Ah the Arts. Les Arts, Bellas Artes, Die Künste. The duo masks of Comedy and Tragedy which have become a herald for the performing arts, call our attention to joy offset by sorrow, highs countered by lows and good versus bad. These emotional extremes remind and caution us of experiences we have all had or will have.

Going to the theater brings great expectation for the joyful. We budget, plan, tell our friends and hope that they are jealous - get dressed up and take ourselves out for a night on the town! Drinks beforehand? Oh yes, please. Indeed a celebration is to be had by attending a live performance, as we look forward to feeling something, hopefully wonderful, that delights us and exposes us to another story outside of our own, much repeated one. Like a well-prepared meal that engages all five of our tasting senses – sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami – a night at the theater engages our ears, eyes, mind, thoughts and most of all, our emotions.

Broadway Dallas began in 1941 as ‘Opera Under the Stars’ and was performed at the iconic Band Shell inside Fair Park, now a National Historic Landmark. In 1962, the organization’s name was changed to ‘Dallas Summer Musicals’, and in 2022, the name changed once again to reflect the fuller season and became simply ‘Broadway Dallas’.

The Broadway Dallas 2024-2025 season bears testament to how powerful and entertaining a musical can be.  With ten shows running from December 2024 to September 2025, Dallasites and visitors alike have an enviable opportunity to transport themselves to another world, place and time, for a magical evening. https://broadwaydallas.org/

Let’s focus in on ‘Hadestown’, which ran from February 25 – March 2, 2025. Winning eight TonyAwards® when it premiered on Broadway in 2019, this brilliant show splices together the Greek Tragedies ‘Orpheus and Eurydice’ and expands the story of Hades and his Underworld wife, Persephone. As the story goes, Orpheus and Eurydice marry (happy mask) but tragically, the beautiful bride dies shortly after their wedding day from a snake bite (weeping mask). Fueled by his grief and unwillingness to live without her, things begin to look up for Orpheus when he beguiles and bargains with the King of Hell himself, Hades. Hades agrees that Eurydice may return to the land of the living under the strict condition that Orpheus never looks back at her upon the long journey home.  Ah, but can he do it? Is our hero capable of overcoming his doubts? Can he delay his desire to gaze upon his beloved bride? Can he trust that she is there right behind him, knowing, without seeing?

Alas, the love-sick Orpheus must wear the crying mask because he is unable to resist his compulsion to look back, and once he does, Eurydice is instantly dragged back down to Hell.  On another day, perhaps the gallant Orpheus will gather his courage and dare to approach the King of Hades again - next time making a bargain and promise he can keep.

This performance of Hadestown, performed at the Music Hall at Fair Park, was quite a romp, and gave us a vibrant and fully alive show, despite the solemnity of the story line. Reimagined in a Harlem Renaissance, 1920’s style, the show had the audience roaring and applauding so much that it sounded like a laugh-track had been installed. And this on a Tuesday night!  Coupling the suffering of Orpheus, and anyone who has lost a mate, and mixing it in with the history of suffering of enslaved Blacks in America was a brilliant touch revealing the timelessness of this ancient Greek tale. Echoes of a train, present throughout the play, gave a subtle musical nod to the Underground Railroad; while the modified rail cars used to create the set, aptly portrayed the main mode of transportation, date-stamping the time frame of the musical.

Vocals were brilliant and the staging was impressive. The five male dancers and three female dancers provided a talented, well-rehearsed and agile Greek Chorus for our evening’s entertainment. One trio of soprano voices thrilled with an Annie Lennox-type sound, highlighted by beautiful harmonies. We send a hearty brav-o to Broadway Dallas for bringing this timeless musical to Dallas.