Electrifying 'Hadestown' at CIBC Theatre is an old tale, superbly told

“Hadestown” - ★ ★ ★ ½

A good tale is worth retelling. Even an old tale whose ending we know, or a sad tale that doesn't end well.

So it is with “Hadestown,” singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell's exhilarating and faithful recounting of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth about poet so distraught over the death of his beloved, he follows her into the underworld to retrieve her. The Tony Award-winning musical, staged by gifted storyteller Rachel Chavkin, is essentially a love story for people who love stories. It plays Chicago's CIBC Theatre through March 13.

Actually, “Hadestown” is two love stories. The second centers on the god Hades, king of the underworld, and his wife Persephone, the goddess of spring who rules with him part of the year.

But the musical, rooted in Mitchell's 2010 concept album of the same name, concerns more than the romantic exploits of a couple of couples. It also addresses income inequality, exploitation and climate change. Admittedly, that's a lot to pack into 2½ hours, but what a 2½ hours it is.

Propelled by a catchy score that pairs spare, unaffected lyrics with Dixieland, alternative pop, jazz, gospel and blues, “Hadestown” begins in a Depression-era, New Orleans jazz joint with a once-upon-a-time moment. It comes courtesy of the sharp-dressed god Hermes (Levi Kreis, whose outsize voice matches his considerable charisma), whose irresistibly electrifying “Road to Hell” opens the show and introduces us to the couple around whom this ancient tale revolves.

Orpheus (the disarming Nicholas Barasch, who possesses a breathtaking falsetto) is a poet/musician determined to compose a song “to fix what's wrong” with an out-of-tune world. Optimistic Orpheus falls in love with the realist Eurydice (Morgan Siobhan Green), a homeless young woman who understands that art - no matter how epic - doesn't put food on the table.

The despairing Eurydice descends to the underworld (conceived as an hellacious factory by designer Rachel Hauck, with exceptionally fearsome lighting by Bradley King). There Hades (Kevyn Morrow) presides over wretched souls extracting the last of the earth's bounty awaiting the return of the slightly boozy Persephone (Kimberly Marable) from her annual sojourn topside. Marable gleefully describes her annual ascent in the infectious “Livin' it Up On Top,” which concludes with a rebuke of greed and excessive consumption from Orpheus. “If no one takes too much,” he says, “there will always be enough.”

The performances are excellent throughout: Morrow's sinister seductiveness, Marable's strength, Green's sweetness and the stylish harmonies of the ever-present Fates (Belén Moyano, Bex Odorisio, Shea Renne).

There are memorable moments throughout Chavkin's brilliantly directed “Hadestown”: the infectious “Way Down to Hadestown” and “Why We Build the Wall,” Hades' explanation to his minions that walls keep them free. (For the record, Mitchell composed the song well before Donald Trump took office.)

But the number (and its reprise) that took my breath away was the showstopping “Wait for Me,” a glorious expression of faith and fidelity in this tragic tale, which we still continue to share “as if it might turn out this time.”

One last thing, stick around for the curtain call. A paean to the poet/artist who perseveres, it's a tribute worth repeating.

Location: CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St., Chicago, (800) 775-2000, broadwayinchicago.com

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday through March 13. No 7:30 p.m. show March 13

Tickets: $52.50-$214

Running time: About 2 hours 30 minutes including intermission

Parking: Paid lots nearby

Rating: For teens and older; contains mature subject matter

COVID-19 precautions: Proof of vaccination or negative test and masking required