CHICAGO | One of the greatest critiques of the current landscape of musical theater is the onslaught of recycled media: jukebox musicals and musicals based on popular movies and other stories. The regurgitation of popular artists’ songs into a musical theater format may get audiences in seats, but lacks the artistic integrity and heart of great original theater. ILLINOISE, however, breaks the trend of mediocre, uninspired jukebox musicals. Utilizing the masterful storytelling featured in Sufjan Stevens’ 2005 album Illinois, the cast brings us through a beautifully human story about life, love, and healing.
ILLINOISE subverts the traditional musical theater format by omitting spoken dialogue and allowing the characters themselves to tell the story through dance, as opposed to song. The band is visible in the stage setup, and the music is sung by three visible performers, who are costumed in fairy-like wings – Elijah Lyons, Shara Nova, and Tasha Viets-VanLear. The show was choreographed and directed by Justin Peck, who notably choreographed the 2021 movie remake of West Side Story, among other musicals and ballets.
In the Playbill, Peck explains his choreography choices for the show, stating:
“The choreography is a real amalgamation of styles I have been inspired by over the years– everything from tap dance to hip-hop to ballet to breakdancing to modern dance. It’s all woven through this show. The genre-defying approach of the dance language is inspired by the genre-defying quality of the album.”
The fluidity in Peck’s choreography choices allow for the characters to engage in a very natural, physical form of storytelling. The amount of emotion portrayed by characters who do not speak is astounding as they bring us through the intricacies of emotions we know all too well – joy, love, pain, grief, fear, and more.
The story follows main character Henry as he joins a group of young artists in what seems to be a writer’s retreat. The group gathers around a “campfire” — a collection of camping lanterns on the stage — and takes turns reading “stories” from matching journals with a butterfly motif. The artists take us through the tracks “Jacksonville,” “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!,” “John Wayne Gacy Jr.” and “The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts” before coaxing Henry to share his story. The group of artists evokes the feelings of joy, community and support like the community of artists in the musical RENT.
Henry’s story truly gets to the heart of the show; by explaining his history with childhood friends Carl and Shelby, as well as his experiences with love, friendship, loss, grief, and growing up, set to some of Sufjan Stevens’ most iconic tracks, such as “Chicago” and “Casimir Pulaski Day.” In one of the show’s best displays of young love, Henry falls in love and enters into his first adult relationship while continuing to work through the grief and trauma of his past. This scene is scored by “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!”, which chronicles a young queer relationship in Stevens’ own life. The show also explores themes of grief, depression, and suicide by utilizing the song, “The Seer’s Tower.”
Henry’s story is met with love and support by his fellow writers, and the show ends with him offering a journal to the audience, inviting us to engage in this level of self-expression. The show is colorful, bright, and energetic, and maintains the same level of whimsy and spontaneity as the album. It leaves you with a feeling of hope and love, without feeling overly optimistic.
Better yet — it showcases Sufjan Stevens’ ability to create an incredibly detailed narrative world. ILLINOISE avoids the cliches of a jukebox musical because it allows Stevens’ magnum opus to shine as the expression of storytelling genius that it truly is.
ILLINOISE will continue its run at the Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at Navy Pier until February 18. The show is set to debut off-Broadway in March.
All photos courtesy of ILLINOISE staff