Producers Orin Wolf and Greg Nobile are preparing to move the acclaimed dance piece Illinoise to the St. James Theater, packing another new musical into the busy 2023-24 season.
The transfer from the Park Avenue Armory — where Illinoise is scheduled to play its final, sold-out performance on March 26 — would be so quick that the show may not have time for previews on Broadway, industry sources said. To be eligible for Tony Awards this year, productions must open by April 25.
Based on its generally strong notices, Illinoise will be a formidable contender in a wide open awards season. According to a pitch prepared for prospective angels, it will be produced for $5 million — a bargain for a new musical — and capitalized for $6.5 million, which includes a $1.1 million financial reserve.
Should it achieve average weekly published box office grosses of about $1.1 million, it could recoup its production costs in ten weeks or less, assuming a $2.5 million tax credit from New York state, according to a preliminary recoupment table. (Recouping may vary from projections, of course, especially as the recoupment chart assumes a 1400-seat theater. The St. James has about 1700 seats.)
The piece was originally commissioned by the Fisher Center at Bard College and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, among others, and received nonprofit development funding from foundations and wealthy patrons. Directed and choreographed by Justin Peck, the resident choreographer of New York City Ballet, it’s inspired by and scored to the 2005 concept album Illinois by indie composer Sufjan Stevens. Peck was a teenager studying at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center when the album was released and became deeply affected by it.
“It helped me understand the world and myself and my place in the world,” Peck said at a talkback March 14 at the Armory. He worked with playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury on the story, which doesn’t have spoken dialogue.
The reviews for the show at the Armory offer any number of positive quotes for ads. (Advertising will be handled by AKA, which like the St. James is part of Ambassador Theatre Group. Last year, ATG acquired control of the St. James and Jujamcyn’s four other theaters.) The New York Times’ Jesse Green called it “a mysterious and deeply moving dance-musical hybrid;” Vulture’s Sara Holdren wrote that its “extraordinary corps of dancers, musicians, and singers throws open a window to the cosmos, and we all turn like hungry wintering plants toward the sun.”
The St. James becomes available on April 7, thanks to the early closing of the revival of Spamalot after five months. The Illinoise transfer was earlier reported by Jonathan Lewis, otherwise known as Sweaty Oracle on TikTok. (Credit where credit is due.)
Illinoise would be the 15th new musical of the season, according to IBDB credits. (Only 14 of those will be competing for best musical, because the Tony administration committee ruled that Gutenberg! The Musical! will be eligible in the best revival category.)
Nobile’s ever-busy company Seaview is scheduled to open Lempicka, the long-gestating new musical about the artist Tamara de Lempicka, at the Longacre two weeks before Illinoise. He’s also a lead producer of Stereophonic, David Adjmi’s play with music that opens April 19 at the 805-seat John Golden.
Stereophonic appears to be selling well — a sign that a show without stars or a well-known brand, like Illinoise, still stands a chance of succeeding. By opening on Broadway this season, Illinoise producers are capitalizing on the buzz, but they’ll be under pressure to sell a lot of tickets fast.
