As I’ve said many times before I love getting a chance to see something new and fresh so I was intrigued when I got invited to review the rock opera Deep Love this week. I had never heard of it before but evidently it is just new to me because it has become a cult favorite here in Utah now in its 14th year of touring. While admittedly this style of music isn’t my taste it is very well done and I can appreciate the experience they are providing.

My favorite part of Deep Love is the audience participation they encourage. I have been on record saying theaters are too stuff and uptight about audience participation. They not only encouraged us to dress in funeral attire for the event but announced it was more of a concert environment than a theatrical. So people were responding to the performers, taking photos and occasionally dancing to a particularly good guitar riff.

This participation not only made the night more fun but it is also helpful because it allowed me to follow along on the digital program as everything was happening. They have complete lyrics on the program and scene summaries, which without I would have had no idea what was happening in the story. I made sure to have my screen light completely dimmed as to be as little bothersome as possible but since they’d given permission to have phones out I felt it was ok (also my seatmates were fine with it.)

Even with the guide the story is the thinnest aspect of Deep Love. It’s a love triangle between 4 spirits (dead, not dead, partly dead I’m honestly not sure) and the back and forth between those 4 entities. The makeup by Ariel LaFontaine is stunning and the band is impressive. This production is directed by Liz Whittaker and Chase McKnight, with Andrew Pincock as music director. The cast is all very talented with McKnight as Old Bones and Aspen Palmer as Constance.

I would compare Deep Love to something like Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Sure there is a narrative in there but it’s more about vibes and the music. If you like this kind of hard rock music than you’ll probably love it. For me it was neat to see once, but I probably won’t be itching to see it again. I suppose it is nice to have something with this style of music that all ages are welcome so the dark elements are kept pretty tame. If I was a parent I’d be appreciative of ways to introduce different types of music to my kids without it being too shocking. There was a family with a baby behind me that did have earphones on but still that was surprising! Every family is certainly different. Anyway, if Deep Love seems like your kind of thing and style of music then give it a chance. Either way you’re sure to have a unique experience. The last showing of this run is Oct 27th in Idaho Falls and tickets can be purchased here.

Deep Love is the creation of Ryan Hayes and Garrett Sherwood and was a featured presentation of the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2015 and at Goodspeed Theatre in 2016. This production is put on by Fairest of Friends Collective.

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