Hear from the Stars of the Dance Musical Illinoise at Its Gala Celebration

After wowing audiences in Annandale-on-Hudson, Chicago and the Upper East Side, the Sufjan Stevens dance musical Illinoise has finally arrived on Broadway—and it has the Tony nominations (four of them) to prove it. On May 7, The Broadway Show headed to the production’s opening gala to speak with the choreographer-director Justin Peck and the stars of the show.

“I've been so inspired by Broadway musicals from a very young age,” said Peck, a current Tony nominee for Best Choreography and a 2018 Best Choreography Tony winner for the last Broadway revival of Carousel. “To have the chance to actually have this show exist in that realm is just, like, beyond.”

Ahmad Simmons described the show as “a love letter to the dance community,” as well as, perhaps, “a love letter to storytellers, really, everywhere.” He added, “This has been such a beautiful journey.” So You Think You Can Dance alums Gaby Diaz and Ricky Ubeda are thrilled to be part of that journey: “I didn't know that I would ever have the opportunity to dance like this on a Broadway stage,” said Diaz. Ubeda concurred: “It's the most I've ever been able to dig my teeth into something as a dancer.”

Ben Cook summed up the mood of the night: “To be able to express this story and this heartache through movement to the music of Sufjan Stevens has been unlike anything I've ever experienced.”