able to see her rounded belly. "How long have you known?" He asked her. "I don't know," she said, "I've lost track of how long I've been here." "Is this why you left?" "I wasn't sure then but this was part of it." Orpheus pulled her close again. "Baby, why did you leave?" Eurydice began to cry. "I don't know. I'm not sure anymore. Our life wasn't everything I thought it would be. You promised that everything would work out for us. It's easy to believe honey words when the birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. Then the seasons changed and your promises seemed like the birds and flowers: they flew away or withered up." "Remember, you made promises too. You promised we would stay together no matter what life threw at us and we would walk hand in hand for the rest of our lives." "Guess we both made promises we couldn't keep." "Whatever else I said, I can't promise we'll have everything we want in life, but if we're together, then we'll have everything we need." Eurydice reached up a stroked his cheek then kissed him. "I thought I needed to fly away to find something better but here I realized that what we need," she put her hands on her belly, "Is you." Orpheus lightly kissed the top of her cloud of curls. "Well, I love the both of you."
Persephone took the elevator to the top floor of the Lethe Hotel. The next task to be completed after reuniting her nephew with his wife was to confront her husband. She knew that Hades sometimes used the royal suite. A man at the front desk informed her that he had rented this room for the night and gave her a key.
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The royal suite had Art Deco decor and a black and white color scheme: black marble and velvet; white tiles and silk. Persephone found Hades sitting in an armchair by a roaring fire with a cigar in one hand and a tumbler of bourbon in the other.
"How long have we been married?" she asked him. "Since the world begin," Hades grumbled in reply. "You know I've never cared if you looked at other girls from time to time..." "The girl means nothing to me." "I know, but she means everything to him." "So..." "Let her go." Persephone walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hades, my love, you heard Orpheus sing to day. All of his sorrow couldn't fit his chest so it spilled out through his mouth. You must have some pity for him." Hades took his wife's hand. "You give people an inch and they'll take it all. You bend the rules once and they'll no longer mean anything." "What does he care about rules? Love's the only thing that matters to him. He reminds me of you, once upon a time." He kissed Persephone's hand. "I'll think on it, my love."
