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Stories   >   INK19 covers 'Stereophonic'

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INK19 covers 'Stereophonic'

Posted: June 3, 2024

Stereophonic, David Adjmi’s play about a band about to make it big in 1976, debuted April 19 on Broadway, featuring all-new songs written by Will Butler (Arcade Fire). Since then, the play itself has blown up, rivaling that other famous play, Hamilton, in its ubiquitous media presence. It’s easy to see why this play was nominated for 13 Tony Awards after listening to the original cast recording.

Accomplished musicians in their own right, the Broadway cast — Will Brill (Reg), Andrew R. Butler (Charlie), Juliana Canfield (Holly), Eli Gelb (Grover), Tom Pecinka (Peter), Sarah Pidgeon (Diana), and Chris Stack (Simon) — are incredibly believable as 1970-era almost-superstars. In-between-track band banter about The Exorcist II and whether “we still got it” adds authenticity and weight to the recording. Butler’s songs, written to seem as if spawned from the dregs of the late ’60s, are a magnificent tour de force, especially as the artist missed the ’70s by 12 years.

Stereophonic is playing through August 19 at Broadway’s Golden Theatre. The album is streaming everywhere, and CDs ship June 14. Preorder now from Broadway Merchandise Shop.

Stereophonic
Playwrights Horizons
Original songs by Will Butler
 

From PR…..Now with a record-breaking 13 Tony Award nominations including “Best Play,” Sony Masterworks Broadway, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Seaview, Sonia Friedman Productions, Linden Productions, and Ashley Melone & Nick Mills release the Original Cast Recording of Stereophonic, the season’s most critically acclaimed new play on Broadway. To celebrate being the most Tony-nominated play ever, the cast of Stereophonic performed “Masquerade” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Produced by Playwrights Horizons, the album features original songs by Academy Award® nominee and Grammy Award® winner Will Butler, formerly of Arcade Fire. The digital album arrives this Friday, May 10, 2024 with the physical CD release set for June 14, and available for preorder now.  

Direct from its smash hit world premiere engagement at Playwrights Horizons, David Adjmi’s Stereophonic is directed by Daniel Aukin. The show dominated the “Best Theater of 2023” lists, with top rankings in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Washington Post, Time Out New York, Town & Country, TheaterMania, Theaterly, and The Spectator. With an official opening night on Friday, April 19, Stereophonic is now in performances through August 19 at Broadway’s Golden Theatre (252 W. 45th Street).  

The cast, reprising their highly lauded performances, includes Will Brill as Reg, Andrew R. Butler as Charlie, Juliana Canfield as Holly, Eli Gelb as Grover, Tom Pecinka as Peter, Sarah Pidgeon as Diana, and Chris Stack as Simon.

Stereophonic mines the agony and the ecstasy of creation as it zooms in on a music studio in 1976. Here, an up-and-coming rock band recording a new album finds itself suddenly on the cusp of superstardom. The ensuing pressures could spark their breakup — or their breakthrough. In Stereophonic, Adjmi invites the audience to immerse themselves—with fly-on-the-wall intimacy—in the powder keg process of a band on the brink of blowing up.

In his Critic’s Pick review, Jesse Green of The New York Times exclaimed, “The play, Adjmi’s best so far, is as rich and lustrous as they come. You could even call it platinum,” while praising Aukin’s “relentlessly compelling production.” Jackson McHenry of New York Magazine enthused, “If you’ve recently tried to sate yourself with imitation-crab rock-history dramatizations, you’ll find that Stereophonic is, refreshingly, the real thing.” And David Cote of The Observer, lauded Stereophonic “an instant classic.”

The Stereophonic creative team includes David Zinn (scenic designer), Enver Chakartash (costume designer), Jiyoun Chang (lighting designer), Ryan Rumery (sound designer), Robert Pickens & Katie Gell (hair and wig design), Justin Craig (music director), and Gigi Buffington (voice, text, and dialect coach). Casting is by Alaine Alldaffer and Taylor Williams, CSA. Production stage manager is Erin Gioia Albrecht and Andie Burns serves as assistant stage manager.

Stereophonic is produced on Broadway by Sue Wagner, John Johnson, Seaview, Sonia Friedman Productions, Linden Productions, and Ashley Melone & Nick Mills.
 

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