Lube: A Modern Love Story




Lube: A Modern Love Story is a gay-themed, Broadway-style musical, the first that addresses the unique experience of growing up gay: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Especially that ugly dress Mary wore to the Prom!
Lube deals with bigotry, prejudice, and religious persecution. But it also deals with friendship, changing attitudes, and acceptance -- especially what is sometimes the hardest of all: self-acceptance. It's a gay romp with a serious side, a story with a moral and a message that is, as Queen Angel sings in a climatic scene, *"Just love yourself; the rest will fall in place."*
Here's an artist's conception of what the entire ensemble looks like. It includes all the wonderful characters that make up the richly textured show. Lube is a slice of American life, including gays, straights, bisexuals, questioning, and even a drag queen or two.

What is Lube and why should you care?
That takes a bit of explaining. Lube* is many things to many people.*
It's a gay-themed, Broadway-style musical, the first of a new genre of musicals -- written by a gay man with music composed by a gay student. No, musicals written by gays aren't' new, but Lube was written especially for gay and gay-supportive audiences. It's the first musical to address the unique experience of growing up gay! It's a gay romp with interesting characters, great plot development, along with wonderful music you'll want to sing along with. Simply speaking, it's a fun show, one you'll want to see again and again. It's an out-of-the-box attempt to confront the national epidemic that is suicide among young adults, especially young gay adults. It's intended to provide positive role models for young gay adults, particularly those growing up in small towns across America who feel isolated and lonely. It's intended to give an experience to a gay audience that straights have had for centuries: To directly identify with the lead characters -- to walk out of the theater saying to themselves, "I'm gay. They were gay. They met someone and fell in love. Sure, they had problems, but they worked through them. *That could happen to me!" It's an attempt to reach out to gays, especially young gays, and say to them, "You are not a freak. You are normal. There are millions of others out there just like you."* It's attempts to open a dialog about sex with a message that gay sex is normal -- at least for a gay person. No, there's no actual sex in the show, but it does deal frankly with the topic.

But mostly Lube is a great show. It's a gay romp with interesting characters, exciting plot developments, and great music that you'll want to sing along with. Sure, it has grand designs and huge aspirations, but at the core it's just quality, gay-themed entertainment.
Who wants to sit through yet another gay drama where someone dies (think of all those AIDS dramas -- yes, important for their time, but let's move on, please!), or one where the topic of gay sex (gasp!) is verboten so it'll appeal to audiences in the mid-West (think *La Cage Aux Folles), or someone pretends* to be gay (think *Victor/Victoria)... Yes, all wonderful shows in their own right, but why can't we have something fun like Wicked, Hairspray, or Grease. Seriously, what's their purpose? What's their message? What's their raison d'etre*?
It's pretty simple. Their purpose is to entertain, to tell an interesting story with great characters and a few plot twists along the way. This is what Lube really strives to provide: a show that's simply a wonderful experience, but one with *gay leads* instead of all those *stock straight characters! It's a story about friends, like Wicked. It's a show about social justice, like Hairspray*.
Lube is, at its core, simply a show about two high school students who fall in love, then fall apart due to friends and family, like *Grease. OK, so those two students are both male, but that's the point, that's what makes Lube* *unique*. Think of all those other shows that feature straight characters, ones that we love! Isn't it about time a musical came along that takes a look at the unique experience of growing up gay and provides characters that we love, ones who just happen to be gay. Welcome to the new millennium.


