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STEREOPHONIC is coming to the West End! | Broadway's best play announces London transfer and US Tour
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I'll see it when it gets here before you ask about my hair by the way, it's not what you think I'm not the next Superman I refuse to be typecast I'm gonna see it when it gets here oh my God. Hey. Welcome back to my theater themed YouTube channel. My name is Mickey Jo and I'm obsessed with all things theater. I am a professional theatre critic here on social media as well as a content creator and today I bring exciting West End and North American theatrical news because the multi Tony Award winning, record breaking hit hit Broadway play Stereophonic, written by David ajmee, has today announced the news that I have been waiting for since the year began. In fact, since before the year had begun, arguably since I first saw it on Broadway. That is that Stereophonic, which will soon be concluding its limited run at the Golden Theatre in New York, will be transferring to London's West End as well as embarking on a US national tour. This comes amidst the news that the twice extended Broadway show has recouped its initial investment and will also be made available for licensing through Concord Theatricals, which will play a huge role in the life cycle of this play beyond these upcoming West End and touring productions. But for now, let's talk about everything we know about those, as well as a little bit of background on Stereophonic. For those of you who haven't had the joy and privilege of seeing it yet on Broadway, why I loved it so much and why I'm so excited, here is the theater news breakdown. Now if you enjoy this video, make sure to subscribe to my theater themed YouTube channel so you don't miss any of the upcoming theater news as well as my insights into what it's all about. Later this year I also hope to bring you coverage of Stereophonics West End arrival, including my official of the London production and whether it hits differently to the Broadway version. So make sure you're subscribed and turn on those notifications so you don't miss my upcoming theatrical content. Also, if you have had the joy of seeing Stereophonic on Broadway, comment down below with all of your thoughts as well. In the meantime, let's talk through everything that has been announced. So I'm going to start with this Deadline article here which was put together by Greg Evans today, which gives us a bit of an overview as to all of the news and then we're going to focus in on the UK press release specific to the West End announcement. So stereophonic, David Ajme's acclaimed Tony Award winning play about a Fleetwood Mac, like 70s Rock Band has recouped its Broadway investment and will begin a West End engagement and national US Tour later this year, producers said today. Now, when he says Fleetwood Mac, like he's not kidding. It does bear several similarities to Fleetwood Mac and the Rumors album Stereophonic being a play all about a British American hybrid rock group in the 70s who are on the brink of huge success, but also on the verge of total collapse. And they are trying, amidst a lot of personal and professional challenges, to record this ambitious album in the meantime doing a lot of drugs, breaking up with each other and driving each other crazy. In fact, the similarity with Fleetwood Mac was such that it attracted a little bit of legal attention during its Broadway run, which since has been resolved, allowing it to confirm subsequent productions and ongoing success. Yay for Stereophonic. Now, I've mentioned twice now that it's recouped its investment. What this means is that it's made all of the money back that was invested into the show and it has started being profitable for its producers and for its investors, which is always good news. The West End production presumably will be able to do that much faster because it costs a lot less to run a show in the West End than it does on Broadway, he goes on to write. The twice extended Broadway production is currently playing its final week at the Golden Theatre, which is where Operation Mincemeat will be going. That's the next tenant of that theatre, by the way, where it will end its run Sunday, January 12, after 305 performances, one of which I saw. The play made Tony history last spring by becoming Broadway's most Tony nominated play ever. Ever, going on to win five of its 13 nominations, which included Best Play, Best Director for Daniel Orkin, Best Featured Actor for Will Brill, Best Scenic Design for David Zinn, and Best Sound Design for Ryan Roumery. One of those nominations was particularly auspicious because it was nominated for Best Original Score. Not a nomination usually afforded to plays on Broadway, but it contains several original songs. They are recording an album, after all. It's about a fictional band, those songs having been composed by Arcade Fire's Will Butler, and they have been released on a cast album if you want to listen to them. It doesn't really offer you any spoilers whatsoever for the production. It just means that when you go and see it, you'll already know the music, you'll already know how much it slaps, and it'll be like seeing a documentary about your favorite rock group that never existed, which I think is very cool. The first time I saw it, I did not know the music whatsoever and I enjoyed it. But I think going back and knowing the songs is going to be even more exciting. And they are just very much generic rock songs in a distinctly Fleetwood Mac sort of a style. They don't offer much really in terms of speaking to the circumstances that are going on around them. It's a very naturalistic play. This Deadline article in fact tells us a little bit more about the play. It says Stereophonic, which is set entirely in a West coast recording studio circa 1976 as an unnamed band records what will be its masterpiece while all but imploding from toxic personal entanglements and brink of stardom disputes. And it had its world premiere off Broadway initially at Playwrights Horizons back in the fall of 2023, subsequently transferring to Broadway. Originally scheduled for a limited 14 week engagement, the production was twice extended and has played to sold out or near sold out houses since its opening night on April 19, 2024. Last week the production grossed just under a million dollars and along with Omari still running at the Lyceum Theatre, it has continually been among the highest grossing non musical plays of the Broadway season. The show's capitalization, the one that it has reportedly recouped, has been reported as up to $4.8 million. I told you, it's expensive to mount a show on Broadway and this is a play. This is a play with about six or seven people in the cast. Now, if you're curious for a little more insight into the show and why I enjoyed it so much and why it won so many Tonys and why it's such a masterpiece, here is a snippet from my review where I'll be wearing this same T shirt. Don't worry, no spoilers.
