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apparently there’s already an outsiders audio?? what does a girl gotta do for that🙏

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JOHNNY HAS NO KIND OF CHANCE IN THIS WORLD/NOT FROM WHERE HE'S HAD A START/WHO KNOWS HOW FAR IN THIS LIFE HE COULD GO/IF HE PLAYED A DIFFERENT PART

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One thing I love about Hadestown is it really seems like every performer is able to make their interpretation of the character so authentically theirs. With it being basically a completely sung through show, people are able to really show their portrayal through their vocals, and I think that’s so cool! You hear so many different colors and tones in different casts, and everyone has different ways to sing the songs.

I really love that they let Orpheus have differences in portrayals as well. I think he is a character that could fall into a trap of repeated sounds, but thankfully that isn’t the case. I’ve seen Reeve and Chibueze, and ofc seen and heard many clips, and it’s so cool to see and hear the differences. Reeve plays into the shyness and gentleness that Orpheus has. He seems like a young man navigating through circumstances he doesn’t quite understand, but just knows he’s drawn to pursue it. Chibueze’s Orpheus is more soulful, quieter at first but you can feel him find his voice the more he sings. You can feel there is something otherworldly in his songs. Jordan is a grittier version of Orpheus, still youthful and so loving, but he feels so deeply that every time he sings while he’s in pain it’s agonizing. And there’s so many more amazing performances I haven’t even talked about!

All this to say, I love how open Hadestown is to so many amazing styles and feelings. I think that’s part of its appeal and hopeful longevity—it isn’t afraid to give you something different, and it invites artists to explore and create something new. They aren’t giving you a carbon copy of one cast ever, and it’s so cool.

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Just when I think my brain has let up a space where Moulin Rouge used to occupy 24/7, Derek Klena returns. We’re winning.

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Chibueze playing Orpheus on broadway is so personal to me.

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WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS THEIR LAST DAY?

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I’ve never had a departure from a show hit me like Derek Klena’s. Something about being here since that first casting announcement, so thrilled one of my favorite actors was going to be taking on a role I love so much, to seeing him, to now him leaving almost exactly a year since I saw him.

Moulin Rouge has been one of my favorite shows since 2021, but Derek’s Christian really made me fall in love with it all over again. Him joining the cast made it feel so fresh for me, and it’s given me something to look forward to in a way. Getting new clips, all the different people he’s shared the stage with, hunting for bootlegs… it’s been this weird norm in my life for a while now. I found so much joy in every random picture and snippet of his goofiness, or the heart wrenching character choices he makes. I can’t fully explain it, nor can I truly convey how much him being a part of Moulin Rouge means to me. All I can say is that I’m so grateful to have had the chance to see it live, and god I’m gonna be a mess. Derek’s time at the Moulin Rouge is something I’m not gonna stop talking about, but I can’t wait for Courtney and Casey to kill it.

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"I can fix him" not in a "I can make him into a better person" way but in a "if he was my character I would've handled his story better" way

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there’s just something so babygirl about derek’s christian. i mean he’s written that way, but he always has this goofy smile and he’s just so… delighted?? by everything he encounters?? there’s such an innocence in the way he plays him, even as he pursues satine he still has this childlike wonder and a very starry-eyed idea of love, and you can see it in every mannerism, every smile, every little laugh he lets out. 

and that’s why it’s so gut wrenching to watch him break down at the end. it doesn’t feel like the crazed revenge rampage of a tortured artist, it feels like the wanderings of a lost and hopeless boy who doesn’t know what to do with all this grief. when satine is dead in his arms and he’s just holding her in disbelief, and then when she’s lifted away he’s still sitting there in shock and looks around and just. he just doesn’t know what to do now. derek’s christian isn’t angry at the end, but he’s entirely lost. and when you compare that to how he played this delighted young man in act i…. it’s heartbreaking to watch.

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I LOVE THIS OPTION UP SO MUCH. AARON WHERE DID THIS COME FROM

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Casey’s casting was definitely not expected but I’m very intrigued. I hope he doesn’t get picked apart before his run even begins

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oh these cast announcements are giving me LIFE. Moulin Rouge knows what they are doing fr

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little me would have been SCREAMING

THERE ARE WICKED AMERICAN GIRL DOLL OUTFITS

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realized that I have never once talked about JoJo’s Satine on here really. stunt casting done RIGHT. she is insane, I absolutely adore her tone and the raspiness of her voice at some points. she eats up the end of Crazy Rolling and I will never be over it

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a little thing about Derek’s Christian that I love is that during Come What May the first "but I love you" is almost spoken and it just gives it such weight. I don’t know, something about that small change makes him seem so sincere and it just really hits for me

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the emotional whiplash of getting lovely production photos then bam. what do you mean Derek is leaving when Jojo is. we literally just got him back MR can’t do this to me

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happy one year of Derek Christian, I have not been the same since

Okay, I ADORE Derek Christian. Perhaps even more than I do Aaron’s, which is quite wild to say and potentially a hot take but here we are.

I had the privilege of being able to see Aaron a few months ago in the show, and man do I love him too! I mean he is THE Christian, he built this role. There is no denying his portrayal is iconic and amazing, but something about the youth Derek brings to the role just got me hooked instantly. He’s cheerful, full of energy and running off the adrenaline of being in this fantastical world of people like him. He just feels happy to be alive—and meeting Satine only furthers that intense sense of feeling like he’s got somewhere to belong, with someone who he loves. And it truly seems like this is his first romance! We see him slowly break out of his shell and grow into this family. While Aaron still has that wonder to him, at first it seems like he’s more basking in it than jumping into it (if that makes ANY sense whatsoever). He’s more mature, laid back and quiet. He seems like a deep thinker. As well as that, it comes off like he knows about this whole romance thing—he’s a little more smooth, I guess. He feels more calculated in his words. Both interpretations have their fair share of dorky moments for sure though. I think at its core, Aaron’s Christian appears to be driven by a deep passion for Satine, while Derek’s is driven by sheer adoration for Satine. Derek’s Christian just radiates pure young hopeless romantic vibes and I love it. His line delivery is so good, plus it’s so interesting to hear a bit of a deeper-toned Christian!

But of course, that’s all just an opinion, and neither way of playing the role is wrong!