Podcast Summary: The Creative Team Behind the Tony Nominated Musical 'Illinoise'

Podcast: All Of It (WNYC)
Host: Kusha Navadar (guest hosting for Alison Stewart)
Guests: Justin Peck (Director & Choreographer), Jackie Sibblies Drury (Playwright)
Date: May 9, 2024
Episode Focus:
A deep dive into 'Illinoise', the Tony-nominated dance musical adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ seminal concept album Illinois, featuring insights into the creative process, the challenge of adaptation, and reflections on storytelling in dance and music.

Episode Overview

The episode revisits an interview with Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury, creators of the Broadway musical Illinoise, to honor the show's recent Tony nominations and pay tribute to its late stage manager, Tom Gates. Host Kusha Navadar explores how the team turned a beloved, story-rich album into a staged narrative, blending choreography, music, and emotional storytelling, all without spoken dialogue.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Magic of the Illinois Album

• Initial Impact:

  • [04:36] Justin Peck recalls first hearing the album at 17 and being struck by its "poetry of the lyrics" and "range," describing it as music that "made me feel seen, made me see the world in different ways and made me be able to relate better to the community around me."

• Storytelling Depth:

  • [05:49] Jackie Sibblies Drury highlights Sufjan Stevens as "the consummate storyteller among musicians of his generation," amazed at "the density and poetry" of the lyrics and the album’s "many references and sly winks at so many different kinds of imagery."

Translating Album to Stage

• Getting the Green Light from Sufjan Stevens:

  • [06:42] Justin Peck describes years of persistence before Stevens allowed a stage adaptation:

    “He sort of just deflected again and again and again, and I persisted again and again and again, until eventually, I think he picked up on the fact that I was really serious about it and very much inspired by this album.”

• Narrative Development:

  • [08:14] Jackie Sibblies Drury: Justin’s early workshops featured "a group of storytellers hike out to the middle of the woods and share stories around a campfire," with one storyteller (Henry) having a deeper, autobiographical arc.
  • [09:20] Justin Peck: "I feel like it's a miracle that we were able to excavate a narrative in this album without losing any of the music... The number one priority was to honor the experience of this album, to provide the audience with the full experience of this music in its entirety."

• Campfire Metaphor as Structural ‘Keystone’:

  • The communal campfire setting offers an accessible, emotional anchor for both creators and audience:

    “The experience of gathering around a campfire ... is something almost everyone can relate to.” – Peck [10:35]

• The Puzzle of Storytelling and Iteration:

  • [11:54] Drury: On restructuring and emotional navigation:

    “I think the music is so good, and I think that Justin's choreography is so beautiful. I don't know that there's a wrong version of the show, honestly. It's just one that hopefully allows for the most people to have the deepest catharsis.”

Choreographing Pure Emotion

• All-Dance, No-Dialogue:

  • [12:41] The musical has no dialogue; the band sings above the stage while the story unfolds through dance.

• Eliciting Audience Emotion:

  • [14:19] Drury:

    “The emotions of the show are so primal that it felt like trying to use words … was already describing those emotions and the music was already describing those emotions. It felt redundant… Being able to put yourself into the arc of the show allows, like, a real special moment of connection for people.”

• Movement as Story:

  • [15:44] Peck likens the storytelling to silent film:

    “It feels almost like you're watching a silent film... The goal is to tell the story through images, moving pictures... In an odd way ... this musical ... is after a similar kind of goal.”

Building the Narrative Around Henry

• Character Development:

  • [17:49] Drury: Henry’s story was rooted in Justin’s vision—a Midwestern childhood, unrequited friendship-love, tragedy—and the challenge was crafting his need to lean on community to process adolescent trauma.

• Multiple Storytellers Structure:

  • [19:07] Peck:

    “Rather than just diving into Henry’s story … there’s this ritual of campfire storytelling... We get the chance to do that with four characters prior to Henry, so ... the audience has sort of adjusted to how this world works.”

  • Peck draws on A Chorus Line as a structural inspiration, comparing its "line" to Illinoise’s "circular" campfire.

Adaptation of Key Songs

• Jacksonville and Ancestry:

  • [22:36] Peck shares deep research:

    “It’s a little bit complicated because it’s about this town in Illinois ... is it named after Andrew Jackson or A.W. Jackson, who was a Black preacher and was really instrumental in the Underground Railroad?”

  • Peck incorporates tap dance to honor African-American musical tradition and his own dance origins:

    “It was a way to kind of, like, give that character voice...I began my career as an artist and a performer through tap dance.” [25:46]

• Staging Inspirations - Butterflies and Fairies:

  • [26:58] Drury: The "fairy, mystical butterfly" singers—a nod not to Shakespeare directly, but more to Sufjan Stevens’ own tour aesthetics with homemade wings.
  • [27:47] Peck builds on the mythic, communal feel, noting influences from the band’s positioning and even Greek chorus ideas.

Standout Moments & Favorite Songs

• [29:20] Peck: Cites "Jacksonville" as both a rhythmic and narrative standout, deeply personal due to his history with tap.
• [29:27] Drury: Finds it "impossible" to choose, but notes “The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders” hits hardest, especially as it charts Henry’s healing with the support of his newfound community.

Memorable Quotes

• Justin Peck [04:36]:
  “It's one of those albums that really made me feel seen, made me see the world in different ways and made me be able to relate better to the community around me.”

• Jackie Sibblies Drury [05:49]:
  “He's just the sort of consummate storyteller among musicians of his generation ... The density and poetry of [the lyrics] is something I hadn't fully realized before.”

• Drury [14:19]:
  “The emotions of the show are so primal that it felt like trying to use words ... felt redundant.”

• Peck [15:44]:
  “It feels almost like you're watching a silent film ... The priority is always story.”

• Peck [25:46]:
  “I began my career as an artist and a performer through tap dance … it’s a way to connect back to my origins and my earliest influences in theater and storytelling.”

Notable Timestamps

• 04:36: Justin Peck on the first impact of Illinois
• 05:49: Drury on Sufjan Stevens' storytelling
• 06:42: Peck details how he convinced Sufjan Stevens
• 09:20: Peck on shaping the narrative within the music
• 11:54: Drury on the iterative process of crafting the emotional journey
• 14:19: Drury explains the cathartic power of storytelling through dance
• 15:44: Peck’s influences from silent film and filmmaking
• 17:49: Drury on developing Henry’s story
• 19:07: Peck's comparison to A Chorus Line
• 22:36: Peck on song adaptation ("Jacksonville") and use of tap
• 26:58: Discussion of visual and thematic staging elements
• 29:20: Peck and Drury share favorite songs on stage

Tone and Takeaway

The conversation is warm, insightful, and deeply appreciative of both the source material and the creative risks of translating it to stage. Peck and Drury, both fans and interpreters, emphasize emotional authenticity, collaborative experimentation, and the joy of offering audiences a communal, cathartic experience. The interview provides a rich window into how great art is both lovingly preserved and boldly reimagined.