The play “Stereophonic” made historical past when it obtained 13 Tony nominations – essentially the most in historical past for a non-musical manufacturing.
The story, written by David Adjmi and scored by Will Butler, facilities on a band struggling to create an epic album whereas coping with rivalries and resentments that boil up when they’re trapped in a studio for a yr from 1976 to 1977.
Butler, a former member of the band Arcade Hearth, started collaborating with Adjmi in 2014, lengthy earlier than there was a forged, or the script was even finalized.
“My angle once I joined in was, ‘This’ll be a lark,'” stated Butler.
Discovering 5 actors who may convincingly turn into a band was one other problem. Solely Chris Stack, who performs drummer Simon, had prior band expertise. Sarah Pidgeon and Juliana Canfield, who play Diana and Holly, had by no means sung professionally.
Canfield believes that the group was all forged as a result of Butler and Adjmi thought they may act the components after which “kind of crossed their fingers” that they might be capable to work musically collectively.
The actors rehearsed for hours day by day. Some took classes. Tom Pecinka, who performs the lead guitarist, stated he had solely ever performed “rubbish guitar.”
“My palms shake on a regular basis. I imply, they do not shake anymore, however off-Broadway, they shook loads,” stated Pecinka.
“He made them cry enjoying the track that he performed in that audition,” added his castmate Eli Gelb. “So, shaky palms, trembling hearts.”
Gelb and Andrew R. Butler play the studio engineers making an attempt to maintain the peace and end the report. For the fictional band, the inventive course of turns to turmoil.
Will Brill, who performs bassist Reg, confronts each sobriety and divorce within the play. Brill stated his character’s journey paralleled his personal life in “fairly intense” methods. “That was a extremely enjoyable weekend with my therapist to determine,” he stated.
Regardless of similarities, the present’s creators insist the story is just not primarily based on Fleetwood Mac.
In “Stereophonic,” the group does not have a reputation. However the forged got here up with one themselves – which they will not reveal.