I don’t think there’s ever been a time when Alejandro MullerDahlberg started the &j preshow as Augustine that didn’t leave my jaw on the floor or invoke a verbal reaction from me. He’s an absolutely incredible dancer and performer. I remember when he was first announced as joining &j looking up videos of him dancing to see what his style was like and instantly knowing that crosse would be in good hands with him. I’m glad that my assumption based on those videos was absolutely correct.
Over the past 16 months, it has been so much fun to get to watch him in this show. From his first track as Henry to his last track tonight and every track in between, he always brings something special to each of them. My favorite track to watch him in is also Henry; I love how harsh he is as the bathroom attendant. He’s also constantly doing bits that make me laugh, my favorite of which was the one time he made a pog face during IGBM. So, so many shows spent watching him make stupid faces in the background. I’m gonna miss that.
It’s no secret at all that the swings are my favorite part of &j. Saying goodbye to any cast member is difficult, but saying goodbye to one of the swings is especially hard for me. Each of them has a very special place in my heart, and Alejandro is no different. Since he’s come to Verona, he has danced his way into my heart and I know for a fact that once he joins the greasers in Tulsa, he’ll dance his way into the Outsiders’ fans hearts as well.
So is Hadestown suffering from a bad COVID outbreak? First Amber leaves then she has to come back for one night, and is Jewelle the permanent replacement? I thought they already had a replacement?
Okay, first of all, thank you very much for asking! I don’t feel I am the most appropriate person to answer this for I am a simple fan that doesn’t even live in the USA, but let’s review together what has happened in the past few days/months for the Broadway production of Hadestown. Get ready for a long post, I'm really sorry about this:
So, let’s start with OG Persephone, Amber Gray. Since they came back from the 𝙲𝙾𝚅𝙸𝙳 shutdown, she wasn’t “full time” on scene, constantly we would see Jessie or Jewelle made appearances. Then Lana Gordon comes to be part of it (the “replacement”), and they alternate performances, if my memory doesn’t fail, Amber was most of the days except tuesdays and sundays; however, Jewelle (mainly) would still have an appearance or two every now and then. Still, our mains are Amber and Lana. Obviously, the fact that Jewelle (Fate) and Jessie (also Fate, Eurydice u/s) had to jump in, meant that other understudies had to cover the empty spaces.
Then, we have the date for Amber’s final performance (February 19th) for she is gonna work as Benquo in Macbeth, and so, Lana gets to be (??) the main Persephone, and yet, in this few weeks we have seen Jewelle jumping in for some performances (which means Lana hasn’t been in all of them, due to unknown reasons).
Now, I think what has caught our attention the most was this past week performances (march 9-13th) I guess, through the week, T. Oliver Reid (Dance Captain, swing, Hermes u/s) had to jump as a Fate (#AuntieFate) him, being the first male player to play a role usually played by a female performer, followed by Tomás Matos who also played a fate the same weekend Khaila (swing, Eurydice u/s) who left the production to join SixTour as Catherine of Aragon, had to jump in, along with Jordan Dobson (as Orpheus), Trent Allen Saunders (as Hermes), Afra Hines (as Worker) who left the production since november 2021, and obviously, Amber Gray (as herself Persephone) who had just recently left the production, and other swings and understudies, whom pretty much sabed that weekend’s performances. Now to the whole point of the question, official information reports it was due to a “combination of problems”: «Hadestown has cancelled their matinee performance for today, Saturday, March 12th at 2pm. According to a Tweet from New York Times theater reporter Michael Paulson, the afternoon performance has been struck by a combination of problems, including Covid and injuries.» this obviously includes what happened in the pst performances where so many swings and understudies had to jump in. [ Visit: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/HADESTOWN-Cancels-Todays-Matinee-Performance-20220312]
Hadestown has cancelled their matinee performance for today, Saturday, March 12th at 2pm. According to a Tweet from New York Times theater r
As for why is now Jewelle being announced as full-time Persephone is still unknown, and by that I mean, probably Lana has another project running in the back (which could be the more probable one(?)), probably schedules are not working for her, probably is a management thing, Lana hasn’t say anything at all (which is a bit weird for me, but okay). If it’s a COVID outbreak, it would have been announced and more performances would have been canceled. Eva wouldn’t be posting photos from LA and stuff like that.
So, in conclusion, and after the whole bible, I think is way more complicated than a simple COVID outbrake, and has more to do with a management issue… probably. Also sorry for the broken english :(
