About Cruisin' - The Musical
My name is Rod Christian, co author of Cruisin' The Musical. I was Head of Music at Sacred Heart College in Western Australia where we staged Cruisin' in 2004.
Cruisin' is a great crowd pleaser and is enjoying success wherever it is staged. I first started writing the show with Peter Waterman when we were both teaching in different schools in WA back in 1990. Set in Australia from 1951-1959, it is basically a universal story about an Italian migrant family settling into their new country, but their teenage kids do the rebellious thing and want to become involved in this "new" rock 'n roll culture. The father is a very traditional Italian with his son's ideal life already planned.
When conflict comes to a head as his son (Vinnie) defies him and joins the rock 'n roll band CRUISIN', it takes the power of the music itself and some help from wife Rosa and friend Johnny Angel, The owner of "Johnny Angels" teenage hangout, to finally reconcilliate the family.
What has been so rewarding for us as composers and scriptwriters is the reaction we have had from the schools and their audiences so far. When you present completely original music for the first time, it is interesting to receive feedback and we have been astonished with the excellent reviews to date.
I have recently completed the full score for the show, adding more instruments. The score now includes flute, clarinet, 1st and 2nd trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax, trombone, piano, keyboards (string pads) guitar, bass and drums.The arrangements are exciting and cover rock, Jive, Latin, blues and a couple of big "show stopper" numbers. I know you will like the "big band" arrangements. Recently I travelled to the UK and met the UK and European agent David Waters who has just secured a further 2 bookings for Cruisin in the UK in 2009.
You can check out our production pics and info HERE.
Rod Christian