Sufjan Stevens's ‘Illinoise’ sets Broadway transfer

The dance theatre adaptation of the singer's 2005 album Illinois will begin performances in April following a sold-out Off-Broadway run at Park Avenue Armory.

UPDATE: Illinoise on Broadway will feature vocalists Elijah Lyons, Shara Nova and Tasha Viets-VanLear, all of whom performed in the show's Chicago and Off-Broadway productions.

Illinois meets New York! Illinoise, the new stage show adapted from the Sufjan Stevens album of the same name, will premiere on Broadway this spring, joining the 2023-24 season and becoming eligible for this year’s Tony Awards. Performances begin on April 24, the show’s official opening night at the St. James Theatre, and run through August 10.

Released in 2005, Stevens’s album Illinois (sometimes spelled Illinoise like the show) propelled the indie folk singer/songwriter to a new level of success. The concept album, whose songs are all inspired by people and places from the title state, hit the Billboard charts and was included on "best of the decade" lists from outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR.

Stevens collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury (Fairview) and Tony Award winner Justin Peck (Carousel, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story) to adapt his album for the stage. Drury and Peck co-wrote the show’s narrative, and Peck directs and choreographs. Illinoise is a dance theatre piece that tells a story of queerness, self-exploration, and extraterrestrials almost exclusively through movement and Stevens’s songs.

The show premiered at the Fisher Center at Bard in upstate New York in summer 2023 and played a Chicago run from January to February of this year. In March, the production transferred to the Park Avenue Armory off Broadway.

New York Theatre Guide’s Illinoise review reads, “Illinoise is a cathartic experience for dance-theatre newcomers and fans alike. The nostalgia factor may get people in the door, but Illinoise relies more on story than sentimentality and will change the way fans listen to Stevens’s album.”

The complete Illinoise cast includes Yesenia Ayala, Kara Chan, Ben Cook, Gaby Diaz, Jeanette Delgado, Carlos Falu, Christine Flores, Jada German, Zachary Gonder, Rachel Lockhart, Brandt Martinez, Dario Natarelli, Tyrone Reese, Craig Salstein, Ahmad Simmons, Byron Tittle, Ricky Ubeda, and Alejandro Vargas.

The vocalists and band members have yet to be announced.

Photo credit: Illinoise. (Photo courtesy of production)