Materials from the Musical ‘Hadestown’ Added to Library of Congress Collections
Broadway Cast Visited Library to Perform for Students, Donate Collection Items
The Library of Congress has added rare materials from the development of the Tony Award-winning musical “Hadestown” to its collections, thanks to a donation from the show’s Tony Award-winning creator, singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell.
Items donated by Mitchell tell the story of the show’s development, including draft lyrics written on a yellow legal pad; memorabilia including promotional posters and a postcard from the very first performance of “Hadestown” as a community theater production in Vermont; a 1950 Gibson TG50 tenor guitar played by the character Orpheus during the London run of the show; and test presses of the vinyl of Mitchell’s original studio recording, which preceded the Grammy Award-winning original Broadway cast album.
The donation represents an important contribution to the Library’s unparalleled collections in American musical theater, which include the papers of Oscar Hammerstein II, Jeanine Tesori, Jonathan Larson, Howard Ashman, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin among others.
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden hosted composer Anaïs Mitchell and members of the current Broadway cast of “Hadestown” in the Coolidge Auditorium on Oct. 17. The event featured a cast performance and conversation moderated by Peter Marks of The Washington Post. Local student groups were invited to attend the special event.
“Hadestown” currently stars Tony Award-winner Lillias White as Hermes, Reeve Carney as Orpheus, Solea Pfeiffer as Eurydice, Betty Who as Persephone and Phillip Boykin as Hades. They are joined by Belèn Moyano, Lindsey Hailes and Brit West as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Chibueze Ihumoa, Alex Puette and Grace Yoo. The cast includes swings Sojourner Brown, Brandon Cameron, Tara Jackson, Max Kumangai, Alex Lugo and Tanner Ray Wilson.
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
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Media Contact: Leah Knobel, lknobel@loc.gov
PR 23-092
10-17-2023
ISSN 0731-3527