I’m not particularly a fan of lengthy plays. Especially lengthy plays more dependent on characterization and milieu than plot. So I was primed to dislike the new effort from David Adjmi (Stunning, 3C, Elective Affinities), which takes three-plus hours to depict the artistic and emotional struggles of a ’70s-era rock band bearing more than a close similarity to Fleetwood Mac. My expectations were upended, however, as Stereophonic, receiving its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons, turned out to be an arresting theatrical and musical experience. It feels contradictory but accurate to say that the play could easily be whittled down without sacrificing much of its impact, and yet it feels perfect just as it is.
To say that the production pays close attention to detail is an understatement. The first thing that strikes you is David Zinn’s gorgeous scenic design of a California music studio, so accurately depicted that you can imagine local bands popping in to record their new singles. Enver Chakartash’s costumes, both flattering and not, seem so redolent of the era that you can picture them on album covers. And the songs are so infectiously tuneful that it’s a shame that the cast album isn’t on sale in the lobby.
The last aspect is not surprising since they were composed by Will Butler, a former member of the acclaimed band Arcade Fire and an Oscar nominee for his score for Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her. Butler’s compositions not only ape the music of the period perfectly, with the songs feeling like Fleetwood Mac outtakes and B-sides, they’re also strong enough in their own right to make it fully credible that the fictional band hits the top of the charts.
Set at various times over the course of a year, the play concerns the band’s attempts to cut new music, assisted by Grover (Eli Gelb), a sound engineer who’s lied about his credentials to get the job, and his sad-sack assistant Charlie (Andrew R. Butler). The musicians are bass player Reg (Will Brill), keyboardist-vocalist Holly (Juliana Canfield), drummer Simon (Chris Stack)—all Brits—and guitarist-vocalist Peter (Tom Pecinka) and vocalist-tambourine player Diana (Sarah Pidgeon), both Americans.
In between the band’s efforts to lay down tracks, the members engage in spirited banter and even more spirited arguments over both personal and professional matters. The former includes romantic relationships among the various musicians and struggles with addictions to drugs and alcohol (one character brings in a giant baggie filled with cocaine), while the latter involves conflicts over such things as the lengths and arrangements of songs, the sound engineering, and Peter’s control issues.
While the soap opera personal dynamics prove reasonably engrossing (you can easily spot the Fleetwood Mac parallels), what makes Stereophonic truly compelling is its realistic portrayal of the creative process as the band struggles to refine its musical voice. One of the best scenes revolves around the barely discernible rattle of a snare drum that causes a heated argument ending with Simon storming out of the studio.
Even the seemingly trivial chatter proves interesting, including discussions of the eroticism of the Nicolas Roeg film Don’t Look Now and the relative sexiness of Marlon Brando and Donald Sutherland. The interactions among the seven characters feel entirely realistic and natural, but are obviously carefully designed. In the script, Adjmi delivers precise instructions as to how the dialogue should be delivered, announcing “Nothing is arbitrary.”
Under the meticulous direction of Daniel Aukin, the terrific ensemble delivers the sort of lived-in performances that prove fully convincing, with many of them displaying impressive musical and vocal chops as well.
The lengthy evening will no doubt test the patience of many theatergoers who will have trouble succumbing to its seeming aimlessness and slow pacing. But if you adjust to its distinctive rhythms, Stereophonic delivers an amply rewarding portrait of how musical sausage is made.
Stereophonic opened Oct. 29, 2023, at Playwrights Horizons and runs through December 17. Tickets and information: playwrightshorizons.org
