Octet (musical)

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Octet
Octet album cover.jpg
Original album cover art
Music Dave Malloy
LyricsDave Malloy
Book Dave Malloy
Productions2019 Signature Theatre Company
2022 Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Awards Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music
Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical
Obie Award for Collaboration on Music & Sound

Octet is a chamber choir musical written and composed by Dave Malloy and directed by Annie Tippe. The show "explores addiction and nihilism within the messy context of 21st century technology." [1]

Contents

Eight Internet addicts gather in a support group called "Friends of Saul" in a church basement and share their stories, in a score for an a cappella chamber choir and an original libretto inspired by internet comment boards, scientific debates, religious texts, and Sufi poetry. [2] [ failed verification ]

Summary

In a "drab church basement on a rainy night", a group of eight meet as part of an internet addiction support group ("The Forest"). Paula, the group leader, apologizes for the absence of the founder, "Saul", and lays out the agenda for the meeting: the members will share their personal experiences, interspersed with a few hymns and group rituals. Jessica shares first, explaining she was cancelled after a public meltdown, and mourns her loss of privacy ("Refresh"). Henry shares his addiction to tile-matching video games focused on candy, expressing fear that the amount of time he wastes reflects a total lack of care for his own well-being ("Candy"). Another member, Karly, reminds the group they agree to avoid explicitly naming particular websites, apps, or platforms that are part of "The Monster" (the term the group uses to refer to the internet). Paula shares her own issue, describing how mindlessly scrolling on their phones comes between any intimacy between her and her husband in bed ("Glow"). The group then gathers for "Fugue State", where they stay quiet for a minute before sharing any thoughts that come up: during this, the group describe various internet activities such as sharing funny jokes or videos, expressing outrage over current events, vapid shows of solidarity on social media, playing 2048 , and engaging in arguments ("Fugue State").

During a coffee break, Henry complements Velma, the newest member, on her singing and the two discuss their relationship with technology: Velma recently went offline but still texts a friend she met online. She diagnoses Henry as having a "Recreational" addiction to his candy game, listing out the different addictions people have: "Recreational, Financial, Social, Sexual, and Informational", and that all of the group's issues fall into these categories. The two then discuss with the group how they were recruited by the elusive Saul, who not only lacks any kind of internet presence but only Paula and Marvin have met in real life. Velma expresses some fear that the group is a front for a cult, and launches into a rant about the tarot community, which she joined to escape a toxic niche community of which she was a previous member only to find just as much discourse, bemoaning that all she really wants is something pure and good. After the break, Paula leads the group in another hymn describing how the "monster" occupies the peace of their "Forest" ("Monster").

Karly and Ed share next, where the both of them find their sexual and romantic life is affected by their relationship to technology: Karly finds herself on a mindless string of dating app matches and dates with horrible men, yet fears lashing out or rejecting them could lead to violence; meanwhile Ed feels the pull of the incel community as a solution to his loneliness. The two agree that pornography has played a role in both of their issues, due to its ease of access and potentially catastrophic affect on brain chemistry ("Solo"). Toby suggests the problem goes much deeper, describing how easy access to violent content such as beheading videos and hate groups will affect the next generation, and that the internet is a tool to keep everyone distracted while those in power take from them. Conversely, he reaches the conclusion it is futile to try to fight against it, giving into nihilism ("Actually"). Marvin is the last to go, describing a bizarre encounter with an entity claiming to be God who challenged him and his research team to prove its existence: the team instead had a complete existential crisis as they discovered every seeming miracle the entity performed could be brushed off through hypotheses and theories, leaving Marvin to realize his commitment to rationalism and skepticism also means he can explain away any sense of love, responsibility, or morals ("Little God"). Velma suggests he is "The Hanged Man" in a tarot deck, offering that he needed to go through this trial in order to get to "the really good stuff".

Lastly, Paula leads the group in the Tower Tea Ceremony, where they end the session by ingesting "a powerful group psychedelic that induces a 5-minute coma, in which your consciousness is transported back to its original, pure, pre-technological limbic state" ("Tower Tea Ceremony"). All participate except Velma, who elects not to drink her tea and instead shares her own story in the silence: that through her participation in the "lonely ugly chaos of the internet"—the only time the word is used instead of "monster"—she was able to meet a girl just like her, making her realize she was not alone ("Beautiful"). Paula then leads the group in a final, hopeful hymn ("The Field").

