"Message In A Bottle," centered around Sting's music, coming to the stage at Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Next month the music of Sting will come to life on stage in Denver, as "Message in a Bottle" arrives at the Buell Theatre. The show, which plays the Denver Center for the Performing Arts February 13 through the 25, features many of Sting's greatest hits.
"The music of Sting is so iconic, whether you know it from The Police or from his work as a solo artist," said Kate Prince, Director and Choreographer for the show.
Prince spoke with CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas from her home in London.
She first met with Sting in 2017 to begin work on a production that could mold Sting's hits into a performance that carried a message to audiences as well. Though Sting's music is what draws many people into the show, the dancing is what many will find most memorable, according to Prince.
"What you are seeing is a visual feast of dance," Prince said.
Sting challenged Prince to tell a memorable story through dance and his music. One of the biggest challenges was trying to decide which of Sting's many great hits would make the cut for the show.
"There were too many songs, too many songs to pick from," Prince said.
Prince said one day she was reading the news and saw a photo of an immigrant child. The child had drowned while trying to flee Syria for a better life in Turkey. She recalled seeing the child's lifeless body in the photo, saying it appeared like the young boy had simply fallen asleep. She said the heartbreak of knowing such a young and innocent person died all in an effort to live a better life served as the inspiration for what became "Message in a Bottle."
"(The photo) prompted me to want to try and create a fictional story, but based in truth. About people who put their lives at risk, and their children's lives at risk, to cross open water in a tiny boat. Because, where they live isn't safe," Prince said.
The 90 minute performance does not include spoken dialogue among the cast. The cast dances to the words and beat of Sting's music, conveying a story of love, hope, human resilience and survival.
"I don't like dance to have empty steps. I want dance to say something. I want dance to be able to grab in on a story and actually go somewhere with the story," Prince said. "(Sting's) songs already tell a story. They are already pretty political in their own right, and we have connected them together with a narrative."
Though the story was not inspired by, or associated with, the crisis at the U.S. -Mexico border, one could argue this message in a bottle is coming to Denver at just the right time.
"I think different people will take different things from (the show)," Prince said. "I think a lot of it will do with what your own political views are, as to how you interpret it politically. There is something wonderful how dance can express stuff where words cannot, where words are not enough. We could all do with more empathy for people and to lead with love."
Message in a Bottle plays the DCPA February 13 through the 25. For tickets visit denvercenter.org.
CBS Colorado is a proud partner of the DCPA.
