PIRATE AT THE TONYS
ECU alum in Tony Award-winning best musical ‘Hadestown’
“Hadestown” is a modern reimagining of the Greek legend of Orpheus and his quest to Hades to rescue his beloved Eurydice. (Photo courtesy of “Hadestown” official website)
East Carolina University alumnus Malcolm Armwood has traveled a hellish path to Broadway. That is to say, moving to New York City and getting cast in shows did not happen as quickly as the eager actor had hoped, and that when it did, the show was set in actual hell.
The Rocky Mount native and 2012 theatre arts graduate’s first show on The Great White Way is “Hadestown,” a modern reimagining of the Greek legend of Orpheus and his quest to Hades to rescue his beloved Eurydice.
At 2019 Tony Awards on Sunday, “Hadestown” won eight prizes, including best musical.
Armwood and the “Hadestown” cast performed the song “Wait for Me” at the Tonys on the Radio City Music Hall stage, set as a dark yet beautiful underworld complete with huge swinging lamps.
“It was so surreal. Just to think about the times I used to watch the awards on TV with friends, and to finally to be on the stage at Radio City Music Hall was mind-blowing!” Armwood said.
Another ECU alumnus Howell Binkley was nominated for a Tony for his lighting design for “Ain’t Too Proud.” Binkley won a Tony Award in 2016 for his lighting design of the musical “Hamilton.”
Malcolm Armwood (Contributed photo)
In the regular “Hadestown” show at the Walter Kerr Theatre, Armwood plays a swing, or a standby for the ensemble members similar to an understudy. While he hasn’t been in a performance there yet, being part of the cast is a pinnacle moment in a career that “hasn’t been easy,” he said.
During his time at ECU, Armwood was in every musical the university put on. “From ‘Oklahoma’ to the ‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,’ he got to explore different genres of theater. He also credits one of his ECU professors, the late John Shearin, with giving him the tools for post-college success. During his last semester, Armwood auditioned to be an entertainer for a Norwegian cruise line and ended up performing on a ship in the Mediterranean for six months. It was a chance to see the world but also to save up for the big dream: moving to New York City.
“I’ve been here for six years. You have to have thick skin to live here. Rejection is a constant thing,” Armwood said. “You’ll get one yes out of 50 no’s. There have been times when I went months between gigs. But if you really, really, want this, you keep pushing.”
When Armwood finally got a “yes” for “Hadestown,” he felt like bursting into tears. “It was the It’s-Actually-Here-moment I’ve dreamed of for so long. For it to finally manifest was a really proud feeling,” he said.
The actor plans to stay with the production for the foreseeable future, and eventually get into TV and film. We might be seeing him at the Tony Awards again soon – or the Emmys.