Euan Morton joins the cast of Röckët Stähr’s Death of a Rockstar: A Cine-Concert Experience, a unique theatrical event that brings a glam rock opera to the stage of Joe’s Pub in New York City. Two performances only: June 23 and July 7, 2026.
Billed as “part Tommy, part Jesus Christ Superstar, with a little Hedwig and the Angry Inch thrown in for good measure,” the show marks the first time the story has ever been performed live on stage.
The Show
Röckët Stähr’s Death of a Rockstar is a rock opera set in the year 2164, when rock ‘n’ roll has been outlawed by a repressive society. A band of underground rebels, led by a mad scientist, attempts to start a non-violent revolution: they clone a rock star and send him on a guerrilla tour, hoping to “rock ‘n’ roll them free from the tyranny.”
The work was originally conceived, written, and animated by the artist Röckët Stähr as a 90-minute animated feature film, released independently. Stähr wrote all the songs, scored the film with live strings, horns, and woodwinds, played all the piano, guitar, and bass, and sang all the vocals except the female lead. The result was described as a love letter to rock ‘n’ roll and 20th-century American pop culture — a rock opera that Stähr himself places alongside Tommy, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
The Cine-Concert Experience is a new theatrical format: as the animated film plays in full, a live band performs the entire score on stage, with Broadway cast members voicing and embodying the roles. It is the first time the work has ever been staged in this way.
Euan Morton in the Production
Euan Morton — Tony-nominated for Taboo and a veteran of the national tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch — joins Alex Joseph Grayson (Parade, The Outsiders) and Ryan Shaw (Motown The Musical). Abby Ahmad, who originated the role of Ronnie in the film, reprises her role on stage.
The production is co-directed by Johanna McKeon and Austin Regan and produced by Ryan Gentles.
Joe’s Pub
Joe’s Pub is one of New York City’s most celebrated intimate performance spaces, located within the Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan. Since opening in 1998, it has hosted a remarkable range of performers across music, theatre, and cabaret, and has a longstanding reputation as a place where the boundaries between genres dissolve. Its 185-seat capacity makes it an ideal venue for a production that demands both the energy of a rock concert and the intimacy of storytelling theatre.
