Even though the play treads in much of the same waters as Amazon’s recent series “Daisy & The Six,” Stereophonic’s cast features band members that are more closely based on the actual Fleetwood Mac: there’s an English woman on keyboard and vocals (evoking Christine VcVie), her alcoholic Brit bass player husband (John McVie), an English coke head drummer (loosely based on Mick Fleetwood), capped off and dominated by the troubled Stevie Nicks/Lindsey Buckingham characters, portraying the group’s lead singers and main composers — adding to the on-stage interpersonal relationship drama.
Despite having only six songs in the play, the music was true to the 1970’s rock era and very authentic, with great musicianship and vocals by the “band members,” all written by Arcade Fire frontman, Will Butler. (The complete soundtrack album is available on audio streaming platforms and includes 14 songs.)
As a big plus, it appeared that the actors were really playing most of their instrumental parts (and obviously singing), with some exceptions, which added an extra level of realism. My biggest beef was that the vocal stylings of the central Stevie Nicks character seemed closer to the breathy and moody Mazzy Star vocalist, Hope Sandoval (one of my favorite female singers), rather than Nicks.
The stage set was creative, mimicking a vintage mid-1970s recording studio complete with glass partition, carpeted nooks and huge soundboard. Two of the cast standouts are the harried producer/engineer and his stoner assistant, providing some comic relief.
Overall the play is very enjoyable, but runs way too long, clocking in at over 3 hours with a :15 minute intermission. And with only six full songs, the time is filled with lots and lots of dialogue, some poignant, some very funny, filled with pop cultural references of the era. As good as the onstage banter is, there are way too many long, pregnant pauses, which adds to the feeling that at least :20 minutes of the dialogue could have been cut. The freewheeling music industry portrayed in the show correctly appears to be fueled by an endless supply of cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and other drugs. Even though Stereophonic was way too long, with too much talking, for old and new music and theater fans, it is still a worthwhile evening’s entertainment,.”
