Upon its 2005 release, Stevenss 26-song concept album immediately imprinted on the generation who gobbled it up.
But for all its locale narratives, the album had mass appeal.
It gave listeners the sense of being lost and found again, and who cant relate to that?
Bryon Tittle, Christina Flores, Kara Chan, and Ricky Ubeda (kneeling).
Vogue:First of all, lets confirm something: Is your production pronounced Ill-i-noise with a hards?
Or like the state?
I guess, officially, it would be Illinoise.
The original company ofIllinoise
The show will become even more energetic and vivid by putting it inside a more contained theater location.
I think its actually going to be the most vivid version of the show yet.
Tell me about these tweaks.
How has the show adapted to its previous various controls?
We wanted to really prioritize the experience of the music as delivered by these extraordinary musicians.
Theres been a thousand and one particular incremental changes that hopefully help the show hang together better.
Justins done a lot of work to clarify the narrative arc of the dance aspect of the show.
Was Broadway the plan all along?
Or was this a happy surprise?
Peck:We didnt know until after the show opened at the Armory that it would make the jump.
It was a high priority to maintain and keep the cast together.
Has anyone in the audience tried to dance?
It was really fun to watch the show next to them.
Hopefully, in that Broadway theater space, people will feel the other audience members presence more.
So hopefully that will add to a little shoulder shrug, a little clap.
Its part of whats interesting about the showit lives in some space between concert and theater musical and dance.
Has your own reaction to the show evolved over its run?
With greater familiarity, are you able to pick up on nuances you might have originally missed?
Drury:More than some shows, it feels like a really live show.
And so there are aspects of it that change every night.
There are ways that the performers use their bodies and changes in how the singers embody the lyrics.
I could see Justins choreography in a different way because there was a different body using it differently.
Peck:It does really exist in the moment, which is such a theater thing.
When youre in the room watching it, it feels like youre witnessing something very special.
People hold this album close to their hearts.
What feedback have you received from the audience?
It was more about how they could take it and interact with it on an emotional level.
That was very moving for me to hear.
What has been the reaction of Sufjans Stevenss fans specifically?
Im sure they make up a large part of the audience.
Peck:The album has meant a lot to the queer community for a long time.
Theyve shared some pretty amazing responses.
Its started to build into an extensive collection of messages, almost like a scrapbook.
I think we felt there was a big responsibility.
Its not something we took lightly.
That experience blew my tiny little mind.
WithIllinois, those songs mean so much to so many people.
Theyve listened to it countless times with headphones in private.
Theres something about that that, to me, feels like church.
Im surprised that the radical beauty of that scene hasnt been a topic of more discussion.
That was my first real exposure to the arts, storytelling, and dance.
Its really a love letter to theater even though its a little bit difficult to categorize the show.
But at the end of the day, its our contribution to expanding what theater could be too.
