Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois had been a formative album for director and choreographer Justin Peck, and so when it got here to reinterpreting it for the stage, Peck felt a accountability to do proper by the opposite longtime followers.
After initially toying round with the format of the piece, Peck, who’s resident choreographer of the New York Metropolis Ballet, turned to a dance-based present, with none dialogue. As a substitute, the narrative performs out by means of motion and songs from the album, carried out by three vocalists and a band. The concept was to present followers one thing new to discover, through a brand new storyline, whereas tapping into their very own expertise with the album.
“It’s expressed on this means that just about feels such as you’re watching a silent movie, and it permits the viewer their very own private expertise and even a bit little bit of room for them to fulfill it midway with their very own perspective and their very own life expertise,” Peck mentioned.
The narrative, which was formed by Peck and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, follows a gaggle of buddies sharing private tales round a campfire. Henry, performed by Ricky Ubeda (So You Suppose You Can Dance), is initially reluctant to share, however finally coaxed into sharing the story of his unrequited romantic emotions for his shut pal Carl (performed by West Aspect Story’s Ben Prepare dinner), their transfer from the “center of nowhere” to the town (set to the tune “Chicago”) and the price of leaving Carl behind as he strikes into his first romantic relationship.
Illinoise debuted at Bard School final summer time, earlier than enjoying the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Off-Broadway on the Park Avenue Armory in New York, in a run that ended March 23. It then began previews on the St. James Theatre on Broadway in April, and has since been nominated for 4 Tony Awards, together with greatest musical and greatest choreography.
Peck, who additionally choreographed Steven Spielberg’s 2021 movie West Aspect Story and the 2018 Carousel revival on Broadway, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about Sufjan Stevens’ involvement within the present, the choice to lean into dance and never embody dialogue and bringing a dance-based present to Broadway.
What made you assume this must be a chunk of theater?
After I first heard the album, which was virtually 20 years in the past now, I used to be blown away by the ambition of it, the dimensions of it, the way it had such vary, from every part just like the quiet whisper of poetry by means of folks tune to tremendous expansive orchestral music to moments that felt virtually like present tunes. And I simply felt just like the album itself had lots of storytelling that ran by means of it. I all the time had this inkling that there is likely to be one thing to excavate an album and develop it right into a dwell theatrical occasion on stage. And so it actually was simply a few years ruminating on that.
When did you method Sufjan Stevens in regards to the present?
I began my collaboration with Sufjan most likely in 2011. We’ve completed three or 4 ballets collectively at New York Metropolis Ballet the place he’s written scores. In order that’s how we first began to work collectively. After which I began to drift this concept to him, I might say, in 2014. I bear in mind being at dinners with him and identical to having conversations about the opportunity of Illinoise as a stage musical. After which I began to work on the precise growth of this present in 2019. In order that’s after I began to sort of take into consideration what the present could possibly be, the context of it, the way it exists. what’s the language of it, and began to herald collaborators to develop it additional.
How a lot involvement did Sufjan have?
Sufjan was comparatively palms off about it. He was centered virtually solely simply on the music, working barely in collaboration with Timo Andres, our orchestrator and arranger, however he gave us lots of room to do our inventive work. And I believe that was partially because of the truth that he’s a really ahead working artist, and he didn’t have a complete lot of curiosity in going again into an current undertaking that he felt like he already cycled by means of, which was the Illinois album. So he was all the time very supportive of it. He obtained to see the present [in April], which was nice.
That was his first time seeing it. He’s had a really onerous yr, his accomplice handed away. He’s been battling this autoimmune illness, so it’s been powerful for him bodily to get round. So this was the soonest second that we had been in a position to make the preparations for him to be with us. We felt very energized by having him with us.
How did you arrive at the concept there shouldn’t be any spoken dialogue?
That was a choice that was made in shut collaboration with my writing accomplice, Jackie Sibblies Drury, who’s a tremendous playwright. She and I are chargeable for the ebook of the present. And early on in our collaboration, we talked about the opportunity of dialogue and whether or not we wished to pursue that. However after doing a little preliminary workshopping within the house, we simply felt just like the present existed in its most potent type when it was solely expressed by means of the music and thru the sort of dance staging of it. And so we simply decided at that second that that may be the parameter for the present. And a giant a part of the motivation and the inspiration for this present is to honor the music and the expertise of the album and to ship what that may be in its entirety to an viewers, and we simply felt like dialogue would probably get in the best way of that have.
You’re additionally taking up darker themes with the choreography within the present, together with sickness, grief and extra. Why did you resolve to go in that course, and what was the method like?
That was really on the encouragement of Sufjan. Proper earlier than I embarked upon the entire inventive journey of this, he mentioned to me that this album is definitely fairly darkish, and he inspired me to lean into the darkness of the album, as a result of when folks take heed to it for floor worth, it has a sort of upbeat, vivid nature to it. However when you get previous that first layer, there actually is lots of darkness to it. In order that recommendation sort of caught with me. And we tried to craft this coming of age story that felt prefer it confronted grief and the grieving course of head on. It was kind of terrifying to do really, for me, as a result of lots of my work has been extra about constructing a extra kind of utopian world. And this was the other. It was sort of going instantly into this sort of state of emotional turmoil and grappling with surprising loss and struggling to regain a way of self and discover a sense of neighborhood, so it was powerful, nevertheless it was additionally sort of an exciting course of now that I’m on the opposite facet of it.
Broadway isn’t all the time overly accepting of dance-based exhibits. How did it really feel to get the Tony nominations, particularly greatest musical, in mild of that?
I believe it’s an enormous acquire for dance as an artwork type and as a medium. It’s not each season that there’s a present that’s so dance ahead. And for me personally, I used to be all the time very impressed by the exhibits that got here from a dance spine, even going means again to love West Aspect Story or Refrain Line. After which even like Contact and Movin’ Out and Herald ‘da Noise, Herald ‘da Funk these exhibits all made a giant impression on me. And I really feel like I stand on the shoulders of these exhibits or Illinoise stands on the shoulders of these exhibits. And I’m actually honored that it could exist within the lineage of all that.
This dialog has been edited for size and readability.