Stereophonic, winner of the 2024 Tony Award for Best Play and celebrated as "the most Tony-nominated play" in the history of the awards has arrived at the Seattle Paramount Theatre for the first stop on its national tour. The play, written by David Adjmi and directed by Daniel Aukin (who won the Best Direction of a Play Tony Award for this piece), examines the interpersonal and creative dynamics of a newly successful 1970s rock band as the group navigates the process of creating and producing their second album. Stereophonic explores the creative highs and personal lows of the band members and sound engineers. While it is not a musical, per se, it does include new music by Will Butler (formerly of the indie band Arcade Fire) that is performed by the cast throughout the show. The music doesn't propel the storyline, so much as it indicates the album's progression.

This is truly an ensemble piece. Each actor brilliantly displays restraint and complexity, and each character embodies the instrument they play. Diana (Claire DeJean) is the lead vocalist who yearns to grow and learn. Peter (Denver Milord) is the lead guitarist, never satisfied and threatened by others' talents and successes; his unattainable "standards" will potentially propel the album to success or tear the group apart in the process. Holly (Emilie Kouatchou) plays the keyboards and sings backup. Her husband Reg (Christopher Mowod) is a virtuosic bassist crippled by alcohol and drug abuse. The group's drummer Simon (Cornelius McMoyler) is the group's founder and, like the drummer he is, tries to keep his group grounded, on tempo, and going forward despite his personal drama and the tension that develops in the band. The cast rounds out with Grover (Jack Barrett), the out-of-his-depth sound engineer, and his assistant Charlie (Steven Lee Johnson). Special shout out to Mr. Johnson, who has taken on a small comic role and is able to both disappear into the scene and steal it at the same time.

The musicality of the cast is impressive. They play and sing the songs, but it is the sound engineer that is the true center of the show. The functions of Simon as the sound engineer of the group, and that of the sound designer of the play itself (Ryan Rumery, winner of the 2024 Tony Award for sound design), blur throughout the show as the voices of the characters are overlapped to create almost spoken-word fugues, and in turn are separated and isolated from each other on the album. Some of the dialog is at times garbled or difficult to understand; part of that was due to multiple characters speaking at once, and part due to the quiet intensity of the words simply being too soft in volume. Speaking of volume, the music itself is quite loud. I heard some say they found it distracting, but I found that it emphasized and presented the music as the façade of collaboration that the public hears, as opposed to the verbal and emotional discord of the individual members.

Adding to the dynamics onstage are the set, lighting and costume designs (David Zinn, Jiyoun Chang and Enver Chakartash, respectively). The two-level sound booth and recording studio set is static and can feel open and spacious or claustrophobically close depending on the situation on stage. The lighting alone gives the impression of time of day and indicates scene changes to swift and dramatic effect. Watching the characters live in 1970s clothes feels authentic and never derivative or kitschy. It is the balance of all these aspects of stagecraft that afford the audience this unique "fly on the wall" experience to resonate so deeply.

If the story of a band's dramatic stardom and breakup in the 1970s sounds familiar ("Go Your Own Way," anyone), you're not alone. In the end, however, it is the experience the audience takes with them that is important. Stereophonic is a multilayered (or even multi-track) theatre experience that incorporates themes of the nature of music and art, love and loss, isolation and collaboration, and the price of fame and success. If you have the opportunity to see Stereophonic, take it.

Stereophonic runs through October 12, 2025, at The Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., Seattle WA. For tickets and information, please visit www.stgpresents.org/stg-venues/paramount-theatre/ or call 206-682-1414. For information on the tour, visit stereophonicplay.com/tour/