Musical numbers

The musical is structured around a series of hymns and "shares," as the group members explain their relationship to technology. Each song corresponds to one of the Major Arcana cards in a tarot deck. [3] [4]

Productions

The piece premiered on May 19, 2019, at Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre in New York City. It was extended three times in June, ultimately finishing on June 30. [5]

The production was Directed and Choreographed by Annie Tippe, with Music Supervision & Music Direction by Or Matias, Scenic Design by Amy Rubin & Brittany Vasta, Costume Design by Brenda Abbandandolo, Lighting Design by Christopher Bowser, Sound Design by Hidenori Nakajo, and Production Stage Management by Jhanaë Bonnick [6]

Octet had its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre on April 20, 2022, once again directed by Annie Tippe. It ran until May 29, 2022. [7]

On May 22, 2025, Raven Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, announced that it will present the Chicago premiere of Octet, directed by Keira Fromm, as part of its 43rd season. [8] The production is scheduled to run from April 30 to June 7, 2026, this will be the first time it will be performed in the Midwest. [9]

The show opens in September 2025 at Crow's Theatre in Toronto. The show is part of Studio Theatre's 2025-2026 season in Washington, D.C., opening in January 2026. [10]

Roles and principal casts

CharacterOff-Broadway (2019)West Coast Premiere (2022)
EdAdam Bashian
KarlyKim Blanck
PaulaStarr BusbyIsabel Santiago
HenryAlex Gibson
TobyJustin Gregory Lopez
MarvinJ.D. Mollison
Jessica Margo Seibert
VelmaKuhoo Verma

Influences

The program's bibliography cites several sources of inspiration, including:[ additional citation(s) needed ]

Text
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ; Sherwood Anderson, Winesburg, Ohio ; John Cage, Silence ; Nicholas Carr, The Shallows ; Chuang-Tzu; Ernest Cline, Ready Player One ; Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion ; Philip K. Dick, Valis ; James Gleick, The Information ; Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind; Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near ; C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters ; Angela Nagle, Kill All Normies ; Michael Pollan, How to Change Your Mind ; Catherine Price, How to Break Up with Your Phone; Jon Ronson, So You've Been Publicly Shamed ; Rumi, “A Great Wagon”; George Saunders, Tenth of December ; Wallace Shawn, Essays; Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash ; Alan Watts, The Book ; Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass ; Pete Walker, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving

Theater
Caryl Churchill, Love and Information ; Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood Jr. & Nicholas Dante, A Chorus Line ; Stephen Sondheim & George Furth, Company

Tarot
The Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot ; Kim Krans, The Wild Unknown Tarot

Film
Altered States ; Black Mirror : S01E03 “The Entire History of You”; S03E01 “Nosedive”; S03E06 “Hated in the Nation”; Blade Runner ; The Matrix ; My Dinner with Andre

Podcasts
Reply All ; Dear Sugar

Games
Candy Crush ; Cookie Clicker ; Everything ; Inside ; Journey ; Universal Paperclips ; The Witness ; World of Warcraft

Music
Robert Ashley, Perfect Lives ; Luciano Berio, Sinfonia ; Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach ; Meredith Monk, Dolmen Music ; Nico Muhly, Two Boys, Mothertongue ; Sacred Harp; Caroline Shaw, Partita for 8 Voices ; Toby Twining, Chrysalid Requiem [11]

