It isn’t often you get to be the music director for a work of theater that, well, isn’t a musical.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” says Justin Craig, the New York City-based music director for the acclaimed play “Stereophonic,” on the phone recently from Los Angeles.
“I don’t think anything exists like this.”
The most Tony Award-nominated play of all time and the winner of five Tonys, including Best Play, “Stereophonic” is about to begin a three-week run in Cleveland as part of Playhouse Square’s 2025-26 KeyBank Broadway Series.
The idea that “Stereophonic” isn’t a musical is technically correct but also could be misleading. It is built around a fictional rock band recording an album in the 1970s, with the actors singing and playing songs live on stage.
“There’s a ton of music in the show,” Craig says, “but the way the music functions in the show is different from your typical musical. The actors aren’t singing the plot lines — it’s more like you’re watching a band, you’re a fly on the wall while watching a band in a studio trying to create a great album. And, so, you’ll hear them failing. You’ll hear … some songs that are not working. You’ll hear transcendent moments of brilliance when they get it together.”
This is familiar turf for Craig, who grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and long has felt at home in a recording studio, a friend teaching him at a young age about how music is produced.
As time went on, Craig performed in bands for a few years before landing in New York City.
“That kind of stuck, and I really wanted to stick in New York,” he says, crediting another friend with helping put him on a track toward music direction.
His previous most notable stage credit was serving in that role for the Broadway production of the rock-based musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” in the mid-2010s. While working on “Hedwig” he says, he got what proved to be an all-important call from Daniel Aukin, who would go on to win a Tony for his direction of “Stereophonic,” that led to Craig joining the endeavor in its early days.
The show is written by David Adjmi, with Will Butler, a former member of the band Arcade Fire, penning the songs.
“Will Butler’s done a really brilliant job of deepening the story with lyrics,” Craig says, “but, again, in a way that we’re not used to with a musical.”
Adds Craig, who’s also credited with the orchestrations, “We spent many, many hours in his basement kicking ideas around.”
As with the 2023 Prime Video limited series “Daisy Jones & the Six,” “Stereophonic” is said to have been inspired in part by the band Fleetwood Mac and the group’s inner workings, so were some of those basement hours spent listening to that act’s legendary 1977 album, “Rumours”?
“Actually, not at all,” Craig says. “We’re all fans of the music of the mid-’70s. It’s just a very amazing time for rock and pop-rock. When Will was writing the songs, he was more thinking about, ‘(Who) are these characters? Where do these characters come from? What were they listening to in the ’60s when they were young and growing up and drawing inspiration from different bands of that era?’”
Without having seen “Stereophonic” but even with listening to its original cast recording — which plays like a rock album — it’s hard to wrap your arms around how the show’s overall storytelling fits into the equation.
“At the heart of the show,” Craig says, “it’s about the creative process. It’s about the struggle to try to make art of any kind, whether you’re writing a play or an album or making a painting.
“It’s (likely), too, that a lot of people in the audience have never been in a recording studio and have never seen the process of one of their favorite albums being made,” he adds. “You’re in the studio with these people who are struggling to make something great. The relationships are falling apart. They’re having transcendent moments with the music where it does come together. So you’re seeing the journey of something from start to finish, the creation of something from start to finish. I think that’s a really unique plot line in itself.”
According to a news release from Playhouse Square, the Cleveland-bound First National Tour of “Stereophonic” features, among other actors, Jack Barrett, as Grover; Claire DeJean, as Diana; Steven Lee Johnson, as Charlie; Emilie Kouatchou, as Holly; Cornelius McMoyler, as Simon; Denver Milord, as Peter; and Christopher Mowod, as Reg.
It can’t be a breeze to cast these roles for the show’s various productions, as lead performers in a company must be able not only to act and sing but also be proficient on their characters’ instruments.
“I’ve been in every casting session,” Craig says. “It’s always a challenge.”
He adds that a few months of music lessons for a cast member leading up to a production’s launch is an option if needed.
“I’ve actually enjoyed that casting process and just seeing how talented all these people are,” he says. “But (with this tour), I’m telling you, this band on stage is just killing it. It’s amazing to watch and to hear them.
“My favorite part of the journey as music director-arranger is seeing the band come together. We work really hard trying to make it feel authentic, like a real band. And that sort of magic — you can’t really qualify it. It’s just really fun when it clicks.”
From afar, it seems as if “Stereophonic,” with its unusual structure and nearly three-hour performance time (15-minute intermission included), has defied the odds, the show having extended its Broadway run from a planned 14 weeks to, ultimately, 305 performances.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s just a brilliant piece,” Craig says. “I think David has written a work of art — it’s just a very beautiful play. And Will Butler has done a fantastic job of making music for this piece that sort of deepens the story and expands the universe of this band that you’re seeing in this recording studio.
“I think what’s resonating with people is the quality of (the) writing and the experience of the show being unlike anything that people have seen before.”
‘Stereophonic’
Where: Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace, 615 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
When: Jan. 6 through 25.
Tickets: Starting at $34.80.
Info: PlayhouseSquare.org or 216-241-6000.