John-Michael Lyles to Play Orpheus in Hadestown on Broadway

The producers of Hadestown at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theatre have announced that John-Michael Lyles will take over the role of Orpheus beginning June 16.

Joshua Colley, who is currently in the role, will play his final performance on May 31. Current company members Jeffrey Cornelius and Brandon Cameron will perform the role of Orpheus for the weeks of June 2 and June 9, respectively.

Lyles won an Obie Award in 2020, along with the off-Broadway company of Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop. He transferred with the production to Broadway in 2022. Lyles also appeared as Eli in 2024’s The Heart of Rock and Roll.

With a Tony-winning score by Anaïs Mitchell and Tony-winning direction by Rachel Chavkin, Hadestown resets the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in a soot-blackened underworld ruled over by a cruel industrialist named Hades.

Lyles will join current principal cast members Gary Dourdan as Hades, J. Harrison Ghee as Hermes, Gaby Moreno as Persephone, and Jordan Tyson as Eurydice. Jewelle Blackman, Jessie Shelton, and Kay Trinidadas play the Fates. The chorus of Workers is played by Malcolm Armwood, Sojourner Brown, Jeffrey Cornelius, Sydney Parra, and Alex Puette. The cast includes swings Brandon Cameron, KC Dela Cruz, Max Kumangai, and Alex Lugo.