Anaïs Mitchell: 2019 Pre-Broadway interview on Hadestown, Lamb Rearing, and Untangling Third Wave Feminism (REISSUE), ep. 312

·51 min·5 clips

Anaïs Mitchell discusses Hadestown before its Broadway debut and unpacks her childhood on a Vermont sheep farm.

The episode is a reissue of a 2019 interview recorded before Anaïs Mitchell's musical Hadestown opened on Broadway. Host Cindy Howes introduces the episode, noting it was originally published in January 2019, pre-pandemic, and includes discussions on feminism. Anaïs begins by talking about her childhood on a sheep farm in Vermont, detailing her parents' move there as part of the hippie 'back-to-the-land' movement after seeing an ad in the Whole Earth Catalog. She describes her mother's work with pregnant teenagers and later as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services under Howard Dean. Anaïs recalls her early music exposure, including violin lessons and folk songs from her Quaker mother. The conversation shifts to feminism, with Anaïs and Cindy reading Wikipedia definitions of third-wave and fourth-wave feminism, reflecting on 90s female musicians like Ani DiFranco and Bjork. Anaïs discusses her collaborative loyalty, sharing how she found visual artist Peter Nevins for Hadestown after seeing his Gillian Welch poster, and how his illustration inspired the song 'Flowers'. She explains the origins of Hadestown, starting as a folk opera during a Vermont winter, funded by a small grant. The interview touches on Hadestown's viral moment in 2016 with 'Why We Build the Wall', which resonated with Trump's campaign promise, though Anaïs notes she wrote it in 2006 about climate change and migration. She reveals the character Orpheus has been the hardest to write due to his idealism. Anaïs shares personal stories, including meeting her husband Noah in college and his proposal to have a baby on September 11th, 2001. She credits Club Passim in Boston for early career development, thanks to manager Matt Smith. The episode ends with Anaïs performing a clip from 'Why We Build the Wall' and closing remarks from the host.

As heard by us

A reflective pre-Broadway Anais Mitchell interview about Hadestown, feminist labels, and the pressures around music theater.

This 2019 conversation with Anais Mitchell meets Hadestown just before Broadway and uses that moment to open up a broader discussion about feminist labels, authorship, and the habit of defining artists by gender before craft.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if pre-Broadway Hadestown, sheep-farm side paths, and the complicated business of being called a feminist can share one thoughtful room.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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