Lillias White to star as Hermes in 'Hadestown' on Broadway

She steps into the role beginning September 13.

Gillian Russo
Gillian Russo

Wait for her, she's comin'! Tony Award winner Lillias White joins the cast of Hadestown on Broadway as Hermes, making her the first female actor in the role. She begins performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre on September 13.

White has had a four-decade career on Broadway since making her debut in Barnum in 1981. She won a Tony Award for her performance in The Life in 1997, and got another nomination for Fela! in 2010. Her other notable Broadway credits include Dreamgirls as Effie, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying as Miss Jones, Once on This Island as Asaka, and Chicago as Matron "Mama" Morton. Earlier in 2022, she appeared in the world premiere of the musical Black No More off Broadway.

She now takes on the role of Hermes from T. Oliver Reid, who in turn followed Tony Award-winning original cast member André De Shields. In the Hadestown musical, Hermes is a messenger god who guides the musician Orpheus on his journey to the underworld to rescue his love, Eurydice. The show reimagines Greek myths with folk and jazz music.

The musical won eight Tony Awards in 2019, including Best Musical, and its cast album received a Grammy Award.

Get Hadestown tickets now.

Photo credit: James Alexander of Sneakpeek Photography

Originally published on

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