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Illinoise Begins Its Broadway Run and Celebrates the Last Opening Night of the Season
Illinoise, the dance-centric musical adaptation of Sufjan Stevens’ album Illinois, opens April 24 at the St. James Theatre, the night of its very first Broadway performance. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Justin Peck with a book by Peck and Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, Illinoise comes to Broadway following successful runs at Bard College’s Fisher Center, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and New York City’s Park Avenue Armory.
Set around an intimate campfire, Illinoise harnesses dance and music to delve into themes of self-exploration and community. The Broadway cast features Gaby Diaz (So You Think You Can Dance), Ben Cook (the Broadway production and 2021 film of West Side Story), Ricky Ubeda (the Broadway production and 2021 film of West Side Story), Yesenia Ayala, Kara Chan, Jeanette Delgado, Carlos Falu, Christine Flores, Jada German, Zachary Gonder, Rachel Lockhart, Brandt Martinez, Dario Natarelli, Tyrone Reese, Craig Salstein, Ahmad Simmons, Byron Tittle and Alejandro Vargas.
The production’s vocalists are Elijah Lyons, Shara Nova and Tasha Viets-VanLear, who performed in the Park Avenue Armory and Chicago Shakespeare Theater productions. Nova, who sang on the original Illinois album and performed on the subsequent tour, shared insights into the making of Stevens’ album with Broadway.com.
Pianist and frequent Stevens collaborator Timo Andres lends the production new arrangements.