	Andy (Andrew) Anderson MANNY's love interest. Slender, geeky, nerd type. He's a bit rebellious because his father doesn't accept him being gay. Wears outlandish clothes and a punk hair style out of protest as much as anything. Has always known he is gay, but since moving to Amarillo he's come out of the closet. He's a bit flamboyant but a little confused by his sexuality, the lack of role models, and all the media hype. New to the school, ANDY joins the cheerleading squad to be close to MANNY, even though MANNY doesn't appreciate that fact, or even acknowledge that he knows ANDY. Has lots of girl friends but few male friends other than his best friend, DAVID.		Manny (Emanuel) Sanchez Captain of the football team, boy-next-door type, rugged good looks and an outgoing personality. MANNY knows he's good looking but doesn't let it go to his head. Boyfriend to LIZZIE. Questioning his sexuality, can't believe he's really gay, thinking it must be a phase. He isn't really attracted to girls, but everyone expects him to date, so he tries to play along. Had a fling with ANDY at football camp, actually loves ANDY, but is deathly afraid of anyone finding out he is gay.
Lizzie (Elizabeth) Morgan Cheerleader, MANNY's girlfriend. LIZZIE is frustrated since MANNY won't 'do more than kiss.' It bothers her and she questions whether there is something wrong with her. This makes her try all the harder to please MANNY, who doesn't really notice since he's busy hiding in the closet. Still, while she wouldn't go all the way, she'd like to go further than her boyfriend is willing to go, and is frustrated that MANNY doesn't seem interested in anything physical. Has a huge heart, and is more concerned about making others happy than being happy herself.	Mitzie (Miriam) Mendel BIFF's girlfriend. MITZIE is a sweet, girl next door type but with a sharp tongue. Fairly plain, but uses makeup and fashion to a great advantage. Loves BIFF, but she finds him oversexed. Wants to wait until they get married to have sex, but doesn't mind teasing him, letting him kiss or cop a feel, but won't go further than that. MITZIE is a very loving person, but hides her softness behind a gruff, snide exterior.		Biff (William) Taylor Big, buff, muscular hulk, linebacker on the football team. Has a girlfriend, MTIZIE, but she wants to wait until they get married to have sex. BIFF desperately wants to get laid, but MITZIE won't put out so he acts the horn dog to everyone so they'll think he's constantly getting some. His friends aren't fooled by the act.
David Davidson ANDY's best friend. Secretly gay, drawn to ANDY because he has the courage to come out, while DAVID does not. Perversely, no one thinks DAVID is gay even though he hangs out with ANDY, primarily because DAVID is so straight-acting and the fact that he dated MITZIE for a long time when they were younger. Confused by his sexuality, and the fact that he's afraid to come out, he gets increasingly depressed and lets his appearance start to deteriorate. As things get worse he begins to entertain thoughts of suicide.	Stick (Shawn) Schiff Tall, thin as a rail (thus the nickname), blond, blue-eyed. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Everyone calls him STICK because of his physique and due to his last name -- except for the principal, MISS FINCH, who calls him by his first name, Shawn. Receiver on the football team, best friends with MANNY, straight, has no suspicions that his best friend is struggling with his gay identity.		Don (Donald) Baker Kicker on the football team. Son of PASTOR BAKER, boyfriend of MARY. Small, boyish, defensive about his size. Fully brainwashed by his father. Homophobic, he's the one that always puts down gays, illegal aliens, Democrats, and anything other than far-right WASPs. Makes no effort to get along with HELEN, other than the minimum required by COACH RYDELL.
Tammy (Tamara) Schwartz Shy, TAMMY has a reputation on the football team for being frigid, since she stays rather distant and doesn't seem interested in dating. She is friends with both the football players and cheerleaders.	Helen Holstein Rugged, tom-boyish, HELEN is the first female football player at the school. Everyone thinks she's a Lesbian, but she neither confirms nor denies the allegations. With her on the team, the school starts winning football games.		Mary Martindale DON's girlfriend, LIZZIE's best friend and next door neighbor (they grew up together). Thinks homosexuality is a “disease” and that all gays should be cured. Since she's on the Cheerleading team, the others try to accept her, but stay on her case about her overly religious attitude.
Principal (Patricia) Finch Principal. Sharp, acerbic, quick-witted. MISS FINCH doesn't personally approve of homosexuals but keeps her opinion to herself and does her best to provide sound support and advice to everyone, gay or straight.	Coach (Peter) Rydell Macho, masculine, COACH RYDELL is close to retirement. Straight, married with kids and grandkids, but sympathetic to equality for everyone. Acts tough on the outside, but has a soft heart on the inside. He's the one who let HELEN onto the football team		Dairy Queen Drag Queen, DAIRY QUEEN is a quiet, stay-in-the-background type. Working at the local Dairy Queen, she just tries to fit in and focus on her career.
Queen Angel Drag Queen. QUEEN ANGEL is a street-wise, flippant, sassy, pull-no-punches kind of 'gal.'	Jeff Thompson Overtly homophobic, JEFF is a bully to ANDY. They do say that the most homophobic are most likely to be gay themselves... It makes you wonder.		Pastor (Thomas) Baker Father of DON, PASTOR BAKER is the evangelical minister of MANNY's family's radical-right church. Preaches fire and brimstone, and eternal damnation for homosexuals.
The Concessionaire Working his way through college, he served up popcorn and snacks at the local Triples Movie Theater.	Duke Canine star of the show. COACH RYDELL's most reliable confidant.

