By Andre Paras
Video Editor
Instead of all the best moments of artists working behind the scenes, Playwright David Adjmi gives an unfiltered look behind closed doors to artists who aren’t playing for the cameras or to an audience. “Stereophonic” is the good, the bad and the ugly of a Fleetwood Mac-inspired group making a studio album together.
It’s a story that just about any artist can resonate with, through trials and tribulations, but also the joyous process of creating art with others. For a Broadway play, it also features a surprising amount of music, and brings music to the theater world like never before. It’s not a musical where songs drive the plot, but rather a play featuring music.
‘Stereophonic’ is set entirely in a recording studio with live vocals, instrumentals and musical engineering from the cast (Photo courtesy of IMDb).
The show takes place in Sausalito, California, between 1976 and 1977. As a lengthy, four-act, 3-hour and 10-minute show, “Stereophonic” lets you sink into its characters, their conversations, its music and the many errors that come with the recording process.
The show opens with a long scene of the band slowly arriving at the studio. It sets the tone for the show’s hectic environment, with separate conversations between the two musical engineers, Grover and Charlie, and the bandmates, Peter, Reg, Diana, Holly and Simon, occurring at the same time.
It’s revealed early on that Grover lied about engineering for legendary rock band The Eagles — the reason he secured this job in the first place. Between this, the bandmates’ close physical contact with each other and all the drugs they’ve taken, I could see the disaster this recording crew was about to go through.
I didn’t realize it until I was sitting and watching the show, but “Stereophonic” felt a lot more like a comedy than a drama. Sure, it definitely has its well deserved climactic and serious moments, but the jokes and funny drug-infused conversations really served as a great introduction to the characters. It helps that the chemistry between all the cast members was prevalent.
The audience applauds the “Stereophonic” cast for the Dec. 23 matinee at the John Golden Theatre (Photo by Andre Paras).
Grover is played by Eli Gelb, who delivers a great fearful but comedic performance as an inexperienced engineer making it all up as he goes along. His mannerisms, raunchiness and, at times, immature dialogue reminded me a lot of actor and comedian Jonah Hill.
Reg is the bassist, played by Will Brill. He’s the production’s Tony-award-winning actor for Featured Actor in a Play. He gives a convincing nasally, drunken and goofy performance for the fragile man that is Reg.
To my surprise though, understudy Lily Ganser, who played Diana at the Dec. 23 matinee, really shined. There’s a pivotal scene in the show that follows her character trying over and over to hit a high note for the song “East of Eden.” Here, she got to flex her vocal range, but also how natural she made messing up seem in the process.
I loved her performance with Rebecca Naomi Jones, who plays Holly, and how both of them develop throughout the play. They stand up for themselves and against the toxic relationships of the men they’re with in the band.
There’s so much talent and technical feats within this production. I was so impressed with the fact that each showtime, these actors have to deliver a one-of-a-kind acting performance while focusing on hitting their notes vocally or instrumentally when playing songs in the studio. The instruments and vocals are even recorded during every show. These recordings are played back during the show for the characters to go over, and to further immerse the audience into its studio environment.
The songs themselves, written by Will Butler, former member of indie-rock group Arcade Fire, provide a refreshing take on their 70s-inspired sound. They’re perfectly intricate, crunchy and catchy enough that the soundtrack album can hold well on its own without the context of the show.
After seeing the cast’s performance of “Masquerade” at the 2024 Tonys, I was quickly lulled in — and it’s become one of my favorites of the year as a result. Hearing it live was an electric rush, and one of the coolest moments of my year; the same kind of euphoria you get hearing one of your favorite artists live instead attached to a great story and magical Broadway theatrics.
As a result of all of this, “Stereophonic” has been recognized as arguably Broadway’s biggest hit of 2024. It’s the most Tony-nominated play of all time with 13 nods. The show also took home five awards, including Best Play, making it 2024’s most Tony-winning show.
With critical acclaim and high demand, the show’s been extended numerous times for a total of five months, and closed on Jan. 12.
