With inclusion on several reviewer’s “best of the decade” lists when it was released including those of Paste, NPR, and Rolling Stone, Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed 2005 concept album Illinois enjoys cult status for its lush orchestrations and wildly inventive portrayal of the state’s people, landscapes, and history, complete with UFOs, zombies, and predatory wasps. This musically ambitious work, which weaves together cinematic orchestral anthems, jazz riffs, and other musical influences to explore wide-ranging narratives about blossoming queerness and self-exploration is expanded upon through a mix of live music and impressionistic choreography to revisit the beloved album’s themes of self-discovery.
Dancer, choreographer, and director Justin Peck has assembled an impressive body of creative projects, starting out as a soloist with New York City Ballet and moving on to create work for that company and prestigious companies from around the world, as well as on Broadway with Carousel and Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed film West Side Story. The Tony Award-winner embraces Stevens’ album in an ecstatic pageant of storytelling, theater, dance, and live music with a cast of virtuosic performers, singers, and musicians with a narrative crafted with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury (Fairview, Marys Seacole).
Featuring new arrangements of the entire album by composer and pianist Timo Andres for a live band and three voices, ranging in style from DIY folk and indie rock to marching band and ambient electronics, this bold, new music-theater production leads audiences on a mighty journey through the American heartland, from campfire storytelling to the edges of the cosmos.
(https://www.armoryonpark.org/programs_events/detail/illinoise)
From 1 review:
Beyond its many technical glories, and its few brief stumbles, Illinoise achieves a holistic transcendence. For 90 glorious minutes, you do feel. Irony and cynicism slink away with their tails between their legs. The show’s extraordinary corps of dancers, musicians, and singers throws open a window to the cosmos, and we all turn like hungry wintering plants toward the sun.
(https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-sufjan-stevens-illinoise-armory.html)
Sounds very cool to me. And a couple neat tidbits:
- many of the characters share names with Illinois counties
- the song DECATUR is included -- in some shape or form -- within the play (this is the song that mentions Chickenmobile, Caterpillar, grain, Sangamon River, and even the Civil War soldiers of Greenwood Cemetery)
To top it off, Illinoise just got nominations for multiple Tony awards!
Wicked, Hamilton, and Six are already on my bucket list. I think I'll add this one as well.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
