If you were unable to get to New York to catch the most Tony-nominated play in history, there’s good news: the show is coming to you.
If you were unable to get to New York to catch the most Tony-nominated play in history, there’s good news: the show is coming to you.
Stereophonic, which nabbed a record 13 Tony nominations in 2025, comes to the National Theatre in D.C. on Feb. 10 for a four-week run.
Denver Milord, who plays Peter in the show, told WTOP this week he’s excited “doing it in a city that loves theater and appreciates theater.”
Milord was an understudy for the Broadway run and now takes a leading role in the national tour.
The show was a word-of-mouth off-Broadway sensation in 2023 then moved to Broadway in 2024 where its run was extended multiple times. It won five Tony Awards — more than any show in 2024 — including best play, best direction of a play and best scenic design.
Interestingly, Stereophonic, despite containing great music and being about the music industry, is considered a play, not a musical.
Written by David Adjmi, directed by Daniel Aukin and with music by Will Butler from Arcade Fire, Stereophonic is about a fictional 70s rock band recording an album in California and all the stress and drama that takes place during that creative process.
“Imagine 12 to 16 hour days ad nauseam for about a year with personalities that clash and relationships that end and start,” Milord, who plays the band’s guitarist, songwriter and de facto producer, said.
The story could be about any 70s rock band but many theatergoers and critics alike feel that Fleetwood Mac and the recording of their iconic album Rumours were the main inspirations for Stereophonic.
“It has some of those 70s band … essence in there and that inspiration but it also very much a new thing and it has its own groove and feel to it as well.”
The show, presented in four acts over three-plus hours, features five band mates and two engineers who operate in tight quarters in two California studios as the tension mounts to complete their big album. Egos clash and feelings get hurt. It feels very real.
It “kind of leaves you with the question what does it take to make a great piece of art? And is it always worth it?” Milord said.
“Is it worth it to completely dissolve and combust in order to reach some kind of something or can we collaborate in a way … where we can understand and work with each other a bit more?”
And given the divisiveness and unrest happening now in the U.S., the show is more important than ever according to Milord.
“In a time when we really need theater … it is an essential part of our society and our culture.”
Stereophonic runs Feb. 10 through March 8 at the National Theatre at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington D.C. The show runs approximately three hours with an intermission. For tickets, go to their website here.
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