The Flin Flon Cowboy rides its way to Toronto’s stage
Ken Harrower’s story is of queerness, self-discovery and rebellion
The Flin Flon Cowboy is a new country-western musical seeing its premiere at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2.
Co-created by Ken Harrower, Erin Brandenburg and Johnny Mrym Spence, the musical details the life of Harrower, who also performs as the lead actor, in a dramatic explosion of queerness, self-discovery and rebellion.
Harrower, a gay, disabled man from small-town Flin Flon, Manitoba, sheds light on the challenges he faced growing up in foster care, and later as he explored his identity in adulthood. Heavier topics presented include suicide, abuse, consent and accountability.
“Cowboys tend to hide a lot of stuff, and that’s how I felt up until now,” Harrower said.
Despite an exploration of harrowing topics, the show is overall triumphant.
“It’s been a time of healing,” Harrower said, going on to reflect on how creating the show has allowed him to now be “totally open and honest about who [he is].”
His newfound openness and healing are due in part to the work of the production team and cast, and the community they have created. Support is one of the key themes of the musical, in the narrative and its production. From daily check-ins, artist support workers and a therapist available, everyone is taken care of. Accessibility for Harrower comes first.
“[The] central core idea of this show is to make sure [Harrower] has what he needs to tell this story,” said Brandenburg, the director. “That trumps everything.”
On stage, between red velvet curtains, the show’s first set comprises a barn and a four-piece country band. The band, consisting entirely of multi-instrumentalists, sits on a glowing bandstand, and a ramp connects the stage to the audience. Spence, the music director, has created an immersive sound design, with five channels of audio positioned around the theatre. The songs develop the story without being too direct.
“It's nice to present the whole thing and let the audience arrive where they arrive,” Spence said.
Through music and dance, Harrower and the rest of the cast explore interactions with social workers, navigating relationships, moving across the country and a multitude of other traumas and triumphs—all to a soundtrack that sounds like “Glen Campbell, Hank Snow [and] Dolly Parton ciphered through a camp aesthetic,” according to Spence.
Even during the darkest moments, Harrower is able to reclaim his own narrative. With the backdrop of a queer, campy, country musical, he celebrates his hard-won joy, defies expectations as he recounts hardships and incites viewers to reflect on their lives and values.
“We're using the big musical as a bit of a Trojan horse to sneak in some really fascinating and interesting questions,” Brandenburg said.
Spence hopes people will leave the theatre with “a heart that is full of all the things good and bad, humanity, forgiveness, trials and tribulation.” The Flin Flon team aspires to one day tour the country and spread their message to more viewers. Harrower anticipates sharing his own story and inviting others to do the same.
“If you are hiding aspects of your life that have hurt in the past,” Harrower said, “I invite you to work on whatever is hurting or whatever is holding you back, open up, and start to heal.”