*And there you have it folks, the entire ensemble of this new gay-themed, Broadway-style musical!*

		PLAYWRIGHT AND LYRICIST: JACK TURNER was born in Michigan, grew up in Alaska, served in the Navy for 20 years, and now lives in San Diego. He is a Linux / Windows Server / cloud and virtualization professional by trade with a B.S. in Electronics Technology, an MBA, and a slew of IT industry certifications. Jack grew up loving music and singing, and currently sings karaoke at a local bar. In his spare time (when he is not working on LUBE) he writes science fiction stories and works with a local Writer's Group. LUBE is Jack's second foray into the musical field, his first being the musical WISTERIA. He is the lyricist and has written the book for both musicals.
		COMPOSER: BRANDON BOWERMAN recently graduated from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music and plans on going into media composition for his Master's Degree. He was mentored by Dr. Ian Krouse for a year before being accepted to UCLA where he studied studies with Mark Carlson. Along with media composition, he is also interested in writing for the stage. LUBE is the first musical for which Brandon composed the entire score.
		CREATIVE DIRECTOR: WIZ is truly that: a Wiz! She directed the videos we have made available on our YouTube channel, She was in the studio when we laid down the master tracks for the three songs used in the music videos: "Lube," "Helplessly Addicted To You," and "Damn These Feelings Anyway." She's been our most ardent supporter since 2014! In addition to running the Animal Rescue Coalition, Wiz is heavily involved in Video Production at the Time Warner Community Access Studio in San Diego, CA. She spent as much time behind the camera in the studio as she did in the booth, training and teaching our interns and volunteers how to run the studio equipment. Her guidance, quick wit, and depth of experience in the entertainment field have helped make Lube the experience that it is today, and will be on stage at the World Premiere being held in Spring 2019.


