Overview

"In Riley Steiner's decidedly old-school comedy-drama, historic Route 66 acts as metaphor and motivation for the divergent yearnings of the play's characters. The story begins in 1926, as naive cowboy, Lyle Walkins, carries his blindfolded bride, Lillian Walkins, over the threshold of what she thinks is their honeymoon suite. To her dismay, they are still in New Mexico, in the tiny title town "40 miles from the nearest nowhere," and Lyle wants her to run the tourist court he won in a poker game. Her response to his arbitrary decision starts the narrative engine chugging. Interstitial songs with soaring harmonies from country trio Aric Leavitt, Rachel Kiser, and Pat Whiteman set the nostalgic tone.

After Wall Street crashes, Tucumcari Inn becomes a haven for Dust Bowl–fleeing travelers, such as charismatic drifter Cade Cooper, whose connection with Lillian goes seemingly unnoticed by Lyle. Soon, Cade is boarding with them, helping build Lillian a porch—the other key metaphor. Their triangulations, laced with piecemeal flashbacks, lead to an unexpected tragedy and the impending obsolescence of Route 66."

Challenges & Approach

In approaching this project we really wanted to bring to life and stay true to the feeling of the mid 1920's. Over just a few days and one location and utilizing the incredible talents of our costumers and set designers, we were able to take a property just off the 14 north in Acton, CA and transport us back to a time of strife and difficulty. The teaser is built from pieces of the actual play to bring a real authentic, yet cinematic experience of the project. Shockingly this project was filmed on the Red One, The first Red camera on the market. It really goes to show that when you put your mind to a project, creative authenticity stands high against the test of time.

The result

Butts in seats! We were very thrilled with the collaboration and outcome of this project. A team of truly dedicated creatives came together and made something special for very little available resources. Just raw creative tenacity and vision. We accomplished an incredible full house run at Playhouse West theater in Los Angeles and are proud of the work everyone put forth on this project.