The revered Broadway play lands in the West End for a limited season, running until the end of summer. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show — to let us know if its tumultuous story about a 70s rock band flaunts enough electricity.
They’ve seen us shiver with anticipation. Fortunately for us, there’s no horror in this rocky show. But there’s no element of wonder either. If you believe the hype, you may find yourself in a state of mild disappointment after sitting through the nearly three-and-half hours that Stereophonic demands from audiences — without offering the most fulfilling reward.
Followed by the raucous acclaim of its Broadway run, the play has landed in the West End for a limited summer season — once again, taking viewers on a backbeat journey through the trials and tribulations of 1970s fictional band during the recording of their second album.
Penned by David Adjmi, the piece establishes both a compelling setting and premise. The idea of exploring the humanity and individuality in a person of the masses is an excellent dramatic source to dig from. Add to it the fact that celebrities’ misery (even when those are fictional) is the guilty sweet we always relish, and the perfect picture of a script should fall into place. Sadly, though, no matter how many enjoyable live music renditions it offers, the overall narrative seems to hit the wrong chord almost permanently.
No strings are pulled other than the ones in their electric guitars. It’s virtually impossible to feel for any of its personages, their paths, or anything that comes upon throughout the plot. Though moderately entertaining, despite its unnecessary length, the writing isn’t able to trigger enough engagement for us to care about what’s happening.
It doesn’t build any proper arc. While the story covers every character’s struggles, none of them are explored with sufficient depth to create a bond with the audience. Everything is barely touched and often poorly handled — with the roles moving from one extreme to another without any sense of nuance or profundity. You may see one of the leads acting as an alcoholic failure in one scene — only for him to veer into a fully recovered, spiritually-driven version of himself in the next one.
As a result, our investment in the plot decreases as the show moves forward. Its flawed pacing, deprived of enough dramatic growth, reinforces the recount’s lack of appeal. Adjmi’s skills at crafting dialogue display dexterity in terms of flow. Furthermore, his hyper-realistic style, with simultaneous conversations overlapping each other, enhances the script’s uniqueness. However, its execution is far from polished — often unable to draw the viewer’s attention to the right spots, and consequently coming off as uncomfortable rather than stimulating.
The cast does a competent job of keeping the performance alive. Not every performance feels as robust — with some coming across as slightly flat and unlayered. Yet, the troupe’s efforts are, in any case, the best asset in the production — succeeded, almost immediately, by David Zinn’s unchallenging but intricate set design.
Among them, the highest praise goes to Zachary Hart as Reg — delivering a passionate, sometimes over-the-top interpretation that accentuates the character’s likability without ever swerving into a caricature. On the other hand, Eli Gelb and Andrew R. Butler also make a memorable appearance as producer and technician Grover and Charlie — exuding great chemistry and naturalness, which admittedly accentuates their organic comicality.
Coming up with the right themes but striving to stay in tune with its audience, Stereophonic sets up an interesting track for an enthralling narrative to unravel. However, its clumsy execution prevents it from achieving resonance — toning the whole thing down to such a low volume of pathos, it hardly ever speaks to its public. It could have been a rock-and-roller coaster of sentiment and philosophy. Wistfully, though, all it transmits is silence.
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All pictures credit to Marc Brenner.
Stereophonic plays at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre until 20 September. Tickets are available on the following link.