Since graduating from UNC, Neyla Pekarek ‘09, has lived on a stage. For eight years she traveled across the world performing in front of massive crowds as a member of the highly successful folk-rock band, The Lumineers, a position she secured after answering an ad on Craigslist. 

“It was crazy that it happened the way it did. I feel lucky to have been a part of The Lumineers, but I knew it wasn’t a forever thing for me,” Pekarek said. 

The vocalist, cellist and pianist has since decided to step off the tour bus and say goodbye to her bandmates.  

“I wanted to hone in on my own songwriting skills and be in charge of myself,” Pekarek said.  

She’s not leaving the spotlight, though, just shifting her stage setting to the theatre with the world premiere of her new musical Rattlesnake Kate at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) on Feb. 4. 

“It wasn’t a conscious decision that I was going to write a musical, but I do think the music I grew up on and what I really fell in love with during my formative years happens to lie in musical theatre sound,” Pekarek said. 

Growing up in Aurora, a mere 20 miles from Denver, Pekarek’s parents often took her to see the Broadway tours that came through DCPA. The Buell Theatre is where Pekarek fell in love with musicals, and what drove her to study Music Education at UNC. That’s where Pekarek says she realized she had the grit and guts to write and perform in her own show. 

“The programs are really strong at UNC and equip the students to understand the work ethic that’s required to do this as a career,” Pekarek said. “My courses and experiences pushed us really hard in a way that reflects the real world.” 

It wasn’t just the vigorous rehearsals that stuck with Pekarek during her time at UNC, she also made life-long friends that she continues to collaborate with. Four other UNC alumni are also on the cast and creative team for Rattlesnake Kate, including the musical director and stage manager. 

“The UNC pride is a plenty on this production,” Pekarek boasted. “Being able to connect and build those friendships early on in college is really awesome. You’re in it together.” 

Pekarek’s college experience gave her the drive, the community and finally, her muse. Pekarek first learned about frontierswoman, Kate Slaughterback, the main character in Rattlesnake Kate, in Greeley. As the folktale goes, around 100 years ago, Kate, armed with a rifle and a “No Hunting” sign, fought off 140 rattlesnakes to save her son. Kate's tenacity struck a chord with Pekarek. She knew the story needed to be told. 

“I saw her adventurous spirit and a woman who was unwilling to compromise regardless of the circumstances. That was really inspiring to me,” Pekarek said. 

Pekarek kept Kate’s legacy in her back pocket and shared it with anyone who would listen, and in 2015, she started to write songs about her. 

“I didn’t have a lot of direction at first, I was just enjoying the experience of being creative and the research part of it was fun,” Pekarek said.  

Like venom coursing through the body after a snakebite, Pekarek quickly realized the songs she wrote about her favorite frontierswoman could be made into something more. In 2019, Pekarek released her first solo album, Rattlesnake, which she then developed into lyrics and a score, Rattlesnake Kate. 

“I’m feeling more excited than ever before,” Pekarek said. “It’s amazing to be in the theatre that I still hold as such a revered place. It’s an honor to be here.” 

Performing in a new light with new creators and some former classmates, Pekarek is thrilled to enter the next stage of her career, musical theatre.  

“Who knows what the future will hold, but right now this feels like a really good place to be,” she said.  

Rattlesnake Kate is a joint effort by Pekarek, who wrote the music and lyrics for the production, and playwright Karen Hartman. It runs through March 13 at the Wolf Theatre. Pekarek will also be playing the role of ‘Brownie.’ 

- written by Sydney Kern

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