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Lust 'n Rust is NOT
The Great American Trailer Park Musical

Since Lust 'n Rust was first produced and published, another "trailer park musical" has arrived on the scene. In his New York Times review, Charles Isherwood referred to The Great American Trailer Park Musical as a "doggedly inert new musical" that is "a loose assemblage of gags poking mildly malicious fun at the ways of white trash" that "substitutes crude cartoons for characters." Damn! That's not good.

If you're familiar with Lust 'n Rust, you can understand why we would want to make a sharp distinction between these two very different shows. For one thing, we made a conscious decision to subvert the stereotypes of the working poor. Rather than strippers and lay-abouts, our show is filled with true working-class heroes. Maybe that's our bleeding-heart liberalism creeping in, but we also think this choice gives the audience three-dimensional characters to actually care about. Sure, they have their amusing quirks - it is a comedy after all - but it's the difference between laughing with someone and laughing at someone.

Another huge difference is the the quality of the songs. Lust 'n Rust is filled with memorable, authentic alt-country songs that stand alone apart from the play. We have the courage to not always go for the easy joke. Our ballads "Let Her Go" and "They Say" are genuinely moving - offering a wonderful surprise to audiences who would never expect to be choked up by a trailer park musical. Of course, we have rollicking, laugh-out-loud numbers too. You won't find a funnier dissertation on moral relativism than "What We're Doin'."

All we're asking is if you are even thinking about producing The Great American Trailer Park Musical that you also seriously consider a smarter alternative. Read both books, listen to the songs, and then decide. If you do, we're confident you'll choose Lust 'n Rust.

The Great American Trailer Park Musical has been compared to a bag of Doritos.* Why would you want to fill up on that when you could have a juicy, delicious, meaty steak, hot off the grill?

*Matthew Murray, Talkin' Broadway

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