David Adjmi’s Stereophonic zooms in on a music studio in the mid-1970s, where an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. Will the ensuing pressures spark their breakup — or their breakthrough? Featuring original music by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, this intimate, electric play mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation.
Without exception the cast is appealing and utterly cohesive, directed by Daniel Aukin with his usual preternatural gift for tonal control. Like his jukebox heroes, Adjmi has worked on this play for a long time (almost a decade), and his devotion and insane attention to detail has yielded a dense and novelistic weave with the uncanny heft of observed life. I’ll be honest: I don’t remember every scene of this long, luxurious fly-on-the-wall beauty.
The actors clearly relish these splashy scenes, but they are more impressive in far quieter moments. Pidgeon and Canfield quickly establish a female refuge against all the testosterone raging around them. As the leader of the band, Pecinka projects a strong sense of male entitlement that masks a deep insecurity, because the two female characters played by Pidgeon and Canfield are the real creative force in this recording studio. The actors expertly perform original songs by Will Butler, who regurgitates the sound, if not the spirit, of Fleetwood Mac.
2023 | Off-Broadway |
Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Costume Design | Enver Chakartash |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Director | Daniel Aukin |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play | Eli Gelb |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Lighting Design | Jiyoun Chang |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Play | David Adjmi |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Scenic Design | David Zinn |
2024 | The Lortels | Outstanding Sound Design | Ryan Rumery |
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