Critical response

The piece was well received by the New York press. Ben Brantley of the New York Times calling it "a sublime chamber opera" that "promises to be the most original and topical musical of the year." He praised the performers as "uniformly excellent" and whose "layered and contrapuntal voices produce a dazzling spectrum of effects". [12] Sara Holdren of Vulture wrote that "Octet is that rare and thrilling thing: a new musical that really does feel new. Formally, it’s both unique and invigorating — and it’s rigorous and straightforward enough in its structure for its ideas to spiral into rich, dense fractals. In the face of a virtual world where “there’s no coming back / No rehabilitation / No nuance / Just noise,” it takes a bravely unequivocal yet generous stand. It sings of darkness, blindness, and fear, but it sings also of complexity, connection, redemption, and hope." [3] Adam Feldman of Time Out New York gave Octet 5 ouf of 5 stars and wrote: "Under Annie Tippe’s taut direction, all eight bits of Octet’s byte-size cast perform Malloy’s challenging compositions with exceptional skill, abetted by Or Matias’s musical direction and Hidenori Nakajo’s sound design. As Broadway shows increasingly rely on massive spectacle, Octet proves that well-polished pieces of eight are enough." [13] David Cote of Observer wrote that it was not only "one of the most thought-provoking and soul-stirring musicals I’ve seen in ages, it has an ingeniously woven, harmonically lush score that you’ll want to revisit." [14]

Awards and nominations

Original Off-Broadway production

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
2020 Lucille Lortel Awards [15] Outstanding MusicalWon
Outstanding DirectorAnne TippeWon
Outstanding Featured Actor in a MusicalAlex GibsonNominated
Outstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalKuhoo VermaWon
Outstanding Sound DesignHidenori NakajoNominated
Drama Desk Awards [16] Outstanding Musical Nominated
Outstanding Director of a Musical Anne TippeNominated
Outstanding Music Dave MalloyWon
Outstanding Lyrics Nominated
Outstanding Book of a Musical Nominated
Outstanding Orchestrations Or Matias and Dave MalloyNominated
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical Amy Rubin and Brittany VastaNominated
Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical Hidenori NakajoNominated
Outstanding EnsembleAdam Bashian, Kim Blanck, Starr Busby, Alex Gibson, Justin Gregory Lopez, J.D. Mollison, Margo Seibert, and Kuhoo VermaWon
Drama League Awards [17] Outstanding Production of a MusicalNominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical Won
Outstanding New ScoreDave MalloyHonoree
Obie Award [18] Collaboration on Music & SoundDave Malloy, Or Matias, Hidenori NakajoWon

Cast recording

A cast recording was released on November 15, 2019 [19] following a Kickstarter campaign. [20]

References

  1. "New musical Octet, by Tony Award nominee Dave Malloy". www.signaturetheatre.org. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  2. Soloski, Alexis (May 3, 2019). "What Inspired a New Musical? Conspiracy Theories. And Yodeling". New York Times .
  3. 1 2 Holdren, Sara (May 20, 2019). "Octet Takes Flight on 8-bit Wings". Vulture . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  4. "Octet by Dave Malloy". Genius .
  5. Staff, Playbill (June 30, 2019). "Dave Malloy's A Cappella Musical Octet Ends Extended Off-Broadway Run June 30". Playbill. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  6. "New musical Octet, by Tony Award nominee Dave Malloy". Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  7. "Subscription and ticket packages". Berkeley Rep.
  8. "Season 43 - Raven Theatre Chicago". Raven Theatre Chicago - Bringing modern drama to Chicago's north side for over 35 years. May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  9. Cristi, A. A. "News: Raven Theatre Reveals Titles for Season 43". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  10. https://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/play-detail/2025-2026/octet
  11. "Octet Playbill insert". Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  12. Brantley, Ben (May 19, 2019). "The Human Voice Versus the Internet in Octet" . New York Times . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  13. Feldman, Adam (May 20, 2019). "Dave Malloy Breaks the Internet". Time Out New York . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  14. Cote, David (May 19, 2019). "Internet Addicts Make Beautiful Music Together in 'Octet'". Observer . Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  15. Clement, Olivia; Meyer, Dan (April 14, 2020). "Playwrights Horizons Leads 2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nominations With Strange Loop and Heroes of the Fourth Turning". Playbill. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  16. "PBreaking: 2020 Drama Desk Awards Nominations- The Full List!". Broadway World. April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  17. BWW News Desk. "Breaking News: Drama League Announces 2020 Nominations". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  18. "2020 Obie Awards". obieawards.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  19. "Octet (Original Cast Recording)". Apple Music. November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  20. Clement, Olivia (June 20, 2019). "Cast Recording of Dave Malloy's Octet in the Works". Playbill . Retrieved July 2, 2019.

Further reading