NEW YORK, N.Y. - To truly capture the essence of a legendary band like Fleetwood Mac, it's essential to experience the real thing. That's why the Broadway cast of "Stereophonic" took a bold step last year by performing an actual concert, just like a real band, at Brooklyn's Elsewhere venue. The show, written by David Adjmi and inspired by the recording of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours," has since continued this tradition with an invite-only performance at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village.
The Bitter End, known for hosting some of the biggest names in music, provided a unique setting for the cast. With its 230-capacity space and church-pew-like seating, the club offered an intimate atmosphere where the drumbeat could be felt as much as heard. The cast, who had only been rehearsing together for three and a half weeks, performed a mini set of three songs for friends, family, and a few members of the media. Despite the nerves, the performance was a testament to their dedication and passion.
Claire DeJean, who plays the underconfident bandmate Diana, recounted her encounter with Meryl Streep during the event. The cast and audience embraced the 1970s vibe, with outfits ranging from tinted sunglasses to floral dresses and floppy hats. The scene was almost reminiscent of a gig that the band in "Stereophonic" might have played on their way to fame.
Later, DeJean had the chance to sing the full version of "East of Eden," which is only a fragment in the play's script. Her voice soared from ethereal to powerful, capturing the emotional depth of the song. Denver Milord, who plays the domineering guitarist Peter, admitted that the adrenaline rush made it hard to remember the night clearly. However, the cast shared a collective realization: "Oh, wow, this really needed to happen."
Will Butler, the Arcade Fire musician who wrote the songs for "Stereophonic," noted that not all new cast members had prior experience in bands. "They're not used to facing a crowd and performing," he said. "It's still a persona, but a persona as yourself." The show's success hinges on this balance between art and authenticity.
More Information "Stereophonic": Written by David Adjmi. Music by Will Butler. Directed by Daniel Aukin. Performances begin Oct. 28. Through Nov. 23. $62.01-$181.35. Curran Theatre, 445 Geary St., S.F. 888-746-1799. www.broadwaysf.com
DeJean, whose character is an underconfident bandmate named Diana, admitted that performing as a band is new to her. "I was always playing guitar alone or just accompanied by one other guitarist," she said. Piano, her instrument in the play, is mostly new to her—but thankfully, it is to Diana, too.
Cornelius McMoyler, who plays the British drummer Simon, has experience in various musical genres. At the Bitter End, during the sparky yet incantatory song "Drive," he sternly looked around at his bandmates as if trying to keep them from going off a cliff. "I do look like somebody who's trying to defuse a bomb," he joked later, after seeing footage of the concert. "I think it's partly how I end up feeling in the show, which is that I'm responsible for this band."
Bands who have been playing together for years don't look like that. "There's this misconception that bands would look at each other—there's always this communicating going on with their eyes, and they're checking in," McMoyler pointed out. But that's for newbies. When he watches pros like Dead & Company, he notices that members are far apart from each other on wide stages.
"They're not checking in, because this s- is in their bones," he said, while acknowledging that in "Stereophonic," the actors play to the misconception, because they have to. Veteran bands, Butler confirmed, have "weird little micro jokes and weird little movements" that come from lots of repetition in shared, close spaces.
"It's sometimes yelling at someone when they're in a bad mood because you hate when they're in a bad mood," he explained, "and sometimes giving them space when they're in a bad mood." It'd be impossible to recreate all that in a rehearsal process of a few weeks. But Director Daniel Aukin gets close.
The day after the Bitter End concert, he opened a run-through at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens with a minute of silence for everyone in the room. Then the seven actors, playing five musicians and two studio technicians, knit their arms in a tight huddle for their own, private, extended moment of communion.
The cast also benefits from inevitable meta moments in the rehearsal room. Staging a play has parallels with making an album, after all. So when a mic check fails in real life, that's good research. Butler even described himself as "uncle dramaturg," since as a legit rock star, he can let the actors mine his experiences.
During one recording session with the cast for some overdubbing, he insisted that Jack Barrett, who plays sound engineer Grover, man the controls. "He felt that little friction of, ‘OK, you guys ready? ’" Butler said. "Just giving him that sense of ‘I'm underqualified, but I'm pressing record’—that's very much the spirit of the play."
That blurring of art and life extended beyond the studio. Milord recalled how the cast took a bus to Elmira, N.Y., for technical rehearsals. "I've got a guitar with me. I think three or four other people have got guitars, and I was padded out on the bus and was just practicing," he said, noting it looked like a scene his character could have had on a tour bus 50 years ago. Being there felt like a "Method approach," he added, referring to the acting technique popularized by stars like Marlon Brando and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Back at the Bitter End, Aukin took a more philosophic view on the connections between the play and its makers. Some are more professional and less toxic than others, but they're all creators. "Much of it is just showing up every day with all of yourself … no matter what happened last night, no matter how you feel about the other people in the room," he said. "Sometimes that's all you have. But over time, that can be enough."
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