‘A story that everybody needs to hear’: Actor playing Hermes in ‘Hadestown’ talks on musical recreation of Greek myths

With two police officer parents and an adolescent in athletics, performer Jaylon C. Crump was reluctant to tell their parents they were interested in auditioning for “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” as a high school freshman.

Crump – who uses they/he pronouns – sang in church every week with their grandmother, who they said has the best voice in their family, but that was the extent of their performing experience.

When the day of auditions came, Crump decided to tell their parents they had to stay after school for detention. They laugh about it now, but at the time, detention seemed like a better excuse than the audition.

It was unlike Crump to get in trouble though, so while their parents didn’t know what their son was up to, they knew Crump was lying. Crump eventually spilled the beans when they got a part in the play and received full support from their parents. Crump played the role of Peter Quince, a member of an acting troupe and author of the play performed within the play.

Crump then auditioned for the school musical, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” nabbing the role of Snoopy.

“It really solidified my love for musical theater,” Crump said. “Up until then, I was never really a musical theater kid. I knew that I wanted to sing and I knew I liked dancing and I knew I liked acting, but I guess I really hadn’t been exposed to the world that all three of those were put together.”

Years later, the introduction to musical theater has led Crump to the underworld, as they star as Hermes in “Hadestown,” which runs for three performances Saturday and Sunday at the First Interstate Center for the Arts.

“Hadestown” opens with Hermes (Crump) introducing the story, characters and band to the audience. Eurydice (Megan Colton) and the Fates (Katelyn Crall, Erin McMillen and Miriam Navarrette) then talk about the near-constant winter and harsh famine of the setting. It’s then that Orpheus (Bryan Munar), a musician, meets Eurydice and asks her to marry him. Eurydice isn’t sure what to think at first, given they both live in poverty, but Orpheus assures her that he is working on a song that will make spring come once more.

In his song, Orpheus tells the story of Hades (Nickolaus Colón) and Persephone (Namisa Mdlalose Bizana). Persephone then arrives in the world above and celebrates summer, but soon Hades comes to take her back to Hadestown, his underground factory, to her great reluctance.

The Fates praise Hadestown, and despite learning that the work truly never ends for the factory workers (Randy Cain, Miracle Myles, Kaitlyn O’Leary, Mikaela Rada and Joe Rumi), Eurydice is intrigued by the protection Hadestown can offer her.

With Persephone gone, winter returns once again, and Eurydice urges Orpheus to finish his song. Hades decides to leave Hadestown again to find someone who will truly appreciate the factory’s security and finds Eurydice, cold and hungry with the returned winter.

At the Fates’ insistence, Eurydice sees no choice but to follow Hades to Hadestown. She sings out her goodbye to Orpheus before starting for Hadestown. But once Orpheus learns about Eurydice’s choice, he vows to rescue her from the endless labor and sets off for the factory with guidance from Hermes.

The musical also features swings Jamir Brown, Ricky Cardenas, Michelle E. Carter and Julia Schick. “Hadestown” features a book, music and lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell.

Donning Hermes’ silver suit was a dream for Crump, as was the opportunity to act as the leader of a show. Munar’s Orpheus is the male lead, Crump said, but Hermes is the one responsible for guiding the audience through the story.

In this way, the audience becomes a scene partner for Crump. When performing the opening number, “Road to Hell,” for example, Crump feels as if they’re clueing the audience in that they are an active participant in the show.

“I think that’s what makes the role and also makes the show so special is it feeds so much off that audience energy,” Crump said. “My character specifically really, really plays into that. I definitely have to have some form of consistency for each performance, but I definitely mold my show in certain areas to make sure the audience is getting a very unique performance.”

Though the show is based on the stories of Orpheus and Eurydice and Hades and Persephone, “Hadestown” is not a straight recreation of the myths. Instead, the cast incorporates elements of the stories into the production.

Crump, for example, plays their Hermes – the conductor of souls between worlds known for his winged sandals – with light footwork to make it look like he’s floating onstage.

“There are certain moments where the Greek mythology of it does really come into play just because you’re telling the intertwining of two stories, but there’s so much room for personalization and adding a lot of yourself into the world,” Crump said.

The touring production of “Hadestown” is a bit personalized itself, as it doesn’t utilize the turntable those who have seen the Broadway production of the show have come to recognize. New choreography from T. Oliver Reid and David Neumann, Crump said, helps accomplish what the turntable does on Broadway and makes the touring production feel like a completely new version.

Keeping with the Broadway production, on the other hand, is the restoration of feelings of hope and love Crump said audiences often experience after seeing the show, aided by Mitchell’s “touching,” “poetic” script and lyrics.

Older couples have shared that they saw themselves as Orpheus and Eurydice, madly in love, in the beginning stages of their relationship but have become like Hades and Persephone, often argumentative, over time. Seeing “Hadestown” then was a reminder for those couples that they were in fact in love and would continue to be, sticking with one another each step of the way.

“This is a story that everybody needs to hear, and I know that a lot of people say that about a lot of shows, but there has not been, at least for me, a single audience member that’s come out of the show and hasn’t changed,” Crump said. “I really hope that that’s the same for all the people that we’ll get to see as well.”