So who am I, and why have I written a play about growing up gay? On a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is totally straight and 10 is totally gay, I peg the meter on the high end. I'm not effeminate, and most people wouldn't suspect that I'm gay, unless they took the time to get to know me. I've never been with a woman and have never had the slightest desire to do so. I have never been confused about the issue. I am sexually attracted only to masculine men, with nothing in between. I was never brave enough to come out in high school, but nonetheless I still suffered some small amount of bullying and ridicule from a select few of the most intolerant students. I grew up in the 60s and 70s in a small town called Sitka, Alaska. I knew that I was gay from a very young age – 8 or 10 at least. I endured 'faggot' jokes from my father who had no inkling that his oldest son was one of those guys he was ridiculing, and I wasn't about to enlighten him. But hiding it from him was easy as he, from as far back as I can remember, rarely had time to spend with his children, or his wife for that matter. It was bad enough when my father called me as "useless as tits on a boar hog" for not knowing what a Skil Saw was (how much skill does it take to operate a circular saw?), or what the difference was between a 6- and a 12-point socket set – not that he could ever be bothered to teach me these things that he thought I should automatically know as a member of the male persuasion. Heaven forbid that I would even consider telling him I was queer. Growing up, I didn't know a single other person who was gay. There was a definite dearth of role models -- someone, anyone I could look up to. I was desperate for a connection of any kind. I searched dictionaries, encyclopedias, and every book at the library for the merest mention of the word 'homosexual' to prove that there were others like me out there somewhere. I fixated on Paul Lynde on The Hollywood Squares and Charles Nelson Riley on The Match Game, even though, to my knowledge, they never actually acknowledged being homosexual at the time. I came out to my family and friends when I was 21. I served in the US Navy from the time I was 18 until I retired at 38. This was before "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," so while I remained firmly ensconced in the closet at work for purely practical reasons, in all other aspects of my life I was openly gay. In my early 50s, I decided to start writing. I joined a Writer's Group in Buffalo, NY and began to write science fiction novels, self-publishing the first when I was 55. I also began writing musical theater around the same time, encouraged by my longtime musician friend, Faith Page. After finishing the draft of Wisteria – the first musical I ever wrote, one that I co-authored with Faith – and having enjoyed very much writing lyrics, I looked around for another musical theater project that would let me spread my wings. Thinking back on my childhood and the difficulties I had growing up gay, and seeing that apparently it hasn't gotten all that much easier, I wanted to write a musical that would provide, to a gay audience, the romance, self-affirmation, and thrill that Hairspray, Grease, and Wicked on Broadway provide to straight audiences. I wanted something that included positive gay role models, something that gay kids could identify and empathize with, something that simply says, "You are normal. You're not a freak. There are millions of others just like you. What you are feeling is not perverted, or even unique. Relax." And as Queen Angel sings in LUBE during a climatic moment, "Just love yourself; the rest will fall in place." I started out to write a pure parody with influences from the stage play, Grease. The project quickly veered from parody into an entirely new direction. My play, LUBE, was inspired, in part, by Grease, but it is far from derivative. It was also influenced by Hairspray in that it deals with today's social equality fight, the rights of the LGBTQ community to enjoy the benefits of society as enshrined, in the Constitution: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It was inspired by Wicked in that it is also a story of two friends who struggle to overcome adversity in their own unique ways. But LUBE shares a unique relationship with Grease. The name itself is a double-entendre with reference to the original and to the gay theme. While it shares a similar overall story arc as the Broadway show -- lovers who meet, fall in love, then fall apart due to the influence of family and friends -- the characters, storyline, and plot points are uniquely mine. The lyrics were written to be reminiscent of the original music but with their own unique flair. I registered for and received my first copyright for the work in 2012. I just re-registered the copyright in 2018 to include all the music composed by Brandon Bowerman. Ultimately, I wanted to create a play that would provide those gay role models that I never had as a child. I wanted something that showed gay kids in a positive light, surrounded (for the most part) by supportive students in a contemporary setting. I wanted to create something inspiring, uplifting, exhilarating even. I wanted something that a young gay person could walk of saying, "I'm gay. That was gay. They fell in love. They fought through their problems and got back together at the end to live happily ever after. That could me be. There is hope, there is love, there is someone out there for me." The topics that I chose to explore are the very issues I faced growing up, and ones that I know are still faced today by many of those growing up queer: 1. Whether to come out or stay in the closet 2. The consequences of hiding your sexuality from friends and family 3. The consequences of coming out 4. The negative impact that radical right religion has on a gay kid's self-image 5. Depression and suicidal thoughts while growing up gay, particularly for those afraid to come out 6. Bullying and harassment of those perceived as gay, whether or not they are actually gay 7. The many variations in sexuality and gender expression, and the fact that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' 8. That simply being gay is perfectly acceptable, and not the worst thing in the world; being gay is actually something to be celebrated The musical includes a couple of drag queens, and since this is a gay play, it even has the obligatory make-over scene. The story of Manny and Andy falling in love, breaking up, and (hopefully) getting back together is accomplished with a cast of characters that includes gays, straights, and bisexuals. It includes those accepting of gays and a few who are not. There are frank discussions of and songs about sex, but there is nothing overtly sexual portrayed in the play itself. Still, LUBE is a bit more than PG-13, which I understand limits the target audience somewhat. However, I feel that it perfectly fits the demographic of kids high school age and up. You don't have to be gay to see LUBE, but if you're not, you may wish you were! This is the first in a new genre of musical theater -- a play about gay people, written by a gay playwright (although a gay person writing musical theater is nothing new), but intended for gay and gay-supportive audiences. LUBE will make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it'll make you want to sing along with the music. Jack


Please feel free to contact The Lube Creative Team with any questions you might have about the project, or if you'd like to help us complete this project by getting it produced – and who knows, maybe take it to Broadway! This page has been viewed times. This page was last updated on 01/13/2019 10:45 AM © 2012, 2015, 2018 Jack Turner Productions Web page created in Microsoft Expression Web by A. J. Turner