'Trailer Park' is Rollicking Good Fun!
2011-05-25
A doublewide dose of great song and raucous humor is now playing at New Milford’s TheatreWorks
The Great American Trailer Park Musical, now on stage at TheatreWorks in New Milford, may be the most accurately named play around – with the emphasis on the word ‘great.’
Trailer Park features a bevy of accomplished local actors who intersperse hilarious dialogue with comedic pantomime and stunningly powerful singing.
Start with the rapid-fire jokes from the TV program Laugh-In, sprinkle in some of the bawdy humor reminiscent of classic burlesque routines, factor in the pacing of a car chase from the Dukes of Hazard and you’ll get a sense of what awaits you at Armadillo Acres, North Florida’s premier manufactured housing community. Trailer Park is satire done right, poking fun but without the hurt.
Set in the remote town of Starke, FL, the story centers on Norbert, an everyman toll collector, and his agoraphobic wife Jeannie, whose 20-year marriage is threatened with the arrival of Pippi, a hot young stripper on the run from Oklahoma.
Michael Wright from Newtown is ideally cast as the everyman Norbert, a well-intentioned, simple man who is befuddled by and swept along by the complexities of life.
Tracy Hurd of Brookfield is superb as Jeannie, the loyal wife who is unable to cope with the hurt of her past or exit the safe cocoon of her trailer. A skilled actress, she also displays a powerful singing voice that is simply enthralling.
Deanna Chorman of Danbury is Pippi the stripper, a good-hearted woman whose physical beauty enables her to earn a living – along with attention from all the wrong types of men. Ms. Chorman’s beautiful voice, along with her classic good looks, which makes Pippi an endearing and character.
Three residents of Armadillo Acres – Betty, Lin and Pickles – serve double duty as actors and on-stage narrators and are immensely entertaining. Elyse Jasensky of Danbury, and Beth Harvison and Abigail Nissenbaum of New Milford, all possess powerful voices, and sing, dance and perform in the very best traditions of burlesque humor.
Justin Boudreau of Pelham, NY, is brilliant as Duke, Pippi’s boyfriend who is singularly-focused, thanks to generous amounts of recreational pharmaceuticals, on corralling his run-away girlfriend.
Also of note in this flawless production is the remarkably clever set design of Director Glenn Couture, who also serves as President of the Board of Trustees for TheatreWorks New Milford. In addition, Musical Director Dan Ringuette deserves kudos, as does the four-piece band.
With music and lyrics by David Nehls and book by Betsy Kelso, Trailer Park debuted in New York at the Dodger Stages in 2005.