Anaïs Mitchell’s ‘Hadestown’ Wins Eight Tony Awards Including Best New Musical

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Broadway musical Hadestown, written by Middlebury alumna Anaïs Mitchell ’04, took home eight Tony Awards, including Best New Musical, during the 73rd ceremony held at Radio City Music Hall on June 9.

“It’s been a really, really long road with this show, so I share this with so many people,” said Mitchell in her acceptance of the Best Score award. She thanked her husband, Noah, and 5-year-old daughter, Ramona, before offering three bits of wisdom she had learned from creating a musical—which, she said, also apply to making change in the world: “No one does it alone. It takes a long time. It’s worth it.”

Hadestown beat out four other shows for Best Musical, including Ain’t Too Proud, Beetlejuice, The Prom, and Tootsie. Mitchell’s show also took the awards for director, featured actor, orchestrations, scenic design, sound design, and lighting design.

Anaïs Mitchell ’04 discusses the creative process of bringing Hadestown to Broadway.

Mitchell, a member of the Class of 2004, started developing her retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice story in 2006 in what she has referred to as “DIY community theater.” In 2007, Mitchell and her collaborators toured the show in six performances around Vermont.

Over the years, the show continued to grow and evolve, eventually moving to the New York Theater Workshop for an off-Broadway run under the direction of Rachel Chavkin. The show was developed further with runs in Edmonton, Canada, and at the National Theatre in London before eventually opening on Broadway in April 2019.

Read more about the evolution of Hadestown in the feature “Hell Yes!” in Middlebury Magazine.