Rock musical with Regina roots hits the stage at Dancing Sky Theatre

The rock musical The Curst hits the stage at the Dancing Sky Theatre in Meacham on Friday.

Regina playwright Kelley Jo Burke called it a “pop fantasia” that follows the fictional band the Curst as its members are confronted by a series of misfortunes. She said it draws from the lives of the Regina band Library Voices.

Burke said she used to work as an arts producer for a radio station where she played music from Saskatchewan bands, but her favourite was always Library Voices.

“I thought they were so exciting and so talented, and they had such an ear for a strong riff,” she said.

“I looked at their songs and I looked at the story that it told about how you keep going when the whole universe seems to be telling you that maybe you should just stay home.”

Burke said songs from Library Voices are featured in the show, and the band wrote four original songs for the musical as well.

The show was originally supposed to debut on May 1, 2020. It was fully cast and sets were being built, but the COVID-19 pandemic washed those plans away.

“When you call the play The Curst and you’re writing about the unluckiest band in Canada, you’re inviting a certain amount of negative attention from the universe,” Burke said.

Three years later, and with an almost entirely new cast, Burke said she is excited to bring the vision that’s existed in her mind for five years to life.

“I’m quivering. It’s been a long road getting here,” she said.

The show has other Saskatchewan connections, and features actors from all over the province, Burke said.

Declan Hills is one of them.

“It was really an interesting challenge to get really in the head of my character and bring musicality to the role as well,” Hills said, adding he joined the show with primarily a music background.

Hills plays the role of Sam, whom he said is someone trying to navigate adult life in the context of being a touring musician.

He said the most interesting part of the show is the dynamic interplay of the music and script, as well as recorded and visual media.

“It’s quite a fantastic mishmash of different parts of art and it’s really beautiful,” he said.

The show opens Friday and runs until May 14.