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Productions of Lust 'n Rust are popping up around the country as theatre companies are discovering this delightful play by Frank Haney, Carol Kimball and Dave Stratton. Productions were mounted in Trenton, NJ, and Prince Frederick, MD, in 2007, and in Enfield, CT in May of 2008.

UPDATE: The Valley Repertory Company production (in Enfield, CT) opened on May 2 to a nearly full house and the May 3 show was sold out, making this one of the best attended opening weekends in company history. The remaining shows all played to sell-out or very near sell-out crowds. Audience response was fantastic, critical reviews were glowing, and the director, cast and crew thoroughly enjoyed putting on this show. The best crowds, the best reviews, the best time they've had in a production -- these are comments we hear everytime this show is produced. Pretty cool, eh?

Check out the information below if you're considering producing Lust 'n Rust, and feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions. We're looking forward to hearing about another successful production in your town.

Lust 'n Rust is the story of Steve, a corporate manager from New Jersey who is transferred by his company to a small Southern Illinois town to run the local Agribig food processing plant. He moves into the Redbud Mobile Estates and meets the quirky characters that live in the trailer park.

The spirit of the Redbud Mobile Estates can be summed up by the chorus of a country-waltz anthem sung by the cast:

Here at the Redbud, you won't be impressed
Mostly we sit back and chill
Here at the Redbud, you won't get depressed
Play tunes and fire up the grill

Steve's life is immediately complicated by a relationship with Connie, a neighbor in the park who waits tables at Smitty's Diner. Connie is splitting up with her soon to be ex-husband, Duane, who is trying to gain Connie's forgiveness for an unfortunate incident. Steve's life is further complicated when he gets a difficult assignment - an action that could have a disasterous impact on the local economy.

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5-6 men, 4-5 women, 9-10 total

Characters:
STEVE: thirty-something East-coast yuppie with mid-western roots
CONNIE: thirty-something waitress at Smitty's Diner, soon to be divorced from Duane
DUANE: thirty-something blue-collar worker at the Agribig plant
RED: fifty-something resident manager and unofficial Mayor of the Redbud Mobile Estates trailer park
LATISHA: late-twenties, African-American hair stylist, moved into the park from Chicago about a year earlier
TANYA: thirty-something best friend of Connie
JUNIOR: Tanya's husband, a late shift worker at Agribig
BUZZ: another late shift worker at Agribig
JANETTE: a newcomer to the park, mother of twin two-year-olds
HENDERSON: the Corporate Vice President of Production, Agribig, Inc. (male or female, can be doubled with another role)

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The principal strength of Lust 'n Rust is its songs. Lust 'n Rust is filled with fun, heartfelt, memorable songs with strong melodies that stand alone apart from the play. Fourteen original songs have been composed specifically for this musical. Each is a unique gem, and many have strong potential for airplay on C&W and Adult Contemporary radio stations.

Want a taste? The following are links to mp3 file song excerpts performed on stage by the Chicago premier cast. Due to performance rights issues, we are not offering a cast recording for sale. However, we will supply a full cast recording free of charge to any producer who purchases the performance rights to Lust 'n Rust. For now, enjoy these clips...

Country Western music has crossed over into the mainstream. The market for C&W music is enormous and growing. This distinctively American art form deserves its place on the world's stages. C&W music has a deep-seated popularity that will long outlast other music trends and continue to draw audiences to Lust 'n Rust for years to come.

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It would have been very easy to turn the residents of the Redbud Mobile Estates into two-dimensional cartoons, and make the play simply a succession of redneck jokes. The songs we were writing deserved much more than that, and we succeeded in writing a story that fully supports the music. Though the characters first appear to be stereotypes, their humanity and complexity is soon revealed. While we gently poke fun at the lack of sophistication of some characters, the humor is warm and affectionate, never cruel. The characters have dramatic arcs that will engage even the most discerning audience member.

By keeping our story true to the honest emotions of authentic characters, we broadened the appeal of the play. This is a play that will entertain both urban and rural audiences, and appeal to both avid and casual theatergoers. Most importantly, the story and the winning characters create a context for the songs that deepens their poignancy.

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While the play aims to entertain, the conflicts that drive the story touch on issues of corporate responsibility, class divisions, and tolerance. Without ever getting heavy-handed, the underlying message is to look beyond such stereotypes as "yuppy" and "trailer trash" to see the humanity of the individual. As the cast sings in Redbud Mobile Estates, "We're people, and nobody's trash."

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Lust 'n Rust is published by Samuel French, Inc. who are also serving as authors' representatives for the property. For licensing inquiries or to purchase copies of the script please visit www.samuelfrench.com or email musicals@samuelfrench.com.

A live production will require a cast of (at least) nine actor/singers and, ideally, a five (or more) piece C&W band. The music is arranged for guitar, piano, pedal steel, bass and drums. Several of the musical numbers could be enhanced with C&W dancing. A minus-one (music only) CD is available for audition and rehearsal use. These minus-one tracks have even been used successfully in performance when assembling a band was not feasible.

The characters and setting of the play lend themselves to fun, creative promotional activities. One producer had a member of the cast giving audience members country dance lessens during the pre-show. Another company provided cast members in character to host a charity barbeque. Several producers have offered T-shirts, coffee mugs, water bottles and even temporary tattoos emblazoned with the show logo to help generate word-of-mouth. A high-resolution version of the graphic will be provided upon request for promotional use to any production company who obtains the rights to the show.

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Frank Haney

Frank is an award winning film writer/producer/director whose work has been seen on A&E, The History Channel, and VH-1. Prior to his career as a filmmaker, he led, played guitar, sang and recorded with several seminal Midwestern country-rock groups (Silver Wings, The Farmers) and new wave bands (Astrosurf and Nukes). The son of a New York Philharmonic Trombonist, Frank at first followed in his father's footsteps. He studied trombone at the prestigious Interlochen Academy of the Arts and was accepted as a music major at the acclaimed Indiana University Music School. Living in Bloomington, Indiana (19 miles from Bill Monroe's front porch) changed Frank's musical destiny and planted the seeds for Lust 'n Rust.

Carol Kimball

Carol is a musician and documentary filmmaker. Among her film credits is Women with Voices, a feature length documentary about the grassroots women's movement in China that she produced, directed and wrote. As a musician, Carol has been singing and playing piano since she begged her parents for piano lessons at age six. She played by ear from the start and has had eight years of classical piano training. She has performed in numerous musical groups and led a country band called Thataway which achieved notable regional popularity in Chicago. Carol's immense musical talent and song writing ability has been invaluable in the creation of Lust 'n Rust.

Dave Stratton

Dave has been writing and producing comedy for almost twenty years, primarily for corporate events of Fortune 100 companies. Currently he is the President of Scriptivity, Inc. Prior to forming his own company, Dave worked for some of the most prestigious film and multimedia production companies in the US, including a position as Creative Director for the world's largest corporate communications firm, Caribiner. As a writer, Dave's work has won numerous international awards. Headlines, an independent film short, which he co-produced with Frank Haney, won a Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival and a Gold Medal at the New York Festivals. Dave's youth in a small Indiana town prepared him to write authentic dialogue for the characters of the Redbud Mobile Estates.

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Frank Haney
Phone: 847-945-4595
Email: fhfilm(at)comcast(dot)net

Carol Kimball
Phone: 773-793-8893
Email: carol.kimball(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

Dave Stratton
Phone: 847-963-0812
Email: david.stratton(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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