Claire DeJean, Emilie Kouatchou, and Denver Milord (Photo by Julieta Cervantes)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Hollywood Pantages
Through Jan. 2
Sometimes, the torrential hype surrounding a Broadway show swamps expectations.
Such may well be the case with Stereophonic, given how many people departed the Pantages at intermission the night I attended (a lot). Yet, the show has been touted as the most Tony-nominated show in Broadway history — some 13 nominations in all, with five Tonys awarded in the 2024 season, including one for Best Play.
While groundbreaking on many levels, the show is disappointing in more. Of course, the fact that the original cast has been replaced may account, at least partially, for the disconnect between high hopes and actuality. But never having seen the New York production, I found the Pantages performers, who commandingly play their own instruments, more than adequate and often inspired. Also striking are David Zinn’s scenic design and Ryan Rumery’s sound, both Tony winners. Particularly outstanding are the Tony-nominated original songs by Will Butler of Arcade Fire fame, which fuel the show’s percussive style. (As an aside, the closed caption screen, a welcome addition, elucidates lyrics that might otherwise be drowned out.)
However, even though it’s reportedly been trimmed for the tour, the production seems unnecessarily long. Daniel Aukin’s Tony-winning direction relies too heavily on pregnant pauses that may contribute to the fly-on-the-wall ambience but otherwise strain our patience, as does the desultory chatter of David Adjmi’s book.
Set in a 1970s recording studio, the story recounts a year in the life of a rock group that is about to launch into the heady stratosphere of worldwide fame, with all the contingent pressures, both creative and personal. The group, which remains curiously unnamed, is such a dead ringer for Fleetwood Mac that a copyright infringement case, later settled, ensued.
Peter (Denver Milord), the Lindsey Buckingham-esque leader of group, is a control freak who exercises a Svengali-like influence on his bandmate and longtime lover Diana (Claire DeJean), a soon-to-be breakout star, a la Stevie Nicks, who is about to wrench free of his pernicious perfectionism. Others in the group include bassist Reg (Christopher Mowod), a drugged-out luftmensch whose marriage to keyboardist Holly (Emilie Kouatchou) is imploding. Drummer Simon (Cornelius McMoyler), the band’s sage manager and mediator, is also facing the devastating breakup of his marriage and the loss of his children. Then there’s ambitious engineer Grover (Jack Barrett), whose diplomatic skills are fraying under Peter’s temperamental abuse, while Grover’s spaced-out fellow engineer Charlie (Steven Lee Johnson) somehow drifts, unscathed, above the mayhem.
Emotions run high and drugs are rampant. But the show’s overriding question, namely, “What price fame?” is so familiar as to be generic, while the characters’ passionately scattered interactions put one in mind of a late-night party where everyone — except oneself —is stoned. That was the challenge to connecting with Stereophonic, which despite flashes of brilliance and innovation, overstays its welcome and devolves into trope.
Pantages Theater, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; check website for schedule; through Jan. 2. www.hollywoodpantages.com Running time: two hours and 55 minutes with an intermission.
