Cruisin’ Back to the 1950s Book by Flip Kobler and Cindy Marcus Music and Lyrics by Bill Francoeur © Copyright 2010, Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that a royalty must be paid for every performance, whether or not admission is charged. All inquiries regarding rights should be addressed to Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., PO Box 4267, Englewood, CO 80155. All rights to this musical—including but not limited to amateur, professional, radio broadcast, television, motion picture, public reading and translation into foreign languages—are controlled by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., without whose permission no performance, reading or presentation of any kind in whole or in part may be given. These rights are fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America and of all countries covered by the Universal Copyright Convention or with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations, including Canada, Mexico, Australia and all nations of the United Kingdom. COPYING OR REPRODUCING ALL OR ANY PART OF THIS BOOK IN ANY MANNER IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN BY LAW. On all programs, printing and advertising, the following information must appear: 1. The full name of the musical 2. The full name of the playwrights and composer/arranger 3. The following notice: “Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama Service, Inc., Englewood, Colorado” HOT ROD CRUISIN’ BACK TO THE 1950S Book by FLIP KOBLER and CINDY MARCUS Music and lyrics by BILL FRANCOEUR CAST OF CHARACTERS # of lines PEGGY SUE ..............................our heroine; former mechanic 227 and racer, she now dreams of a bigger life BETTY LOU ...............................Peggy Sue’s little sister; tired 84 of living in her sib’s shadow SHERIFF STONE ........................town cop who wants to clean 30 up the streets (M) DEPUTY DILLON ........................fountain of useless trivia (M or F) 11 JENKINS ...................................crotchety owner of the music 35 store (M or F) MOMMA MO .............................old Russian immigrant; runs 17 Mo’s Garage and Junkyard DAYTONA BOB ...........................local bad-guy bookie; fancies 62 himself an intellectual but his fancy is broken CHORUS ...................................as BILL THE BUTCHER and EXTRA PREPPIES, GEARHEADS, GREASERS, 45ERS, KIDS in the malt shop and BACKUP SINGERS THE PREPPIES (Peggy Sue’s new college-bound friends) PEYTON ....................................exuberant future sorority 24 president; best friend in the history of all space and time! NIGEL .......................................bound for pre-law; uses 57 18-carat words (M) BIFFY........................................shopaholic on the loose with 35 her Daddy’s credit card ii THE GEARHEADS (Peggy Sue’s former mechanic friends) JACK ........................................Peggy Sue’s former boyfriend; 61 he’d still like to be VELOCITY .................................talks in car analogies (M or F) 36 TURBO .....................................mouth is as fast as the cars he 12 fi xes (M or F) BOOSTER .................................all that time under the hood has 30 affected his hearing (M or F) BETTY LOU’S FRIENDS PORTIA .....................................has a tendency to narrate life 15 like a Nascar announcer (F) EDSEL ......................................only speaks in sound effects 14 (M or F) THE GREASERS (Daytona Bob’s henchmen) CASTROL ..................................the tough enforcer type 11 PENZ ........................................always impersonating movie stars 13 QUAKER ...................................can never guess Penz’s 16 impersonations THE 45ERS (Kids who hang out at the local record store) HI-TONE ....................................talks in 50s slang and has to 15 own every record ever made (M or F) WAXX .......................................doesn’t get Hi-Tone’s obsession 12 (M or F) FLAIR .......................................thinks he knows the most 22 about musical groups (M or F) VICTOR (or VICKIE) ....................actually knows the most about 20 musical groups (M or F) iii SETTING Time: The 1950s, of course. Place: Any town. There are three recurring sets: a record store, a malt shop and a garage. Sets can be dressed up as much as desired, but at a minimum, Jenkins Music Store should have a counter with a rotary phone, a record player and a table with bins of 45s on it. The malt shop need only have a couple of tables and chairs with various malt glasses, etc., a counter and a jukebox. Mo’s Garage and Junkyard can be represented by a sign and an oil drum. The rest of the locations are played either in front of the curtain or on a bare stage. STAGING SUGGESTIONS There are several ways to handle the repeated set changes between the music store, the malt shop and the garage. Whichever approach you use, speed is of the essence. Scenes should fl ow smoothly from one to another to maintain the energy of the show. Entrances and exits are fl uid. 1. You might consider putting the three main sets on wagons to be rolled on and off. 2. If your stage is large enough, you could use area staging and perhaps add platforms of various heights. 