When stepping into a long-running show like Hadestown, there can be pressure to conform to the portrayals that have come before. For Jordan Fisher, currently playing Orpheus in the hit mythology musical on Broadway, it was the opposite.
"Rachel is really great at allowing for discovery to happen in real time," Fisher shares, referring to the show's Tony-winning director Rachel Chavkin. "That's special. We all have something that we can bring to the table, and she honors that."
Shortly after delivering a nearly perfect one-take rendition of "Epic III" in the Playbill Studio, Fisher settled in for a chat about the ways in which playing Orpheus has been a true comfort.
Check out his performance above, and read on to hear his thoughts on neurodivergence on stage, Greek mythology, and how Orpheus and Evan Hansen occupy polar opposite positions in his brain (Fisher played the title role in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway from 2020 to 2022).
Orpheus is described as "touched," a notorious euphemism for neurodivergence, within the very first moments of the show. What has it been like to engage with that aspect of yourself within this role?
Jordan Fisher: It is so comforting. 100 percent. I have synesthesia, and it's very helpful, it's very useful, but it can also be very distracting. There is a real catharsis to losing myself in the piece, and especially being lost in music. Orpheus sees and feels and hears so much more than the average bear where music is concerned. That's his bread and butter, so submitting to that as an artist is actually quite comforting, because I am allowed to be lost, and I'm even allowed to close my eyes.
Of course, when you're being trained in MT, you're always told "don't be inward, don't close off." And you can never close your eyes because it cuts off the people you're performing for. But he is never even thinking about any of that. He's just seeing and feeling and smelling and tasting and ultimately trying to make it tangible for everyone around him, to use what he sees to change the world. That intentionality where neurodivergence is concerned is really a centerpiece, the beauty of things being very literal and from the heart. It's very comforting to be in that space. It's very different from Evan Hansen, who was also neurodivergent, but he was coming from the place of panic rather than coming from the place of passion, which is where Orpheus lives.
That is a throughline of your post-pandemic roles—textually neurodivergent men.
I had to shake off some trauma coming into this one. It's ended up being the most healing thing that I've ever done. Hadestown released me from some of my trauma, from that past track. Getting to live with something that's about expansion and love and changing things for the better is so much healthier.
How do you experience synesthesia?
Sound, color, and shape. For me, sound processes in a hue and some sort of a shape. Everything has an angle or a curve to it. There's actually a moment in the first "Chant," where Orpheus is trying to figure it out. And I'm, quite literally, trying to discover the shape of the "Epic" in space. I get to lean into what's actually happening for me, and trace what I'm seeing in the air to build this experience. It's so cool to show people what I see.
Hadestown's signature color is red, so that is the color scheme for your shoot today, but what colors do you see when you're performing "Epic III"?
It's gold. It's a very foundational gold, that comes right from the earth. The show is all metals, it's earthy, and it ultimately becomes very bright in this song. It maintains a real gleaming brightness. The show is almost gunmetal or tungsten. It never really leans red for me, interestingly enough.
When the "La's" appear, oh, it's so special. When everybody finds their spot in the harmony, everything about that moment, from the lighting to the staging to what's happening onstage with Hades and Persephone and the flower, everything about that moment is the most honest depiction of musical theatre that I have gotten to experience. It just glows.
That moment, when Hades lets go of his burdens and embraces the buoyant freedom of Orpheus's world, always brings tears to my eyes.
Can I nerd out?! Hades really is the most compassionate person in all of Greek mythology. The dude was handed shit, and handled it with as much grace as possible, and he found himself in this kid. And he gave Orpheus the chance that he never, ever, ever had. Hades can't really leave Hadestown...Kronos gave the oldest son the hardest gig. And that's real. That's culturally tangible for a lot of people...There's something really special about the visceral connection that Phillip Boykin and I share. He's such a gift to work with, and he allows for the payoff of that connection there to be so great at the end.
It is not closure for where Hades is, but it is a discovery, of seeing himself in the mirror. "You didn't know how, you didn't know why. But you knew that you wanted to take her home." It's so easy for Orpheus to be that honest, and you see Hades discover that this has been his journey as well. And there is a road less traveled for Orpheus and Eurydice, and that one might be the better one. Even though we don't necessarily get the happiest ending, to see that growth between this kid and a God is so powerful, and so hefty. Hades is literally altered, he is fully shifted by this kid who just wants good.
It's so healing to me, which is why I picked this song today. Historically, my favorite song in context to perform is "If It's True," but the storytelling in the "Epic" series is exactly what I want to do as an actor. It's a full meal.
Jordan Fisher and Solea Pfeiffer in Hadestown
Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
Solea Pfeiffer and Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
Jordan Fisher and company of Hadestown
Jordan Fisher and company of Hadestown
Jordan Fisher and company of Hadestown
Solea Pfeiffer and Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
Solea Pfeiffer and Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
Solea Pfeiffer and Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
