The cast of “Hadestown” performs at the 73rd annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday, June 9, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Vermont singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s musical “Hadestown” began two decades ago as what she calls a “do-it-yoursel f community theater project” before begetting a concept album, a touring concert, theater workshops and a Tony Award-winning Broadway show. Now the modern take on ancient myths is coming home — this time as a film the New York Times calls “lots of fun.”  The “Greek tragedy as a tale of hope” (Los Angeles Times) and its “piping-hot gumbo of folk, jazz, blues, country and gospel” (Wall Street Journal) is set for a five-night run starting Friday in Brattleboro, Burlington, Essex Junction, Montpelier, Williston and hundreds of other cinemas across North America. “To see it on the big screen was, like, literally larger than life,” Mitchell told Broadway World in a recent interview. Growing up on New Haven’s Treleven farm, the musician, now 45, listened to parents Don and Cheryl Mitchell spin records from such artists as Bob Dylan and Steely Dan while sharing D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths. Moving on to Middlebury College, Mitchell self-produced her first album before graduating as a political science major in 2004. Soon after, she was questioning the reelection of then-President George W. Bush when she felt the first stirrings of “Hadestown” and its Greek chorus of Orpheus, Eurydice, Hades and Persephone transposed to a morality play in Depression-era New Orleans. Anais Mitchell poses in the press room with the award for best original score for “Hadestown” at the 73rd annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 9, 2019, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Receiving seed money from the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Community Foundation, Mitchell debuted her song cycle with a local cast and crew in a 2006 shoestring show at Barre’s Old Labor Hall. That led to performances throughout the state, a 2010 concept album and more presentations across the country. She then met avant-garde director Rachel Chavkin, who helped expand the show for runs at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2016; the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2017; London’s Royal National Theatre in 2018; and Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre in 2019. The show went on to win eight Tony Awards, including for best musical and original score. Seven years later, it’s still a Broadway hit, with its most recent box office grosses approaching $1 million a week. “The only Broadway show I’ve ever attended was the opening night of ‘Hadestown,’” proud father Don Mitchell said in an interview. “We’re not exactly stage parents.” Then again, he will tell you “Hadestown” is about to hit the top 30 list of longest-running Broadway shows. The original cast filmed the movie a year ago while performing in London. The result is set to play Friday through Tuesday at Brattleboro’s Latchis Theatre, Burlington’s Partizanfilm, Essex Cinemas, Montpelier’s Capitol and Savoy theaters and Williston’s Majestic 10. (A special Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival showing in August is sold out.) “I’ve seen it in so many different reiterations over the years,” Don Mitchell said in anticipation of the latest version. “I hope this will extend its availability to an even wider audience.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont-born Broadway musical ‘Hadestown’ returns home — as a movie. ...read more read less