By Rachel Sokol

There’s an awesome new Broadway musical called Hadestown (Pronounced: “Hay-dees-town”) that you must check out next time you’re in NYC. Based on Greek mythology, it’s the tale of two love stories that intersect. Hadestown is the underworld where the audience meets young lovers: Orpheus and Eurydice. (played by Eva Noblezada) The audience first sees Orpheus and Eurydice above ground and then she goes to Hadestown and he follows to bring her back.

The other featured couple is King Hades and his wife Persephone, Queen of the Seasons and the natural world; they’re an older couple and their marriage is deteriorating. Orpheus knows how to love and inspires Hades.  Overall, it’s about a man desperately in love with his wife and trying to find his way “back” to her, and to romance.

A rich and detailed show--it’s been called a folk opera but has a jazzy/blues aspect  to the score--this production helps you feel, and makes you feel, and has been in the works for many years before it premiered on Broadway stage in the Spring of 2019.

Tony-nominated actor (Miss Saigon) and California native Eva Noblezada plays Eurydice in the production everyone’s buzzing about. In this feature, she talks about Hadestown and why teens of today will embrace every emotion this impressive musical stirs up.

What do you love about Hadestown?

It doesn’t matter how old you are, there will be something in the show, and that will be, what I call, a “cosmic connection.” The show is my idea of therapy. I love being back in NYC (from London, where the show was previously running before Broadway). It started with musician and show creator Anaïs Mitchell performing in a van with her band! Since I did Miss Saigon, I’ve missed the whole Broadway community, The mood and the energy we’re bringing into NY will hopefully feel like it’s positive and needed.  When we did the show in London, the British audience loved it.  They were very sad knowing it was a limited run at The National Theatre, so they scrambled to get tickets. In comparison to Miss Saigon, which is a proper, big musical and a new show that’s fresh, that’s raw, Hadestown is exciting, sexy, heartbreaking--it’s everything. It’s timeless and epic. 

Tell me a bit about your childhood--did you always dream about being nominated for a Tony Award?

I wanted to be an opera singer first because my first musical was, Phantom of Opera. I then realized you can put a dress on and dance and people pay you and was like, “I want to do that instead!” (Laughs) I don’t perform for nominations. I perform genuinely because I have so much joy in what I do. I don’t need to have a nomination or award to let me know that life is good. But yes, Holy Crap, I was nominated for Miss Saigon. I grateful that happened to me--it was a whirlwind.  I slept through the nomination day and woke up to a million missed calls. I knew who I thought was going to win, and thought, OK, being nominated is amazing, let me enjoy this and have a good time. But the 2017 Tony awards was exciting because we were also performing that day. It was amazing; the after party was incredible. I hope I can sneak into this years because they had some incredible desserts! I was very excited about that.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to be in the biz?

I used to say not to compare yourself to anybody else, but I think recently because I’m so wise at the ripe old age of 23!--but I think I would say knowing your strengths and knowing your weaknesses--which makes your vulnerable--creates an expansion in you for growth and that also attains to technicalities of acting on stage. So, if you can, apply that to both aspects of your life--being completely vulnerable in life and on stage. It’s hard! And work your ass off! I wasn’t brought up with much money but that didn’t stop me from practicing monologues in the mirror and filming myself or teaching myself how to cry and making it look natural,  recording myself singing and thinking hmmm, I don’t like how that sounds...you can’t let things fall into your lap. I never grew thinking that things fall in your lap--you have to work for things and earn them, and the feeling of reward, the celebration when you finally feel like you are where you belong because you did all that, is the best feeling in the world.

How do you feel when you fans cheering for you at the Broadway Stage Door?

When I was at the 2017 Tony awards, the second I saw actor Sutton Foster backstage I lost my cool. Lost it. I linked arms with my friend--we’re obsessed with her--and we went up to her and got pictures and were like, “Hi Sutton!” I told her she’s my idol. For me, that was a full circle kind of moment. I love when young girls of color are at the Stage Door and say, ‘Thank you for Kim’ (in Miss Saigon) or Eurydice. If you think about who they would cast as Eurydice, I wouldn’t have thought a ‘Mexi-casian’ girl. I’m grateful to speak about topics like mental health and anxieties and to represent so teens can see me at stage and after the show at the Stage Door, they can also see that Eva is a human and also messes up and has baggage and that is absolutely OK.  

How do you overcome stage fright or anxiety?

There is nothing that will  keep you back if you put on an outfit that makes you feel like a million dollars. Have a great breakfast, sleep, take care of your body and brain and psyche. If waking up and doing 15 minutes of stretches or  yoga or going for ma run, writing, or putting on a  movie that makes you feel comfortable and happy--little things like that help. Make sure that people around you  genuinely have your back and best interests. It’s hard to find that support in high school, but your circle of friends reflects what you need.

Follow Eva on Twitter: @EvaNoblezada