Review: Stereophonic At DPAC
There is an old joke in theater that the only two shows that ever start exactly on time are The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables because they are so long and want to get audiences home at a reasonable hour. So when DPAC told me that Stereophonic would start right on time, I should have known. But instead, I walked into what ended up being a three hour production (which was still shortened from the original 2024 run time, according to an author’s note in the playbook).....
Directed by Daniel Aukin, Stereophonic tells the story of a fictional rock band in the 1970s as they record their second album at a studio in California. While technically a play, the production features music from Will Butler that serves as the original music on the band’s album.
From start to finish, Stereophonic is….dull. I hate to say it, but it is. I have never seen so many people not only not come back from intermission, but actually up and walk out during the show itself.
L-R: Claire DeJean as Diana, Emilie Kouatchou as Holly, and Denver Milord as Peter in the first national tour of Stereophonic
My theory? The characters aren’t compelling. The plot points (or lack thereof) aren’t compelling. From the moment the curtain goes up, audience members are plopped down into the recording studio and watch the dynamic between the five band members and their two sound engineers unfold. But it’s very blah. There’s nothing there to bring you into their world. Lead singer Diana (Claire DeJean) is complaining she has no coffee, drummer Simon (Cornelius McMoyler) and keyboardist Holly (Emilie Kouatchou) walk around with wannabe British accents (they sound like a British person playing an American that’s trying to do a British accent), and sound engineers Grover (Jack Barrett) and Charlie (Steven Lee Johnson) talk about how attractive but dumb the studio receptionist is.
For a show that takes a full 25 minutes (I checked what time it was) to utter the name of even one of the characters, it felt the story starts in the middle. There was no explanation of who these characters were, what their dynamic was, or that they were supposed to be recording their sophomore album, let alone even be in a band together. And yes, the point of the show is that the audience is a fly on the wall for the band’s creative process. But when the storyline jumps around and key points of the character’s relationships are never explained, it’s not enjoyable. It’s confusing. Although I hesitate to add any more time to a production that was already far too long, maybe those extra original minutes should not have been cut if they added more oomph, context, and storytelling value….
Claire DeJean (left) as Diana and Denver Milord as Peter in the first national tour of Stereophonic
To be fair, DeJean is (sort of) the production’s saving grace. Diana is the only character with any real emotional depth or turmoil for 90 percent of the show, and her mental health struggle gave me a reason to care about her, as opposed to the other automatons that are her band mates. Her scenes with boyfriend and band guitar player Peter (Denver Milord) also offer a little something in the way of passion, but not much, given Peter’s arrogance, temper, and self-proclaimed ass hole-ery.
By far the best part of the production was when the band was “recording” and we got to hear DeJean sing. Butler’s songs are actually enjoyable to listen to, and DeJean brought the passion and commitment-to-the-moment that is missing from the rest of the show.
On that note though…… Stereophonic is almost a copy-paste version of the 2019 novel Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, even down to the “pretty but drug addicted female lead singer that can’t play an instrument but knows how to write songs” (Diana) and the “over bearing, thinks he knows best, re-records his bass player’s part” guitar player (Peter). I couldn’t help it - I spent a large portion of the show not only noting which plot points were fairly identical, but also why Daisy Jones was so much more compelling.
L-R: Denver Milord as Peter, Christopher Mowod as Reg, Claire DeJean as Diana, and Emilie Kouatchou as Holly in the first national tour of Stereophonic
Three hours is a long time for anything, especially when you are sitting. But I would estimate that a good 30 minutes of this show could be cut down by eliminating all of the long pauses. And I don’t mean a few seconds for dramatic effect after the high-pitched squabbling matches between band members. I mean all of the pauses that had to be a minute, if not longer, of the cast just sitting on the stage, staring at each other. I get building tension for the sake of creating a moment, but the decision to just have the dead space hang in the air left audiences chittering in their seats as we all waited for the next person to say their line.
Of course, a large chunk of the dialogue can (and should) be cut out too. Endless monologues that add nothing to the plot seem to be a staple in Stereophonic. Do we really need Holly’s musing of whether Marlon Brando or Donald Sutherland are sexier? And then she just gets up and walks out of the room, leaving Simon and lead sound engineer Grover to go back to talking about the band’s album without so much as a second thought for Holly’s determination that Sutherland is the winner.
Jack Barrea as Grover (left) and Steven Lee Johnson as Charlie in the first national tour of Stereophonic
Besides the band’s performances as they recorded their songs, the technical aspects of the production are by far the best thing about the show. Scenic designer David Zinn managed to create a double-decker set, complete with a realistic recording booth on the stage, slightly upping the entertainment value.
Costume designer Enver Chakartash and hair and wig designers Robert Pickens and Katie Gell also deserve their own accolades, giving the characters a full 70s makeover with flared pants, bold prints, and that infamous 70s hair. At least I was visually impressed?
The production also features a book from David Adjmi, lighting design from Jiyoun Chang, and sound design from Ryan Rumery.
Stereophonic runs at the Durham Performing Arts Center through Sunday, March 22, 2026. Please be advised that the production does contain adult themes/language and is not recommended for anyone under age 13. Tickets can be purchased here.
All photo credit to Julia Cervantes.