Sure, the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown has been a hit ever since it opened in 2019. But Rebecca Naomi Jones, who just took over the role of Persephone earlier this month, has already received the ultimate praise. “I’ve had audience members who are die-hard fans tell me that I’m the most unhinged [actress] in the role,” she says with a laugh. “That’s a compliment!”
Indeed, the performer—who’s appeared in the likes of Stereophonic, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (watch her Broadway.com vlog), American Idiot, Passing Strange and was the first woman of color to play Laurey in Oklahoma! on Broadway—gets to show her vivacious and rebellious side at the Walter Kerr Theatre. As the Goddess of Spring, that’s Persephone living it up above ground for six months out of the year. And back in the underworld, she struggles with what’s going on in the dark surroundings and in her marriage to ruler Hades (Tony winner Paolo Szot). “She’s trying to figure out a better way,” says Jones, who will be with the show through December 14. Before her nightly descent into hell, she talked to Broadway.com
Do you feel like you’ve hit your stride in the role yet?
More so than any other show I’ve ever done, I’m so wildly prepared. I’m normally so, so scared up to the first performance. Of course, I had normal nerves, but this is different. I think it’s just the nature of being a part of something that’s been running for so long and is so successful. The team that puts in the new actors really knows the process well. So I do feel like I’ve already hit a stride, which is kind of mind-blowing.
How and why did you get involved with the show? Were you already a fan?
I got a text from Daniel Breaker, who was playing Hermes until very recently. He and I did Passing Strange together at the Public Theater and then on Broadway. It was my first Broadway show, and we stayed in touch. Over the summer, he asked me, “Hey, have you ever been in for Hadestown?” I hadn’t even seen it, which is insane, I know. Daniel said, “Well, you should come see it. And if you’re interested, I think you really should play this part.” It was funny, because I had heard for years that I should be in that show either as Eurydice or as Persephone. So, I saw the show and soon got the offer. I’m so glad it all happened.
You’re performing alongside Paolo Szot. How did you establish that husband and wife bond?
I’d never met Paolo—and we actually didn’t meet for the first two weeks of our month-long rehearsal process because he had an engagement out of the country. And then he and I met at our fancy cast photo shoot, and we rehearsed for a couple weeks together. We just have wonderful chemistry. We really, really, really love each other. He’s fantastic, and his voice is so powerful.
What do you love about playing Persephone?
My favorite thing that I love about her is the dichotomy. She continues to keep hold of the beauty and the positivity and the joy of the natural world, while still holding the reality of the darkness that surrounds us. We can hold both ideas at once. I find that to be something I can very easily access in our times.
“Die-hard fans have told me I’m the most unhinged Persephone. That’s a compliment!” —Rebecca Naomi Jones
Do you share a similar attitude?
Absolutely. I feel like I’ve been a good girl for, like, my whole life. I always had a great relationship with my parents, and I’ve been a rule follower almost to a fault. But there has always been a rebellious side of me that comes out when I allow it, and that is something happening at this stage in my life. So, I’m really able to unleash her to an extra degree.
What’s your regular show highlight?
I like the Act 2 opener, “Our Lady of the Underground.” That song is such an interesting combination of things. In some ways, it feels like a cabaret act. But it’s also mixed with this intense darkness of her suddenly being sucked into a tragedy that she doesn’t want to be sucked into, and realizing that she’s complicit. And on top of that, she’s drunk and trying to cope with it all. So it’s fun, it’s irreverent, it’s wild and it’s sad.
You’ve performed in Broadway shows with a wide array of musical styles. Is Hadestown in your wheelhouse?
It is! My dad was a singer and piano player and was a music director of an oldies Doo Wop group. That’s why I’m definitely influenced by a lot of Doo Wop and girl groups. And my mom grew up in the young end of the hippie generation. So, I was also influenced by a lot of folk rock. Hadestown really feels like a match because its music falls somewhere between those styles. And it allows me to dig in to some low areas of my voice.
You also sing the melancholic closing number, “We Raise Our Cups.” How do you strike the right tone for that?
I love that song so much. It is very melancholic. But it’s also a song that you sing at a celebration of life for someone who’s no longer with us, you know? I think, Gosh, I think there are so many lost souls in this world right now. And I don’t mean that in a religious way. I just mean there are so many people that we can feel heartbroken about because of all the hunger and the wars and the imprisonments. I think of that song as an opportunity to just honor those people.
You’re emotional right now just talking about it. Do you channel those emotions on stage, too?
I’ve actually had to work hard during that song to not cry through it. I don’t think that’s helpful. The lyrics to that song are beautiful, and so I do want that moment to feel like we’re all on the same team when we leave the theater. Our task is to have hope and care and community. It’s just easy to feel hopeless and helpless. And I don’t think that gets us anywhere. We have to just keep trying and showing up for each other and for ourselves.
