Ani DiFranco Performs Song from “Hadestown ”Before Making Broadway Debut in Tony-Winning Musical (Exclusive)
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The prolific singer-songwriter will join the production on Feb. 9, and PEOPLE has an exclusive sneak peek at what's to come
Ani DiFranco is giving viewers a taste of the underground.
The prolific folk singer-songwriter and Grammy winner will make her Broadway debut next month in the acclaimed musical Hadestown. And to celebrate, she and fellow Grammy victor Anaïs Mitchell — who composed the production's Tony-winning score — have united for a special acoustic performance of "Our Lady of the Underground."
PEOPLE can exclusively debut the video for the dazzling duet, which marks the first time DiFranco and Mitchell have sang it together.
It's a song that's familiar to DiFranco, though. Not only is it one of the tunes sung by the character, Persephone, she'll be playing onstage, but it's also a song DiFranco has sung before.
She originated the role of Persephone back in 2010, on the Hadestown studio album that Mitchell recorded to sell the concept of the show. DiFranco, a longtime friend of Mitchell's, even footed the bill and produced the LP, before releasing it on her own label, Righteous Babe Records.
Now DiFranco will come full-circle, stepping into the shaky shoes of Persephone at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City beginning Feb. 9.
“I could not be more thrilled to be joining the cast of Hadestown," DiFranco, 53, said in a statement back in November, when her casting was announced. "It’s like I get to rewind to my New York youth and follow the road not taken."
Added Mitchell, 42: "I can’t really overstate the influence of Ani’s music and example on me as a young songwriter. Poetic, bold, radically emotive, and fun, she simply has been a mythic figure in my life, and I can’t think of anything more beautifully full circle than Ani playing the role of Persephone on Broadway. Grateful and awestruck."
Hadestown musicalizes the Greek mythological tales of both Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone. Their stories are told by Hermes, who narrates the folk and jazz-infused musical as a harrowing tale of the consequences of gods and mortals
In 2019, the show took home eight Tony awards, including best musical, best direction (Rachel Chavkin), best orchestrations (Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose), best scenic design (Rachel Hauck), best lighting design (Bradley King) and best sound design (Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz).
Actor André De Shields, who played Hermes, took home the award for best featured actor in a musical. That role is currently played by Tony winner Lillias White, who has a history of narrating Greek myths as the lead voice of the muses in Disney's 1997 animated classic Hercules.
Other stars in the current cast are Jordan Fisher as Orpheus, Phillip Boykin as Hades, and Solea Pfeiffer as Eurydice. They are joined by Lindsey Hailes, Belén Moyano and Brit West as the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Emily Afton, Malcolm Armwood, Chibueze Ihumoa, Alex Puette and Grace Yoo. The cast also includes swings Sojourner Brown, Brandon Cameron, Tara Jackson, Max Kumangai, Alex Lugo and Tanner Ray Wilson.
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DiFranco has released more than 20 albums over the course of her three-decade career, becoming one of the most celebrated folk rock singers of our time.
In May 2019, nearly a month after Hadestown opened on Broadway, DiFranco had success of her own, releasing her memoir, No Walls and the Recurring Dream. It made The New York Times Best Seller list.
Tickets for Hadestown are now on sale.
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