Röckët Stähr's Death of a Rockstar is an animated rock opera feature film created almost entirely on my own.
I wrote the story, music, lyrics, and orchestrations (I'm a self-taught composer, and used live strings, brass, and woodwinds throughout the soundtrack), played all of the piano, guitar, and bass parts, sang every role except for the female lead—performed by the amazing Abby Ahmad—and produced and mixed the soundtrack.
I then spent eight years animating the entire feature film myself despite having virtually no previous animation experience.
When all was said and done, the soundtrack and animation took a grand total of thirteen years to complete.
After its completion in early 2020, the film appeared at several festivals, won a handful of awards, and eventually found its audience through independent self-distribution on DVD, Blu-ray, CD, and double vinyl.
After thousands of sales, it became clear—at least to artist manager Ryan Gentles, whose record player I borrowed to listen to the vinyl test pressings—that it might finally be time to see if my epic rock opera could make the leap from screen to stage.
Enter: The Cine-Concert Experience.
The performances taking place at Joe's Pub on June 23 and July 7, 2026, come roughly sixteen months after Ryan and I decided to join forces. They represent the first step in taking Röckët Stähr's Death of a Rockstar from screen to stage.
While the story, music, and animation remain exactly the same, the process of bringing these performances to life could not have been more different from the process of creating the film.
Whereas the film was largely the product of one person working alone for thirteen years, painstakingly protecting a singular vision while enjoying the freedom to experiment, change course, and pursue whatever strange idea seemed worth chasing, the Cine-Concert Experience has been the opposite: a collaborative effort shaped by an extraordinary cast, band, and creative team. Their talent, enthusiasm, and belief in this project have elevated it in ways I never could have achieved alone.
My hope is that these concerts represent only the first step in the evolution of Röckët Stähr's Death of a Rockstar into a fully staged theatrical production.
After all, if Broadway can make audiences believe in singing cats, haunted opera houses, and flying witches, surely there's room for a four-armed rock star wielding a double-neck guitar-bass hybrid. I mean... who wouln't want to see that on the big stage?
— Röckët Stähr, June 2026
