“Illinoise,” an exquisite stage interpretation of Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed 2005 album “Illinois,” is opening on Broadway today just six weeks after it opened at the Park Avenue Armory, and my reaction to it then counts as ironic now. I said that regular New York theatergoers might need to adjust their expectations, for two reasons: 1. It had already sold out its entire three-week run by the time my review was posted on opening night, and 2. It might be mistakenly assumed to be a Broadway musical in all but venue.
But now it is literally a Broadway musical, the producers having rushed to get it into the St. James Theater in time to qualify for Tony Awards in the 2022-2023 Broadway season, which officially ends tomorrow.
Still, I resurrect my review from last month, with a few adjustments and additions (including a new video; first Broadway bows; and a list of the musical numbers as performed on Broadway.) My observations generally hold, and there have been very few changes for the show’s sixteen-week Broadway run; how would they have had the time to change much? The official running time is ten minutes shorter than I remember it at the Armory. A few ensemble members and one principal cast member have been changed: Four-time Broadway veteran Brandt Martinez(Aladdin, Moulin Rouge), instead of Robbie Fairchild (An American in Paris ), is now the dancer donning the Superman costume in “The Man of Metropolis.” But most of the cast is intact (most of them making their Broadway debuts.) Even the ticket prices are the same (at least at the lower end) — and this time they’re available:
Illinoise” is extraordinary, it’s queer, it’s often thrilling. But it could probably use a warning label. This stage interpretation of Sufjan Stevens’ album “Illinois” could be mistakenly assumed to be a Broadway 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 dancers, such as 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 veterans of Broadway musicals among the designers and the band.
But “Illinoise” is not a conventional Broadway musical. It’s a dance theater piece, and unconventional even as that.
A dozen of the 15 people listed in the program as the cast members only dance; they neither talk nor sing. There is no spoken dialogue.
The other three are vocalists, on a raised platform and wearing butterfly wings, who do 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 a booklet inserted into the Playbill, meant to simulate pages from the personal 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 90-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.
The others then comfort him, as if to say: No, you’re not such a misfit; you’re not alone.
In “The Man of Metropolis,” Brandt Martinez as Clark 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…
(Here’s a video, with the song as the audio, prepared for the Armory run:
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
St. James Theater through August 10
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Ticket prices: $46 – $299. Digital lottery, digital rush, and in-person rush: $45
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 design Julian Crouch
Cast (in order of appearance): Shara Nova as Barsine, Tasha Viets-Vanlear as Nana, Elijah Lyons as Arciini, Ricky Ubeda as Henry, Ahman Simmons as Douglas, Christine Flores as Knox, Bryon Tittle as Cass, Kara Chan as Marion, Ben Cook as Carl, Gaby Diaz as Shelby, Rachel Lockhart as Morgan, Alejandro Vargas as Wayne, Jeanette Delgado as Jo Davis, Brandt Martinez as Clark, Craig Salstein as Boone.
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
Musical Numbers
Prologue (or, A Conjunction of Drones…)
ACT I
Three Stars (or, Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois)
The Long Hike
Come on! Feel the Illinoise!
a story about Jacksonville
a story about Zombies
a story about John Wayne Gary, Jr.
a story about The Man of Metropolis
ACT II
Decatur
Chicago
To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament
Cashier Pulaski Day
Prairie Fire That Wanders About
The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us!
In This Temple as in the Hears of Man for Whom He Saved the Earth
The Seer’s Tower
A Conjunction of Drones, again
ACT III
Chicago (reprise)
The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders
Epilogue (or, Riffs and Variations…and Out of Egypt…)
