REXBURG -- It’s a story about love, jealousy, hope, and death all taking place in a haunting graveyard—Deep Love: A Ghostly Rock Opera is anything but a traditional opera. It’s a one-of-a-kind, non-musical theater, rock show that pulls viewers into its unique premise.
Ford Erickson is a band member who’s been playing the electric guitar for 11 years. He says he’s been intrigued with the production since his friends Ryan Hayes and Garrett Sherwood created it back in 2010 during their time at BYU-Idaho. (Deep Love Opera)
”They performed it in my friend’s living room and that’s when I first saw it, and I was blown away,” Erickson says. “The songs are beautiful, they’re powerful.”
The story focuses on four main characters—A young widow named Constance, her late husband referred to as Old Bones, Friedrich, Constance’s new love interest, and Florence, Friedrich’s ex. Constance is mourning the passing of her husband while also trying to move forward into a new normal, but Old Bones and Florence won’t seem to let her.
The story of the love rectangle is told through all forms of rock including modern, blues, and other traditional sounds of the rock genre.
“There’s something about this show that really entrances people because it’s a ghostly show… very Halloween-y, but the songs are really beautiful. There’s angry songs, there’s really sad, heart-wrenching songs, there’s beautiful love songs. I’ve known multiple people who’ve had their first dance at their wedding to one of the songs for the show because it’s such a beautiful love song,” Erickson says.
Along with the four main characters who also double as vocalists, Erickson says the band consists of seven people playing guitar, bass, saxophone, and keys.
“We’ve had so many incredible performers from all kinds of different backgrounds for over 10 years and this year’s no exception,” Erickson says, “If people had seen the show six or seven years ago we’ve got a different cast now, but it has a whole new flavor. The show’s different now than it’s ever been, it kind of ebbs and flows every year.”
The band has toured to different states throughout the U.S., especially during the Halloween season, and Valentine’s Day. The production was featured at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2015, and in 2016 they were invited to the Johnny Mercer Writer’s Colony at the Goodspeed Theatre in Connecticut.
The band performs Friday, Oct. 25 at the Colonial Theater in Idaho Falls at 8 p.m. with another performance Oct. 30 at Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center in Taylorsville Utah.
“It’s a rock concert, you don’t need to give your quiet, polite applause after each song. We want people to be loud and ruckus, and hooting and hollering the whole time and it makes the whole experience really fun,” Erickson says.
As a reminder if you’re attending the show dress in your best funeral attire.
“In the end of the show you will see what we mean by Deep Love… deep in the grave is what that hints too,” Erickson says.
Find more information at DeepLoveOpera.com or on Instagram and Facebook @DeepLoveOpera.
Listen to Deep Love A Ghostly Rock Opera on Spotify.