"Stereophonic," Tony-winning play about band struggling to create epic album, arrives in Boston

If you remember the documentary television series "Behind the Music"  you might be interested in "Stereophonic."

Stereophonic is the most Tony-nominated play in history, earning 13 nods when it was on Broadway a few years ago. That creative take on a behind the scenes look at what it takes to record an epic album is now on stage at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston.

The play brings audiences inside the recording studio, as an unnamed 1970's band works on their second album.

"It's hyper-naturalistic," said actor Denver Milord. "There's a sense of like voyeurism as you're watching the play. And it's a functioning recording studio, really. Everything you hear, we play live recordings back that just got recorded."

Milord plays Peter, the lead guitarist and album producer who is a bit of a control freak.

"I think one of the main questions of the play is what's the cost of making, like, a piece of art? Is it worth the ups and downs and the sacrifice and the broken relationships and the fights and the love, and what is it actually worth?" he told WBZ-TV.

While the songs are key to the story, Milord said "I wouldn't want to confuse anyone to think that this is a musical. It's, it's definitely a play about the making of music."

The audience has the chance to see how that music can evolve.

"There's all this tension that happens in all these songs where they sort of do half takes or half recordings. And it's as an audience and as an actor and the cast, you're like, 'God, I just wanna play music,'" Milord said.

Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Pink Floyd and others were known for their in-fighting and disagreements. While Stereophonic isn't modeled on those bands, Milord said the play can provide some insight into how those relationships can break down.

"If you see a band last for more than 10 years, you're kind of like, 'How did that happen?' Because there's so many creative personalities in the room and it's just really hard to collaborate," he said.

The music is memorable, but Milford feels the realism of the dialogue pulls it all together.

"It's like a bit of an orchestral piece. There's all sorts of overlapping dialogue and stuff that just seems really naturalistic, but is so scripted down to every little look and moment.... It's a real astounding work of theater," he said.

You can see Stereophonic at the Emerson Colonial Theater through March 15th.