Draft:Deep Love: A Ghostly Rock Opera

Deep Love: A Ghostly Rock Opera was created in 2010 by Ryan Hayes and Garrett Sherwood. It's a full-length musical production, an audience-driven rock & roll show with a compelling and dramatic toxic love story. It's typically peformed as an annual Halloween tradition every October in Salt Lake City and Idaho Fall.

History
The creation of Deep Love began in 2010 with authors Ryan Hayes and Garrett Sherwood, as they were college roommates in Rexburg Idaho. After writing the first set of songs they immediately brought in their friend, Jon Peter Lewis, to perform the part of "Old Bones." The first performances of Deep Love happened in Jon's living room and a local club in Idaho where small crowds came not knowing what to expect, and finding themselves captivated and wanting more.

That initial thrust of enthusiasm led Garrett, Ryan and Jon to further develop the show, bringing it bigger stages and audiences, making a home in the Salt Lake area as a yearly Halloween tradition, and taking the show on the road to New York, Chicago and the Northwest.

Deep Love was paused in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic, but resumed its yearly live performances in 2022.

Story and Themes
Deep Love is show without dialogue—a modern take on the opera—where the characters tell the story entirely through the veil of a rock & roll concert. It's a timeless story of four souls–some living, some dead–whose lives are interlaced by their destructive pursuit of the love they cannot live without. Audience members are encouraged to boisterously clap, shout, and root for their favorite character throughout the entire show.

It's been called a "Shakespearean tragedy meets Rocky Horror meets face-melting guitar solos."

Reception and Reviews
Past reviews for Deep Love include:

"A polished show" - New York Times

"Fabulously ghoulish!"— backstage.com

"one of the best offerings of the 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival." — Eljnyc.com

Audience Reactions have generally been highly enthusiastic. Audience members are encouraged to come in elaborate funeral attire, to cheer and applaud throughout the entire show, to root for their favorite character. Since its inception in 2010 Deep Love had garnered a "cult" following of enthusiastic followers to attend the show every year.

Audience members have said about Deep Love:

"The story is fresh and the performers are absolutely top notch. This was hands down the best live performance I've ever seen and I think the world deserves see more Deep Love!"

"I've been to nearly 100 shows. [Deep Love has] become one of my favorite musical works of art. It's my road trip jam, every time. It's what I can go to in times of depression or romantic hopelessness. It speaks to me in ways nothing else has."

"For being an original work front to back in story, concept, songwriting and production, I thought it to be one of the best musical experiences in recent memory"

"Old Bones Lives"
While the basic plot of Deep Love revolves around a character names "Old Bones", a skeletal spectre who haunts and interferes with the living to achieve is own selfish aims, a conspiracy theory among core Deep Love fans begin to sprout in the late 2010s that Old Bones never died, spawning homemade shirts, bracelets, and other merch stating that "Old Bones Lives."