Summerfolk alum Sam Boer of The Lifers is debuting an original folk musical at the Toronto Fringe’s NextStage Festival.  Boer is part of The Uncommon Folk Collective presenting a new show, Ursa: A Folk Musical. Combining the joys of a folk concert with the timeless wisdom of a folktale, Ursa: A Folk Musical tells the story of a lonely bear, a restless small-town Ontario teenager, and the star-crossed friendship they forge. This unforgettable exploration of the anxieties and euphorias of young adulthood is full of fresh and surprising folk tunes performed by a live band.

Written collaboratively over weekly Zoom sessions throughout the pandemic, musical theatre renaissance man Jake Schindler and Canadian Folk Music Award nominee Sam Boer crafted this show as a creative life raft. Rather than stick to traditional divisions of labour in musical theatre (book, music, lyrics), Schindler and Boer linked at the arm and threw themselves into this show, crafting every element as a team. The result: a folk musical brimming with scrappy enthusiasm; a show that stretches folk music in completely new directions while telling a story that reflects on the challenges and rewards of head-over-heels friendship.

Unabashedly drawing upon the universal power of traditional folklore, this take on the genre is as immediately relatable as it is provocatively unusual. Ursa speaks to the restlessness many young people growing up in the present moment must navigate; how this anxiety complicates their relationships; and the catharsis they feel as they accept the ways they grow and change throughout early adulthood.

Due to Omicron, Toronto Fringe pivoted to a fully digital program for this year’s NextStage Festival. You can watch a live recording of Ursa: A Folk Musical, recorded at Ada Slaight Theatre, via the Toronto Fringe website  until February 13th. Tickets are $15.