3. You could have a backdrop that depicts the three store fronts. The main playing area of the stage becomes whichever locale the scene requires. Nimble stagehands can quickly set onstage properties for each scene. 4. You could scatter three or four periactoids across the stage. Periactoids are three-sided columns on casters, each side painted to represent one of the three sets. Stagehands rotate the pillars according to the scene. iv PHOTOCOPYING THIS SCRIPT BREAKS FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS SYNOPSIS OF SCENES ACT ONE Scene One: Jenkins Music Store, one afternoon. Scene Two: The malt shop, the same day. Scene Three: Jenkins Music Store, the next day. Scene Four: The malt shop, immediately following. Scene Five: On the street (in front of curtain), immediately following. Scene Six: Mo’s Garage and Junkyard, later that day. ACT TWO Scene One: The malt shop, the next day. Scene Two: Mo’s Garage and Junkyard, the same day. Scene Three: Malt shop, later that day. Scene Four: Racetrack (bare stage or in front of curtain), the next day. Scene Five: Backroom Alley (in front of curtain), immediately following. Scene Six: Mo’s Garage and Junkyard, that evening. Scene Seven: Malt shop, about the same time. Scene Eight: Mo’s Garage and Junkyard, immediately following. Scene Nine: Malt shop, immediately following. Scene Ten: Jenkin’s Music Store, the next day. Scene Eleven: Skeleton Alley (bare stage), that evening. v SEQUENCE OF MUSICAL NUMBERS PROLOGUE MC1 Hot Rod--Cruisin’ Back to the 1950s ...Ensemble ACT ONE MC2 Alpha Delta Pi ...................................Peggy Sue, Nigel, Peyton, Biffy, Chorus MC3 You’re Missin’ Out .............................Peggy Sue, Betty Lou, Portia, Edsel MC4 This Is My Turf...................................Daytona Bob, Penz, Quaker, Castrol, Chorus MC5 Checkered Flag .................................Ensemble ACT TWO MC5a Entr’acte—Alpha Delta Pi ...................Instrumental MC6 A Blast from the Past ........................Ensemble MC7 Trial Run ...........................................Gearheads, Mo, Betty Lou, Portia, Edsel, Chorus MC8 Breakdown .......................................Daytona Bob, Penz, Quaker, Castrol, Chorus MC9 You’ll Always Be a Part of Me .............Jack, Peggy Sue MC9a You’ll Always Be a Part of Me (Music Tag) .......................................Instrumental MC10 Work, Work All Together .....................Jack, Peggy Sue, Preppies, Gearheads, Chorus MC11 The Race ..........................................Ensemble MC11a Curtain Call—Checkered Flag .............Ensemble vi HOT ROD PROLOGUE 1 HOUSELIGHTS DOWN: MUSIC CUE 1: “Hot Rod—Cruisin’ Back to the 1950s.” We hear a HOT ROD STARTING and REVVING its engine and then PEELING OUT as if in a drag race. After the music introduction, we again hear a HOT ROD REVVING its engine. LIGHTS UP as the 5 ENSEMBLE ENTERS LEFT and RIGHT, down the aisle of the auditorium, etc. They are excited, laughing and chatting as they come together DOWNSTAGE in front of the curtain. ALL: (Sing.) Hear the rumblin’ of the engine, it’s about to make the scene. 10 Hear the rumblin’ of the engine, it’s a powerful machine. This four-barrel block with a four thirteen’s, Goin’ back-a to the nifty nineteen fi fties! Hot rod, customized and ready. Come on and take a little ride with me. 15 Hot rod, lookin’ mighty steady. We’re gonna travel back in history. BOYS: (Sing. To GIRLS.) So grab yourself a poodle skirt! GIRLS: (Sing. To BOYS.) And don’t forget your dungarees! ALL: (Sing.) Goin’ back-a to the nineteen fi fties! 20 GIRLS: (Sing.) Ponytails, bobbysox, pedal pushers. ALL: (Sing.) Goin’ back-a to the nineteen fi fties! Don’t be a square! Better be there! We double dare! Yes, goin’ back-a to the nineteen fi fties! BOYS: (Sing.) Ducktails, blue jeans, lettermen sweaters. 25 ALL: (Sing.) Goin’ back-a to the nineteen fi fties! Hey, Daddy-o, we gotta go! Be there or be square! (The ENSEMBLE quickly builds a “human hot rod.” One actor holds a steering wheel. Another holds up a rear view mirror with two furry dice dangling from it. Two others hold FLASHLIGHTS [maybe large 30 9-volt battery fl ashlights] for headlights. The rest of the ENSEMBLE forms the body of the hot rod. [NOTE: If a large cast, build more than one “human hot rod.”] LIGHTS DIM, HEADLIGHTS ON. SOUND EFFECT: HOT ROD ENGINE REVVING UP. [NOTE: Flashing lights, a roaming spotlight or a strobe light would be most effective during 35 this next section. The HUMAN HOT ROD is blasting off into the past a la “Back to the Future.” The wilder the effects, the better.] ALL sing, with building intensity.) Hear the roar of the engine gettin’ ready on the strip! Hear the roar of the engine, it’s soundin’ real hip! 1 1 Put the pedal to the metal, gonna take you on a trip To the cool and nifty nineteen fi fties! (SOUND EFFECT: HOT ROD ENGINE ROARING and PEELING OUT.) Hot rod! Lookin’ mighty classy, 5 We got a rumble seat waitin’ for you. Hot rod, with a chrome-plated chassis, Power shift in second and we’ll see what she’ll do.