Princeton theatrical producer’s ‘Hadestown’ wins big at Tony Awards

“Hadestown” won eight awards at the 2019 Tony Awards on Sunday night, including the top honor of best musical.

Princeton resident Mara Isaacs, a lead producer for the musical, accepted the evening’s top award at the ceremony at Radio City Musical Hall in New York after the nominees were introduced by hosts Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban.

Isaacs is the founder of Octopus Theatricals. She has worked on more than one hundred productions that have been seen on Broadway, including “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” has been a visiting lecturer at the Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts, and has served as a producing director at McCarter Theater Center.

“Hadestown” is the first Broadway musical to feature a book, music and lyrics by a sole female writer in more than 40 years. The musical was developed by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell as a concept album that was spun out of a Vermont regional theater production. Following productions in Canada and London, “Hadestown” premiered on Broadway in March. The musical is a folk-operatic retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth.

Isaacs said that the people behind the musical had a vision for how the world could be. “If ‘Hadestown’ stands for anything, it is that change is possible,” she said. “in dark times, spring will come again.”