New musical set to debut in East Vancouver tells story of Indigenous, Two-spirit drag artist

Starwalker is a musical by Corey Payette. Model Dillan Chiblow, Art Direction Andrea Tetrault. Photo by Matt Barnes.

Corey Payette is not worried that his new musical Starwalker – which tells the story of an Indigenous, Two-spirit drag artist trying to break into East Vancouver’s scene — will spark hate or be targeted in the way drag story time events have been recently.

“I do feel that this show is very much a message for those represented in it, and who need stories like this to feel like they are being heard and that their stories have value,” Payette told CTV News ahead of Starwalker’s premier Thursday.

The show is set to run from Feb. 16 to March 5 at The Cultch in East Vancouver, a neighbourhood Payette describes as “a little bubble of acceptance” for people who are Indigenous or queer — two identities he shares.

“It isn’t unusual to see anyone on the gender spectrum in your regular life, just walking up and down Commercial Drive,” Payette told CTV News during a break from technical rehearsals. “This show is, you know, really made for this community.”

The 35-year-old says his latest musical is completely different from his last, Children of God, which told the story of an Oji-Cree family whose children were taken away and placed in a residential school in northern Ontario. His earlier work, which has now toured nationally three times, was a fusion of contemporary musical theatre, Indigenous culture and gut-wrenching history. Starwalker, on the other hand, has a more celebratory tone and incorporates club soundtracks.

“It’s a mix of dance music and contemporary musical theatre and also Indigenous drumming songs that I’ve written, so it’s a complete departure from previous shows I’ve written,” said Payette.

“But I think the message and larger meaning of the work is consistent with what people have seen from me in the past. It’s really just about trying to insert Indigenous stories into mainstream spaces — to open people’s hearts and minds to Indigenous perspectives that perhaps they would never otherwise have available to them,” he added.

Payette believes musicals work best when they are used to speak emotions that are beyond words, which is what audiences can expect from Starwalker.

“It’s a bunch of characters who are struggling with their own identities and their own feelings of isolation or disconnection from family, and music really helps us to deepen that experience,” he said.

Payette has been working on Skywalker for four years, barely taking a break from Children of God, which premiered in 2017.

He says he created the musical with its star, Dillon Chiblow, in mind.

“While these musicals are the work that I'm passionate about and that I've created, I'm also surrounded by an enormous community of artists who are who are long-time collaborators and who constantly inspire me and make me feel like I'm not alone in this,” Payette said.

“It makes me feel that I’m exactly where I need to be, I’m saying the things that need to be said, and I’m advocating in the way that I know how for my community. If I’m not going to use my voice in my platform to share these stories and to put out these messages, then who will? You know?”

Prior to its premier at The Cultch, Starwalker earned the 2022 Tom Hendry Best New Musical Prize from the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

“Starwalker is a brilliant and unique piece that expertly blends musical styles to tell moving stories in innovative ways,” the Tom Hendry Awards jury wrote in its review.