‘Stereoscopic’ review: Broadway play goes beyond the music

Even though “Stereophonic” isn’t a musical, it’s easy to be drawn in by the great, original rock songs it exudes.

And since writer David Adjmi’s play, which opened Friday night at the John Golden Theater, is set in the mid-1970s, Will Butler’s music feels authentic to that more modern era. Almost frighteningly.

The former Arcade Fire member’s impressive jams are rhythmic and raw. Earthy, not trippy. The stuff of the best cross-country road trips.

Then, finally, tragedy comes. The tracks, which we watched painstakingly rehearsed and recorded by a famous band over the course of a year in two California studios, didn’t even make it to the final album.

It is a crucial moment in a play that, while not perfect in itself, has a profound understanding of what determined artists will do in their pursuit of perfection. Sometimes goodness has to be k**led to make room for great things, and there are consequences.

“Surround” is three hours of consequences.

Explosive relationships, volcanic nerves, 4 a.m. work nights, and a buffet of drugs and booze you can inhale are all here in Broadway’s Behind the Music.

The fictitious British-American group of three men and two women bear an uncanny resemblance to Fleetwood Mac. Rumor has it that the drama is inspired by the 1975 production of the film “Rumours.”

It could be. Who do you know? But those who know nothing about Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks will not be missed.

We meet guitarist Peter (Tom Pesenka), a selfish leader who is dating singer Diana (Sarah Pidgeon). Oddball ba*sist Reg (Will Brill) teams up with keyboardist Holly (Julianna Canfield), who dreams of a quieter life and a nice house away from her bandmates. The family of drummer Simon (Chris Stack) returns to Britain. Oh oh.

The quintet spends 1976-77 making infinitesimal changes to songs, bickering with each other, chatting about nothing, slamming doors, rinsing and repeating. Their sound engineers, Grover (Ellie Gelb) and Charlie (Andrew R. Butler), are the rare voices of reason as the project becomes more and more heated and time-consuming. The show also does so in this regard.

Adjmi’s play is long – very long – because he attempts to accurately depict the documentary style of the often ba**l artistic process. Large scenes will be spent adjusting drum cymbals or asking the singer to repeat a verse over and over again. Reg, despite his height, has a frivolous speech about boats that last forever.

That’s all well and good, but those parts of life don’t always grab the audience’s attention. Some are plain tolerant. Other plays have had greater success in finding depth in murmurs, such as Annie Baker’s “The Flick.”

Still, there’s no denying that “Stereophonic,” directed by Daniel Okane, is a moving film, and it’s a pleasure to be immersed in this creatively powerful decade for a while. David Zinn’s elegant set is the control room of a recording studio, with a soundproof booth upstairs behind gla*s. It evokes that ’70s show without going full “Brady Bunch” cuisine.

The actors, dressed in boots and bell-bottoms, loiter and sit on cushions and carpeted steps in such a comfortable manner that there is little doubt that these people have spent a year of their lives in this claustrophobic place. They click like a band should – the love and hate are palpable.

However, the most satisfying character to experience and grow is, in fact, not a musician at all, but engineer Grover. Gelb, in subtle but poignant ways, builds a man’s confidence as he transitions from nobody to producer. It is the heart of the play

But what attracted me most was Pidgeon, who, besides having that elusive rock singing quality where grit meets tenderness, brings an engaging mystery and longing to her gifted persona. Diana is clearly the star of the group, but interestingly, she doesn’t know it – until something extraordinary happens. Pecinka’s Peter, growing angrier by the minute, resents his girlfriend’s on-again, off-again gifts.

If you look closely, you might see the reflections of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham in the snow-covered hills.