Former Frank magazine editor Michael Bate has morphed into a musical composer

It's been some time since Michael Bate showed up on the radar. With the demise of Frank magazine as a source of much tut-tutting by the chattering classes, the magazine's co-founder and most visible leader seemed to have gone to ground. But he has emerged again as the producer of a musical called Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons. 

According to a post on the blog Perlich Post, back in the days when Bate (right) was a stringer for Canadian Press and playing steel guitar, he managed to get an interview with the country-rock legend Parsons in March 1973, barely six months before his death by overdose. Now he has taken that 30-minute interview and knit it into a score and script.

While there's no shortage of traumatic events packed into Parsons short life to make for an epic tragedy worthy of the ancient Greeks – aside from the whole bizarre body snatching and ritual burning scenario that later unfolded  – the production's success or failure will ultimately hinge on how effectively Parsons' timeless musical legacy is conveyed.

The low-key musical has no choreography and few Broadway moments, but it makes its Toronto debut* on Saturday, June 26 at Hugh's Room (2261 Dundas Street) at 8:30 p.m.The leads (shown above) are played by singers Anders Drerup of Silver Creek (playing Parsons) and Kelly Prescott playing Parson's discovery Emmylou Harris.

[*The post has some downloads of live music from a recent Grievous Angel performance at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.]

Related posts:

• Frank magazine folds, saying "it is time to move on"