Grammy winner Ani DiFranco will make her Broadway debut in the Tony-winning musical Hadestown next year at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
DiFranco’s history with Hadestown began in 2010 when she invited Tony-winning composer Anaïs Mitchell to release the original studio album of the hit musical on her label, Righteous Babe Records. DiFranco originated the role of Persephone on the album and will now step into that same role on Broadway beginning February 9, 2024.
DiFranco says in a statement, “I could not be more thrilled to be joining the cast of Hadestown. It’s like I get to rewind to my New York youth and follow the road not taken.”
Watch Reeve Carney Take Final Bow in Broadway's Hadestown
Mitchell adds, “I can’t really overstate the influence of Ani’s music and example on me as a young songwriter. Poetic, bold, radically emotive, and fun, she simply has been a mythic figure in my life, and I can’t think of anything more beautifully full circle than Ani playing the role of ‘Persephone’ on Broadway. Grateful and awestruck."
While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced punk, funk, hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica, and even more distant sounds. Her most recent albums include 2021’s Revolutionary Love and the 2023 25th anniversary edition reissue of her seminal album Little Plastic Castle.
Hadestown currently stars Betty Who as Persephone (through February 4), Jordan Fisher as Orpheus, Tony winner Lillias White as Hermes, Phillip Boykin as Hades, and Solea Pfeiffer as Eurydice. They are joined by Lindsey Hailes, Belén Moyano, 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 also includes swings Sojourner Brown, Brandon Cameron, Tara Jackson, Max Kumangai, Alex Lugo, and Tanner Ray Wilson.
Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s folk- and jazz-infused musical layers the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with that of Hades and Persephone, intertwining the actions—and consequences—of gods and mortals. Hadestown originally began as a theatrical concert performed by Mitchell.
The creative team features Tony-winning set designer Rachel Hauck, Tony-nominated costume designer Michael Krass, Tony-winning lighting designer Bradley King, Tony-winning sound designers Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz, choreographer David Neumann, and dramaturg Ken Cerniglia. Musical supervision and vocal arrangements are by Liam Robinson, with arrangements and orchestrations by Tony winners Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose.
