It seems, perhaps, an unlikely subject for a musical: the story of a cave explorer in 1925 Kentucky who becomes trapped while navigating an underground network he hopes to develop into a tourist attraction.
His family and fellow cavers begin a rescue attempt, while a mob of reporters gathers at the scene in one of America's first nation-wide media frenzies.
That musical is Adam Guettel's acclaimed Floyd Collins - which is being brought to the Vancouver stage by Patrick Street Productions, a born-in-Burnaby theatre company that's now based in New Westminster.
It's onstage at the York Theatre March 11 to 30.
The musical premiered off-Broadway in 1996, but Patrick Street's staging is the first time it will be seen in Vancouver.
"We have wanted to stage Floyd Collins in Vancouver for many years; we hear the future of musical theatre in Adam Guettel's nuanced and evocative score," said Katey Wright, co-artistic producer of Patrick Street, in a press release.
This year the show has special meaning for the company, since it opened its season in February with a Rodgers and Hammerstein revue, Out of a Dream. Guettel is the grandson of Richard Rodgers.
"We just love the balance between the two shows and the lineage between Richard Rodgers and Adam Guettel," said Peter Jorgensen, Wright's husband and co-artistic producer, in an interview with the Burnaby NOW.
The former Burnaby residents have been drawn to Guettel's work before - in 2011, they staged his Light in the Piazza.
Jorgensen said that work is notable for the way the music itself tells the story - something that Patrick Street strives to find in its productions.
Floyd Collins, he said, is similar.
"It's got all the sophistication of The Light in the Piazza, but textually and musically it's quite different," Jorgensen said.
Wright noted that Guettel is known for his ability to create an entirely new musical vocabulary for each of his shows, based on its own particular time and place.
"He cerates a musical universe for the story," she noted, adding his ability to do so is "phenomenal." "You won't find a gluey pop ballad in the middle of a 19th-century costume drama."
The musical style draws from bluegrass and Americana, while integrating elements reminiscent of Bartok and Stravinsky.
Jorgensen said the music is integral to the show.
"The music just keeps unraveling in a sort of inevitable way," he said.
Guettel himself is in Vancouver for an evening talk and performance Feb. 21, thanks to the efforts of Patrick Street - and, while in town, he will be working with the cast of Floyd Collins.
That cast includes a coast-to-coast network of Canadian musical theatre talent, with Daren A. Herbert in the title role. The Bermuda-born Herbert - whose first home upon moving to Canada was, in fact, in New Westminster - previously appeared in Patrick Street's Piazza and has most recently been seen in Vancouver in the Arts Club's Dreamgirls.
He's joined by CBC TV stars Kevin McNulty (of Arctic Air fame) and Krystin Pellerin (of The Republic of Doyle), along with local and national talent including David Adams, Nathan Carroll, Graham Coffeng, Michael Culp, Jay Davis, Michael Torontow, Kris Truelsen, Andrew Wade, Ashley Wright and Katey Wright.
They will be accompanied by a live, six-piece band.
The production is directed by Jorgensen, with musical direction from Jonathan Monro and assistant direction by Chris Allan. Sets and props are designed by Amir Ofek, with costumes by Barbara Clayden, lighting by Jeff Harrison and sound design by Bradley Danyluk.
Floyd Collins is onstage at the York Theatre, 639 Commercial Dr. in Vancouver, from March 11 to 30.
Previews are on March 11 and 12 at 8 p.m., with opening night on Thursday, March 13 at 8 p.m. Tickets are priced from $19. Buy online at tickets.thecultch.com or call 604-251-1363.
See www.patrickstreetproductions.com for more.
