Sir Babygirl loses her mind in new rock opera

It’s a rock opera underworld, and Sir Babygirl stars as Persephone in a new, original play premiering this weekend.

The story begins with Persephone as she wakes up on her last day in Hades, which, in this twist on the classic myth, includes a nightly stage show that she performs as part of her netherworld residency. Plucked arpeggios and insane headlines emanating from the radio establish a tone that blends elements of classic Broadway musicals and theater of the absurd. In this opening number, Persephone yawns, coughs and sings about roaches in her cereal and words of encouragement for herself: “Baby, you’ll be fine. Just as long as you stay sane while losing your mind.”

The show, titled “How To Stay Sane While Losing Your Mind,” shares its name and music with a yet to be released sophomore album by Sir Babygirl, the moniker of New Hampshire-based singer-songwriter Kelsie Hogue. The new music builds on the coming of age story Hogue began in her 2019 debut album. This chapter follows Sir Babygirl as she navigates through a sometimes violent, sometimes confusing world and finds herself on the edge of sanity.

“The last five years have felt so operatic and so absurd, that I thought the only way to do that is be literal, like this is a rock opera,” Hogue said during a break at the first musical run-through in January at The Record Co. in Boston.

The music brings together themes of sexuality, death of self and questioning reality. It’s a story of survival despite the odds and a glimmer of happiness and laughter in a rock opera world. Hogue intersperses the dark, despairing concept with moments of humor throughout the musical with lines like, “You tried to crack the code,/ But the code cracked out./ You tried to fight ‘The Man,’/ But you made him proud.” Songs such as “Bad Brain” and “Unholy” tap into a sincerity and existential impasse: “Why is it you can touch me/ better than anyone good for me ever could?/ Ever could./ I want to throw my whole brain away/ And start over with a new one/.”

Hogue turned to multi-instrumentalist Larz Brogan of Palehound and Julien Baker’s touring band for musical direction. The band also includes frequent collaborator and guitarist Rose O'Malley and dark synth pop artist Hannah Hoffman of Dutch Experts. The trio play from the stage and interact with Persephone in a way that functions as harmoniously arranged vocal backup and a theatrical Greek chorus. Hogue, Hoffman and director Rigel Harris all grew up in the same corner of New Hampshire and even shared a voice teacher growing up.

“ Everybody's working class,” said Hogue. “Everybody has a job or twenty, and everybody has sacrificed their time and energy and money to be here today.”

Harris said her experience as a birthing and postpartum doula helped prepare her for directing this play. “ What I found in doula work was really all of my favorite parts of theater,” said Harris, “Facilitating the spaces where people can let go and can surrender and can totally open themselves up.” Harris views her role as both a practical and spiritual one, where she finds herself helping Hogue give birth to her artistic vision. “ We've been sort of joking that I'm her doula, that I'm her art doula.”

While Hogue is more widely known for her pop music career, her roots are in theater. She performed in the Briggs Opera House, where this show premiers, in community theatre productions as a child. Years later, she received a BFA in acting from Boston University, also spent time in the Chicago standup scene and, in this interview, she made references known mostly by theater insiders, like poking fun at Samuel Beckett’s estate for enforcing a gender-specific casting directions.

Sir Babygirl’s return to theater also aligns with a greater goal of bringing people together to experience art in person.

“ I wanted to create a space where everybody could collectively have fun losing their minds for a while,” said Hogue. “Because I feel like a lot of the time we all feel like we're losing our minds in the most debilitating, sad way. And I thought it'd be really nice for us to all lose our minds together in a really cathartic, collective, humorous way.”

“How To Stay Sane While Losing Your Mind” opens at the Briggs Opera House on March 7-8  in White River Junction, Vermont with plans to bring the show on tour.