Show Plot Hadestown

Authors: Anaïs Mitchell

Time Period: A vague, timeless "Great Depression" or post-apocalyptic era mixed with a 1920s/1930s vibe

Setting: An American-style Depression-era roadside and a heavy, proto-industrial corporate mining town underground (Hadestown)

Summary:  The poor poet Orpheus and the starving runaway Eurydice fall in love. When winter and extreme poverty hit, Eurydice is lured into signing her soul away to work in Hades' mechanized underground factory, Hadestown, for security. Orpheus travels down to the underworld to rescue her. Moved by his song (which echoes Hades and Persephone's own past love), Hades allows them to leave on one condition: Orpheus must lead the way out and not look back to see if Eurydice is following.