Beyoncé Knowles memorably said: “People don’t make albums any more. They just try to sell a bunch of little quick singles.” More than a decade ago, she spoke with startling accuracy on the wash-rinse-and-repeat cycle of music-making. The nameless record executives who want ditties in the key of TikTok. Success itself is an underwhelming boom-bust.
Stereophonic, one of Broadway’s most striking plays of the season, is an allegory of industry greed and artistry. But the play, as a work itself, serves as a triumphant example of what happens when art has the time to develop, to home in on the basics of craft, character and spirit.
