Hadestown Star Yola Says Losing Her Voice Allowed Her to Find Its True Strength

Six-time Grammy nominee Yola is currently making her Broadway debut as Persephone, queen of the Underground, in the hit musical Hadestown, which layers the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice with that of Hades and Persephone.

Known for her acclaimed Americana and roots albums “Walk Through Fire” and “Stand for Myself,” Yola is part of a cast at the Walter Kerr Theatre that also includes two other recent newcomers: Grammy winner and original The Wiz star Stephanie Mills as Hermes and Pretty Little Liars star Maia Reficco as Eurydice.

Video: Maia Reficco on Adding a Bit of Spanish to Eurydice in Hadestown

"When I saw I’d be playing the drunken goddess of spring I immediately thought, ‘That’s on brand,’” Yola stated at the time of her casting. “Not because I drink a lot, but because from time to time, I act like I do—but stone, cold sober. What a way to debut on Broadway.”

Singer and songwriter Yola made her acting debut as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, often referred to as the Godmother of rock and roll, in Baz Luhrmann’s musical drama Elvis, subsequently earning an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture. To celebrate her impact and influence on music, Yola's guitar was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Right Here, Right Now exhibit.

In the interview below for the Playbill series How Did I Get Here—spotlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians, and others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is live theatre—Yola shares her unique path to Broadway and how she wants to create an Ella Fitzgerald musical.

Yola and company of *Hadestown* Evan Zimmerman

Where did you train/study? Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful/helpful?
Yola: In the womb by the power of the ancestors is where I studied, I guess, and then my living room and Bristol Library in the U.K. I came to learn that if you are a "Ga tribe Ghanaian," it is the most profoundly predictable thing to be artistic and kinda nerdy with it, especially musically so. Once I started speaking, I started singing, it’s always been that way. I decided to take it upon myself to check in with experts as I grew up to make sure I was doing everything safely, but my study was very much singing Mariah, Tina, Chaka, and Aretha at home. Poor families don’t have the disposable income to luxuriate in the environment of an artistic education as easily.

Was Broadway a goal of yours?
Funnily enough, I was supposed to be putting out music when I got offered this role. It dawned on me that this was the perfect time and rare opportunity to debut in a lead role in a multi-award winning and, frankly, iconic show like Hadestown. I didn’t grow up a theatre kid or in acting, but after my role as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the Elvis movie, I caught the bug for that special interaction of music and acting. This is very much a natural development from that point. My life is very much still in “rock n' roll” though; I love going on tour with my music still, too!

How did this role in Hadestown come about?
I feel this is a kinda roundabout way of getting a role. In 2017, I had taken myself to play the Canadian folk festivals as a part of a tour that year that took me round Europe, Canada, and to a few showcases in the U.S. On that run of dates in Canada, [Hadestown composer-lyricist-librettist] Anaïs Mitchell and I crossed paths. It transpires she tracked my progress through debuting in the U.S. and my career touring. My schedule finally calmed down later last year for the first time in eight years after writing and recording new music. The offer came in that quiet time early this year. Turns out, all you need to do sometimes is stop and take stock.

What are the challenges of stepping into a show that is already running?
I have no idea what to compare it to. This is my first time on Broadway. I can say that my experience is that it’s a massive advantage having people that know the show like the back of their hand. The deepening of the characters through arduous work gives you an idea of how much scope there is to play with the role, too. It’s only pluses as far as I can see.

YOLA at Playbill Pride 2024 Heather Gershonowitz

Do you have a favorite moment in the show for Persephone? What makes this moment special?
My favorite part of the show is very much the “Epic” dance [in Act 2]; it’s just so emotional and works so beautifully as a counterpoint to the comedy of "Our Lady of the Underground."

Are there any other Broadway roles you would like to tackle?
My goodness, I guess the closest thing to my voice would be the Tina [Turner] musical. Really, I’d like to create a musical of the music and story of Sister Rosetta or Ella Fitzgerald and do that.

Tell me about a time you almost gave up but didn’t.
There is something in the art of singing that nobody tells you. Bilateral vocal nodules are, in part, a stress-related disorder. In the U.K., we have the National Health Service, and when I got diagnosed with soft nodules, I had the choice to go the surgery route or therapy; I chose therapy. I found out that stress was a massive contributor to voice loss, and in my group introduction session (before we headed into one-to-one sessions), everyone else was bereaved. I was under a lot of stress of which I really didn't understood how much. I was told that the experts might not know how to get my voice back and that my career might be over. I was getting a lot of anxiety at the time, as if every sneeze from a person could mean further voice damage—I almost gave up, I was so overwhelmed.

Deep down, I refused to accept that my trust brain couldn’t nerd my way out of the situation. And so, I took to shadowing as many specialists as I could find, took recommendations from the doctors, and studied endlessly. I decided knowledge was power, and that mantra really stopped me from giving up. I built a course of comprehensive voice care and technique and brought my own voice back stronger than before I lost it. I had multiple doctors at my first shows back a year-and-a-half later ask to debrief my technique after my warm down.

If I’d never lost my voice, I’d have never found its true strength. Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention! I helped a few friends, then a few more, and before I knew it, I had a vocal school. The local universities and institutes of music noticed they were losing students to me and hired me as a lecturer. I was the only lecturer who was a university drop out, but all my students were a strong pass!