Gabriel Shen has thought a lot about death. Not only that, they’ve researched, written songs and created an entire musical on the topic. And now, the rising Blake eighth grader is directing the show for the 32nd annual Minnesota Fringe Festival. 

A child’s uplifting vision of life after death, “Death! A Musical” is performed, directed, composed, choreographed and musically accompanied entirely by Twin Cities youth, including several Blake students. In the lead up to the festival, Shen shares why and how they created a show about death, what they hope audiences will take away and what the overall experience has meant to them. 

Q: What first gave you the idea to create a musical about death? Was it something specific like a book, an event or a movie? 

A: I first knew that I wanted to write a musical. As I was thinking about possible topics, the idea of death kept coming back to me. It wasn't a single inspiration; I just had many different ideas (Romeo and Juliet after death, Abraham Lincoln's ghost) that happened to have a common theme. 

Q: What made you want to tackle a subject that many people find difficult to talk about?

A: Death is an interesting topic. It can be sad, but it can also be an important, meaningful experience for both the deceased and the living. It's one of the only things that we have in common with every other person in the world. 

Q: How did you decide which beliefs about the afterlife you wanted to include in your musical?

A: It started with a lot of research. My goal was that the musical would be a collection of many different beliefs about what death and the afterlife are like. To do this, I learned about what different religions believe about death, as well as different customs surrounding death. I included songs for the two most common views on death: reincarnation and heaven, hell, and judgment. The other views expressed in the musical are a mixture of my own opinions, as well as other common beliefs and traditions.

Q: Can you talk a bit about your writing process? Did you start with the story, the songs or did they develop together? 

A: My dad and I wrote the musical together. I composed the songs, and we worked together on the lyrics and the script. The first step was to develop a story—this process took almost six months. From that point on, we wrote the songs. One of us would write the lyrics, and then I would put them to music. We wrote the script after rehearsals had started for the 2024 production. The following year, we revised the entire show, rewriting a significant portion of the script. I wrote three new songs for the musical: “Funeral Song,” “Out With the Old” and “Act 1 Finale.” We also began working with an orchestrator, Angela Steiner, who orchestrated each of the songs for the show. She will also be conducting the pit orchestra for “Death! A Musical,” comprising 10 youth musicians from around the Twin Cities.

Q: You staged this production last summer at the U of M, how has that experience informed your preparation for the Fringe Festival?

A: The previous production helped immensely when we were revising the musical. We could look back at the production and see what things we would keep the same and what we would need to change. At our current stage, it's very helpful that I, as well as our choreographer and many of our actors, are experienced with this specific show. I know what the staging should be, what the music should sound like, etc.



Q: How do you hope the audience will feel after seeing "Death! A Musical"? What message do you want them to take away?

A: I hope they will feel happy and satisfied. I want them to leave with a different view of death, not as something scary and sad but as something important. 



Q: What are you most excited for the audience to see on opening night?

A: I am excited for the audience to see the cast, crew and musicians having fun—and singing about a topic that many adults don't discuss.

Q: What has been the most rewarding part of this entire experience for you so far?

A: The best part of any theater show is seeing the whole thing come together. That was the best part about last year's production, and I expect it to be for this production as well. It's very rewarding to see all your hard work come together in a performance. 



Five performances of “Death! A Musical” run Aug. 1-10 at the Southern Theater. The show is appropriate for ages 7+ and tickets are now available.

Photo: Summer Rabold