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For Immediate Release - August 30, 2000 World Premier of Lust 'n Rust Set for January, 2001. Chicago, IL - The world premier of the new musical, Lust 'n Rust, will be held at Chicago's Theatre Building for five weeks January and February of 2001. Lust 'n Rust, the Trailer Park Musical, is the first play of the writing and producing team comprised of Frank Haney, Carol Kimball, and Dave Stratton. They are producing this play under the name of their new company, Lawn Chair Theatre. Lust 'n Rust is about the loves and heartaches of the residents of the Redbud Mobile Estates. Most of the citizens of Twister Plaines, Illinois work at the local Agribig plant, including Steve, the new plant manager who has just moved in from the East Coast. Steve's life is immediately complicated by his relationship with Connie, the adorable, soon-to-be-divorced waitress at Smitty's Diner, and an assignment that will affect the destiny of the entire town. It is a play the producers believe will appeal to both urban and rural audiences, with a story and characters that create a context for the songs that deepens their poignancy. This is the first theatrical production for these award-winning filmmakers who provide independent producing and directing services to leading communication companies. Both Haney and Kimball have been writing and performing music and leading bands for over 25 years, and Stratton has been writing comedy scripts and producing business theatre events for almost as long. "This project is a natural for us as it combines our diverse professional experiences into a single project. From film making we've learned how to tell dramatic stories in ways that draw in an audience. And now adding our love of writing songs to that has been a real treat," explains Haney. Lust 'n Rust boasts 14 memorable original songs. Kimball describes the music style as alternative country, "...as opposed to the 'New Nashville' style that has more in common with pop-rock. We use harmonies and traditional country instrumentation that are influenced by such artists as The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris." The goal of the team has been to write songs that were strong enough to stand alone, apart from the play. They have recorded a CD of the songs, and have formed a band, The Trailers, to perform the songs at occasional live gigs. Three of the songs can be heard on the Internet at mp3.com, where all three had placed on the top-forty alternative country chart. The play's book, written by Stratton and based on ideas developed by the team, is smart, funny, and surprisingly moving. "It would have been easy to turn these trailer park residents into cartoons and make the play just a string of redneck jokes. But the songs and characters deserved more than that," said Stratton. "While we play a bit with the stereotypes of small-town trailer park people, we quickly establish them as three-dimensional characters that you care about. People who choose to live in very small towns tend to have a self-deprecating sense of humor, and that's the spirit of the humor of this play. We poke fun, but the humor is always warm and affectionate, never cruel." Michael Fritz, a Chicago sound designer, makes his directing debut with Lust 'n Rust. "Michael grew up in a small town and he was immediately in tune with what we wanted to do in this play," explains Stratton. Haney adds, "We knew this would be a great opportunity for Michael, and we knew he'd put his heart and soul into it. In fact, it was Michael's confidence in the play that really encouraged us to go forward with our own production." Lust 'n Rust has the potential to appeal to a very broad audience, explains Fritz, "This play will be enjoyable for both avid and casual theatregoers. And the songs will bring music fans to the play that might not normally go to the theatre." Stratton adds, "While we set out to create an entertaining play that has broad appeal, we wanted the most sophisticated theatregoer to have a good time, too. We give our audience a lot of credit -- we don't think you have play down to an audience to create theatre that's fun. We've done our best to create a play that's smart, that works on many different levels." "We're not trying to revolutionize theatre," explains Kimball. "We're just trying to create a very high quality night of entertainment that people will want to share with their family and friends, that is filled with great music, that deals honestly with some social issues we're concerned about, and that will become the next big musical hit that will play around the world for years to come. That's not too ambitious a goal, is it?" Lust 'n Rust will open on January 18, 2001, at the Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont in Chicago. Tickets are now available through Ticketmaster and the Theatre Building box office, 773-327-5252. The Lawn Chair Theatre members welcome the opportunity to participate in feature stories and interviews about their unusual entry into the theatre business and the creation and staging of their first play. For more information contact: Dave Stratton
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