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. Written by David Adjmi, directed by Daniel Aukin, and featuring original music by Arcade Fire's Will Butler, Stereophonic 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.
Director Daniel Aukin’s production is as exacting and truthful as the script itself. Sounds and voices overlap as mic channels are opened and closed; silences are underscored with boredom and exhaustion. In between the kit-tinkering and longueurs are moments of creative transcendence, including a late-night epiphany so electrifying that the sound waves will excite your internal organs. The cast, playing their own instruments, convince as an ensemble of longstanding and Lucy Karczewski, as Diana, has a voice that captivates even when it is exposed and cracking in a tense overdubbing session.
It has nothing to do with the Welsh band Stereophonics, though everything to do with typical rock band behaviour. Playwright David Adjmi hasn’t named the one we are watching, a band recording an album in 1976 that will make them megastars, as Rumours did for Fleetwood Mac, a band notoriously riven with breakdowns and divorces. But the internecine spats Adjmi’s group members engage in as the album’s gestation drags on, and six months become a year, are standard-issue for most gods of rock.
| 2023 | Off-Broadway |
Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
| 2024 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2025 | West End |
West End |
| 2025 | US Tour |
US Tour |
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