Eurydice, a young girl looking for something to eat, goes to work in a hellish industrial version of the Greek underworld to escape poverty and the cold, and her poor singer-songwriter lover Orpheus comes to rescue her.

The Greek god Hermes welcomes the audience to the show, introducing the story, characters, ensemble, and band ("Road to Hell").

Persephone arrives in the world above and celebrates summertime ("Livin' it Up on Top"), while Eurydice begins to truly fall in love with Orpheus ("All I've Ever Known").

The cold weather returns and Eurydice searches for food and firewood, urging Orpheus to finish his song ("A Gathering Storm").

She sings her goodbyes to Orpheus before heading to Hadestown as the Fates chastise the audience for judging her for choosing self-interest over love ("Gone, I'm Gone").

Orpheus vows to find a way to free Eurydice, rallying the workers and catching Persephone's attention in the process ("If It's True").

While the workers begin to truly question the freedom they were promised, Hades bitterly offers Orpheus a chance to sing his completed song, threatening to kill him afterwards ("Chant (Reprise)").

The Fates taunt Hades for his dilemma: If he kills Orpheus and keeps Eurydice captive, they become martyrs, but if he lets them go, he loses control over his workers as they have begun to agitate for their freedom ("Word to the Wise").

The production starred Damon Daunno as Orpheus, Nabiyah Be as Eurydice, Amber Gray as Persephone, Patrick Page as Hades, Chris Sullivan as Hermes, and Lulu Fall, Jessie Shelton, and Shaina Taub as the Fates.

[12] Designers included Rachel Hauck (sets), Michael Krass (costumes), Bradley King (lighting), and Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz (sound).

[13] Page, Gray, and Carney reprised their previous roles, joined by Eva Noblezada, André De Shields,[14] Carly Mercedes Dyer, Rosie Fletcher, and Gloria Onitiri.

[16] Page, Gray, De Shields, Carney, and Noblezada reprised their roles, joined by Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzales-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad.

[16] Designs were again by Hauck (sets), Krass (costumes), King (lighting), Steinberg and Paz (sound), and Neumann again choreographed.

The tour starred Nicholas Barasch as Orpheus, Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice, Kevyn Morrow as Hades, Kimberly Marable as Persephone, Levi Kreis as Hermes, and Belén Moyano, Bex Odorisio, and Shea Renne as the Fates.

[31] The cast includes Dónal Finn as Orpheus, Grace Hodgett Young as Eurydice, Zachary James as Hades, Melanie La Barrie as Hermes, and Gloria Onitiri as Persephone.

[34] Five of the original London and Broadway cast members, Carney, Noblezada, Page, Gray and De Shields, are set to reprise their roles in the West End production in February and March 2025.

[39] The cast includes Christine Anu as Hermes, Noah Mullins as Orpheus, Abigail Adriano as Eurydice, Adrian Tamburini as Hades and Elenoa Rokobaro as Persephone.

[42] The original casts of the English-speaking productions of Hadestown West End (2024–) Mitchell's 2007 album The Brightness contains the song "Hades & Persephone", an early version of "How Long?"

[62] A holiday album recorded by Blackman, Gonzalez-Nacer and Trinidad titled If the Fates Allow, was released on November 20, 2020, and features guest contributions from the other original cast members.

"[65] Director Rachel Chavkin said addressing climate change had always been central to the show: "As we thought more and more about shaping the world that Eurydice and Orpheus are living in — a world caused, in Greek mythological terms, by the decay of the ancient marriage between Hades and Persephone, a world that is out of balance, where it is either freezing or blazing hot, where food becomes scarcer and the idea of stability becomes harder to imagine, and a character, Eurydice, who has spent her life running – all of those things kind of crystallized while we were making the show.

"[66] The show did a joint promotion with Natural Resources Defense Council to raise awareness and bring a greater sense of urgency to the push for action on the issue of climate change.

[67] US cultural commentator Bridget Read highlights the economic themes: "Orpheus and Eurydice's tragedy becomes, in the hands of Mitchell, an argument for collective bargaining...I don't think its untoward of me to hear the class politics in a musical in which the characters sing the word poverty more times than I've ever heard it before in the vicinity of Times Square.

[69] Todd Osborne comments on the self-conscious significance of the medium of song within the work: "It is a musical both about how art can save us and how, especially in an apocalyptic world, hope might be the only thing we have left.

[71][72] The production opened on Broadway on April 17, 2019, to critical acclaim, with praise for its direction and the performance of André De Shields.

[75] Japanese producer Imura Madoka (井村まどか) and theatre journalist Yusei Kageyama (影山雄成) praised the musical for its novelty and creativity, in contrast to a recent trend in Broadway to "avoid risks" by adapting films and recasting classics.