Luke Guthrie Writes Musical, Collaborates with Ska Band
Guthrie played Juror Nine in this year’s fall play. He plans to perform in the upcoming musical.
January 9, 2018
Aspiring playwright senior Luke Guthrie is breaking into the musical theater industry with his first musical production written completely by himself and collaborating with CA ska band Suburban Legends on the music.
“Bright Spring Morning” is Guthrie’s first solo project with the exception of minor edits from family and close friends. The musical focuses on the everyday lives of average teenagers with all of their quirks and angst.
“The musical follows the story of Jordyn Coda, who moves to Orlando, Florida and meets a small group of quirky teens,” Guthrie said. “These teens are angsty and rebellious, but most importantly, they are in love with the sound of Ska music. Twists, laughs and good tunes build up to a shocking ending.”
Guthrie was able to materialize his unorthodox vision largely because of his deep understanding of music. In the 2016-17 school year, Guthrie was enrolled in four music-related courses, which assisted him in the process of organizing his musical.
The music Guthrie envisioned accompanying the play as well as the likeness of some characters were under the licensing of the band Suburban Legends so he collaborated with them.
Guthrie proposed his musical to representatives for the band in hopes of receiving contractual rights to use the characters and music.
In the 2016-17 school year, Guthrie was enrolled in four music-related courses, which assisted him in the process of organizing his musical.
After finalizing the contract Nov. 11, Guthrie was granted the rights to use the music of Suburban Legends professionally in a musical setting for one year until the contract is renewed, as long as Guthrie’s musical ensemble follows certain guidelines on how to performs the songs. The band does not typically give the rights to their songs away easily, but Guthrie was able to persuade them.
At the moment, there are no official plans as to where or when this production will be performed. However, the current objective of Guthrie and Suburban Legends is for the musical to be performed in 2018.
“This project is a big step for me getting recognition from production agencies and the general public alike, and I’ll need all the support I can get, because there’s no guarantee what will happen,” Guthrie said.
