Illinoise: Sufjan Stevens’ album takes broadway

By: Grace Roberts

We’ve seen musicals based on artists before: The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond, the list goes on. But it’s rare to see a musical production based not on a person or their oeuvre, but on a singular album — and it’s kind of genius. Illinoise, a new musical based on Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album Illinois, opens April 24th at the St. James Theater in New York City. Its director and choreographer, dance legend Justin Peck, has admitted that it's difficult for him to describe exactly what the show is, whether a “concert or dance-theater piece or musical,” and states that he has effectively worked to craft a show which intertwines various musical mediums. The beauty of a project like this, as its directors and critics agree, is its collaborative nature.

Often described as an album that “touched an entire generation,” Stevens’ Illinois is a coming-of-age masterpiece. Part of the artists’ “50 States” album project, the adoption of indie folk manifests less in the actual composition and more in the brilliant collaboration of different Illinois-based choirs, quartets, and featured artists, which layer and build this album into something remarkably ambitious. With twenty-one tracks and an album length of seventy-four minutes, the album is somewhat of a commitment for listeners — but perfectly showcases Stevens’ own dedication to capturing the heart of Illinois, its many quirks and odd holidays, notable anti-heroes, and midwestern emotion. What makes this album stand the test of time, in addition to establishing a foundation for a performance piece, is that it fires on all cylinders; every element works in tandem, from the lyricism to the features to the musical composition.

Its lengthy runtime and incredible narrative evolution make it perfectly suited to the stage, especially in the format of blending dance, music, and theater that Peck has envisioned and realized. Peck has created a piece of theater which is designed to toe the magical line between childhood and adulthood, imbued with that spirit that replicates Stevens’ as much as possible. Focused primarily on finding the personal, emotional elements in an album which is predicated largely on historical events and physical location, the musical chooses to follow a character’s storyline, realizing the coming-of-age aspect literally. This necessitated a shifting of the tracklist to fit a new narrative, further proving this musical is not a literal replication of Illinois, but an interaction and interpretation of the iconic album, which feels pertinent to remember for both Stevens’ and Peck’s sake. Several vocalists from the album perform in the musical as well, tying in the original with this rendition. Some of Stevens’ most well-known songs originate from Illinois — ‘Casimir Pulaski Day’, ‘Chicago’, and ‘John Wayne Gacy, Jr.’ — and are given due deference by the showrunners. As co-writer Jackie Sibblies Drury agrees, this album means something to everyone, and they tried to hold that sentiment close in creating the performance.

Interesting to consider is that Stevens initially deflected Peck’s continued proposals to turn the album into a musical, citing that he did not want to revisit it, but after Peck doggedly kept asking, he gave the choreographer his blessing. Stevens has deigned not to comment on his opinions on Illinoise to journalists. The relationship between theater and music, and often simply the genre of adaptations as a whole, is complicated for both parties involved, and is often much more easily accomplished as a retrospective, a posthumous musical honor. But Stevens actively produces music in the present day, complicating that relationship, and was quoted as telling the musical arrangement director Timo Andres that “This is not musical theater.” The sentiment is something Peck and the other leaders of the project have dedicated themselves to following, resulting in a musical experience that defies easy categorization.

Newcomers to Stevens’ oeuvre will likely be familiar with him as a result of the wildly popular Call Me By Your Name film adaptation in 2017, for which he composed the soundtrack, but Stevens has been a pillar of the indie scene for decades. For his album to be further circulated on stage in a new format is a testament to Illinois’s status as an art piece firmly rooted in music and in cultural memory. There will undoubtedly be specific expectations, and perhaps even pushback by Stevens purists and Broadway fanatics alike, but the overall reception for Illinoise has been resoundingly positive. Following a sold-out preview, the show will run with a limited engagement of sixteen weeks, and critics are already lauding its creativity. If anything, the performance of this album live, featuring collaborators from the original album and a band fully committed to nailing every element, promises to be an incredible experience for those who listened to this album in pivotal moments of their life, or those who appreciate the blend of artistry that comes with music, dance, and the theater. Illinois remains a pillar of Stevens’ career and of the indie genre, and Illinoise has a lot to live up to.