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It is just a beautifully blistering fly on the wall experience. I was so incredibly pulled in by this play. It had such a gravitational pull on me. Naturalistic, real. The fact that they are performing this music live gives it that necessary authenticity and vitality. It is so incredibly raw. It's so fun because we glimpse into the world of the stage. What we're seeing is the sound designers themselves glimpsing through a glass screen into the recording studio area at the back. So we are flies on the wall while they're eavesdropping on the conversation that's happening. So we are spectating, they're spectating of the drama happening and it's staged sort of as though it's just one long night. Subtly, we get the sense that we are Actually jumping between different times and the whole thing begins to accelerate with an increasing momentum.
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You know, if you have any kind.
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Of love for like, 70s music and band culture alongside the theater, then obviously it's going to speak to you as well. But I think it transcends all of that. I think it talks about the human experience and the way that we interact with each other and the way that people are affected by success.
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The gender politics within the whole thing.
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Within the relationships and with the professional collaboration as well, I think is another very interesting aspect of the piece. It has so many dimensions.
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Now, let's carry on with the news. The West End engagement will begin in May 2025 at London's Duke of York's Theatre. I had my money on the Harold Pinter, but Duke of York's is equally a great option. We'll talk a little bit more about that West End production momentarily and a US national tour will launch in Seattle this October. Casting for the productions has not been announced. I don't think that's strictly true, actually, because in the UK press release that I have received talking about the West End production, I have had a little bit of casting information, including some Broadway cast members, original Broadway cast members, reprising their roles. Now, before I begin to read from this UK press release, what I will say is this was not a surprise. We knew this was going to come to the West End because one of its major producers is Sonya Friedman, who is British, but produces extensively on either side of the Atlantic and always has her eyes on the next big award winning, huge successful hit. And when one of her shows does well, especially the plays, she usually then transplants it from Broadway to the West End or vice versa. So immediately, as soon as this was being successful, we knew Sonya was going to bring it to London and I am thrilled that she has. So here we go. Last year, Stereophonic became the most Tony Award nominated play ever and the most Tony Award winning show of 2024. Yes, it swept the 2024 Tonys. And for a play to be the biggest winner of the night, that is a big deal. That statistic about it having the most nominations as well meant it just took the record from Slave Play. You might remember last summer in the West End, Slave Play was putting up posters all around town saying, the most Tony Award nominated play ever. Except before they had even opened officially in the West End, that title technically had been claimed by Stereophonic. Again, another indication as to why it's not surprising that Stereophonic is now making their way to London. Now, do we have exact dates because I haven't seen them here yet. This says May 2025 and they don't seem necessarily to have offered anything more specific. I don't think they have. I don't think it's technically on sale yet, but it does have its own social pages, so if you want to stay up to date with when it goes on sale, a you can follow me here and I will do my best to make you aware of it, but B you can go and follow Stereophonic ldn. That's Stereophonic London on Instagram or follow me on Instagram and I'll tell you as soon as it happens. What we do know from this press release, however, is that some casting has been confirmed, but only for three of the show's roles, and they are as follows. Andrew R. Butler will be playing Charlie, Eli Gelb will be playing Grover, and Chris Stack will be playing Simon. They are all members of the original Broadway company who are still with the show, the show having undergone a partial cast change during its Broadway run. Further casting is to be announced in due course, but that is very exciting news because the Broadway cast were brilliantly talented. I believe two of those are American characters and one of them is British. There are two American characters yet to be cast. It'll be interesting if they are played by British actors and there's a further British character to be called. In fact, no two more British characters also to be cast who will also be played, presumably by British actors. Now, two of these characters whose actors are coming from the Broadway production are the show's sound technicians. Only one of them is a member of the band. So there are four more actor, singer, instrumentalists to be cast into this show and it's a big ask because they really do have to perform as a convincing rock band with great musical skills and fantastic vocals. I'm particularly excited about Eli Gelb transferring with the show. He was one of its Tony nominees and I think he was fantastic. I mean, I thought they all were fantastic and I'm also equally excited to see a bunch of new performers in it as well. I'm just such a fan of this play I can't even tell you. We do have a show performance schedule. It's pretty traditional. They are starting at 7pm rather than 7:30. Note that for yourselves now before you arrive late, but it's going to be Monday to Saturday at 7pm with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 1pm A Thursday matinee is a little bit novel. We don't have Sunday performances. This is pretty standard in the West End. The reason for the earlier start times is because this is a very long play. But I promise you, I promise you it's worth it. It's also, if you still aren't convinced by this, a really great play for people who predominantly go and see musicals who haven't necessarily made the leap to their first play yet. This is a great gateway play. This is a great first play for you to go and see because it's so musically inclusive. It's also super accessible. It's not particularly academic, it's just this fly on the wall, human experience, power dynamics, fascinating little boiling pot of explos dialogue. It's my favorite kind of play, honestly, and I'm. I'm thrilled. Now, beyond that, much of what it says in this UK press release is a repetition of what we have already spoken about. Obviously more casting is yet to be confirmed, exact dates are yet to be confirmed. But this just became one of my most anticipated London shows of the year. Not only that, I'm thrilled it's going on a US national tour as well. And I'm also hugely intrigued about the possibility of of future productions of Stereophonic beyond this brilliant production from director Daniel Orkin that may look completely different. Because I think it's such an interesting show to be able to reinvent creatively. I can't wait for Stereophonics that look utterly different to this one. For now though, that is the breaking theatrical news of the day. That is everything I have to say about it. At least comment down below with your own thoughts about the arrival of Stereophonic. Are you excited about this? Are you indifferent about this? Did you think this was going to happen? Did you know anything about this play play beforehand? Are you planning to book tickets? Let me know where you stand in the comment section down below and if you have any other questions about the play that I may be able to answer for you. If you are curious though, make sure you're subscribed with the notifications turned on so that I can bring you future updates about Stereophonics West End journey, including, hopefully, coverage of its opening night later this year. Oh, it's a good day to be Mickey Jo Theatre. I hope you've enjoyed this staging news recap and I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theater. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. Subscribe.