For all the high-powered theatrical talent involved, this stage interpretation of Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed 2005 album “Illinois” could probably use a warning label. It’s extraordinary, it’s queer, it’s often thrilling, but regular New York theatergoers might need to adjust their expectations. The first adjustment — and a truly exasperating one — is that “Illinoise,” opening tonight at the Park Avenue Armory, has already sold out its entire run.

The show might also be mistakenly assumed to be a Broadway musical in all but venue (perhaps even a jukebox musical) given Stevens’ already popular score and the marquee names involved in adapting it for the stage: Directed and choreographed by Justin Peck, Tony winner for the recent Carousel revival (as well as choreographer of the films West Side Story and Maestro); it has a story by Peck and Pulitzer winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury (“Fairview”); and is performed by a cast that includes some of Broadway’s best (and best-known) dancers, such as Robbie Fairchild, the Tony-nominated star of “An American in Paris,” and Ricky Ubeda, who after gaining fame as the Season 11 winner of “So You Think You Can Dance” has since joined the cast of four Broadway shows.  There are also Broadway veterans among the designers and the 14-piece band.

But “Illinoise” is a dance theater piece, not a musical, and unconventional even as that. 

 The dozen cast members only dance; they neither talk nor sing. There is no spoken dialogue, and three vocalists, on a raised platform and wearing butterfly wings, do all the singing (accompanying themselves on guitar or keyboard as part of the band.) Stevens’ lyrics, which are often elliptical, don’t always decipherably correlate with the movement on stage.  The show rearranges the order of the songs that are in the album, and Drury and Peck do fashion a story, but it’s presented primarily through movement. Perhaps most unconventionally,  Drury’s only words during the show aren’t on stage but in the program, meant to simulate pages from the journal – complete with doodles — of a character named Henry.

Henry (danced by Ubeda) is the central figure of “Illinoise,” although that doesn’t kick in until the last half of the 100-minute piece.  He is the most reluctant of the hikers who gather around a campfire (lanterns substituting for a fire) to share the stories they have written in their journals about the people and places, history and hysteria of the state of Illinois.

Each story is announced on a huge billboard above the stage.

In “Jacksonville,” a tune that relies heavily on Christina Courtin’s violin,the three singers on the platform above sing:

I’m not afraid of the black man running
He’s got it right, he’s got a better life coming

while on the stage Byron Tittle and Rachel Lockhart vigorously tap dance

In Zombies, the vocalists sing

We are awakened with the axe
Night of the Living Dead at last
They have begun to shake the dirt
Wiping their shoulders from the Earth

while the ensemble wear zombie masks and name placards identifying themselves as Ronald Reagan, George Wallace, etc.

Alejandro Vargas, in a clown outfit, jabs other performers with his finger, knocking them down, an oddly sanitized if artful shorthand for the homicidal torture by amateur clown and serial killer John Wayne Gacy Jr., the subject of Stevens’ lilting almost-lullaby whose lyrics are among the most straightforward in the show —

Oh, the dead
Twenty-seven people
Even more, they were boys
With their cars, summer jobs —

although the song ends with a stunner

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floor boards
For the secrets I have hid

In “The Man of Metropolis,”Robbie Fairchild as Clark (of course) dons a Superman costume while the singers deliver a hard-charging:

Took my bags, Illinois
Dreamt the lake took my boy
Man of steel, man of heart
Turn your ear to my part

Then it’s Henry’s turn. Over some dozen songs, he relates a coming-of-age journey and a queer love story.

The journey starts in a small town and moves to the big city: “Chicago,” of course, the album’s most popular song: 
“I fell in love again
All things go
All things go
Drove to Chicago
All things know 
All things know…

There is near total overlap with the queer love story, involving Ben Cook as Carl, Henry’s small town friend and first love; Gaby Diaz as Shelby, Carl’s first love; and Ahmad Simmons as Douglas, Henry’s big city, mature love. If love suffuses the tale, it is as much about risk, adventure, loss and grief.  This overwhelming jumble of emotions is expressed through an impressive synthesis of classical, modern and street choreography, accompanying an eclectic and pleasing mix of orchestral music, jazz, electronica, indie folk-rock – and sounds in-between.

At several moments, the ensemble gather around armed with glowing round drones, one of the many effective uses of lighting in the performance. But the light is not all that glows.

Illinoise
Park Avenue Armory through March 26
Running time: About 100 minutes with no intermission
Ticket prices: $45-$195
It’s officially sold out. “A limited number of tickets may be released to the in-person standby line starting 1 hour prior to each performance.”
Music and Lyrics by Sufjan Stevens
(Based on the album Illinois)
Story Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury
Direction and Choreography Justin Peck
Music Direction and Supervision Nathan Koci
Music Arrangements and Orchestrations Timo Andres
Scenic Design Adam Rigg
Lighting Design Brandon Stirling Baker
Sound Design Garth MacAleavey
Costume Design Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung
Props Design Andrew Diaz
Masks Julian Crouch
Cast: Kara Chan as Star, player, Ben Cook as Carl, player, Jeanette Delgado as Jo Daviess, player, dance captain, Gaby Diaz  as Shelby, player, Robbie Fairchild as Clark, player, Christine Flores ass Anâkwa, player, Rachel Lockhart  as Morgan, player, Craig Salstein as I-94 East Bound, player, dance captain, Ahmad Simmons as Douglas, player, Byron Tittle as Estrella, tap dancer, player, Ricky Ubeda as Henry
Alejandro Vargas  asWayne, player 
Vocalists: Elijah Lyons vocalist, keyboard, Shara Nova vocalist, electric guitar, Tasha Viets-VanLear vocalist, electric guitar 
Band: Nathan Koci conductor, keyboard, banjo, vocals
Sean Peter Forte associate music director, piano, accordion, vocals 
Christina Courtin violin, viola, percussion, vocals
Domenica Fossati flute, percussion, vocals Daniel Freedman drums, vocals 
Kathy Halvorson oboe, percussion, vocals Eleonore Oppenheim acoustic bass, electric bass, vocals
Brett Parnell electric guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, percussion, vocals 
Brandon Ridenour trumpet, vocals Kyra Sims horn, vocals
Jessica Tsang vibraphone, bass drum, percussion, vocals 

Photos by Stephanie Berger