Review: TRAILER PARK Trashes Gleefully!

The final installment of STAGEright's "Find Your Light" season is the uproarious white-trash lampoon, THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL, by Betsy Kelso and David Nehls. Concerning the rather sordid lives of several denizens inhabiting a southern Florida trailer park, the show touches on as many hilarious stereotypes as it can cram into its 95-minute length. From double-wide mobile homes and mullet haircuts to stripper bars and pole dancing, it's all there... about the only thing missing was pimento cheese on toasted Wonder bread. Featuring an appealing cast under the direction of Jay D. Irwin and with music direction by Josh Zimmerman, the show is a toe-tapping, crowd-pleasing diversion for a sultry August evening.

The central couple in the story is Norbert and Jeannie, high school sweethearts who've been married for twenty years. Jeannie is agoraphobic, something she developed in the aftermath of a traumatic event many years ago involving her infant child. Her husband Norbert has been patient and understanding, but 20 years is a long time, and there are definite signs of wear & tear in their relationship.

As Jeannie, Margaret Lamb is sweet and endearing, eliciting audience sympathy with ease. The song "One Step Closer" underscores her plight as a victim of agoraphobia, and she is equally affecting in the number "Panic."

Casey Raiha in the role of beleaguered husband Norbert is at turns empathetic in his situation (as in the number "One Step Closer") and infuriating in his bad decision making. Together with Lamb, they are touching in the song "Owner of My Heart."

The secondary couple of the story is Pippi and Duke...Pippi is a pole-dancing stripper on the run from her crazed, aerosol propellant-sniffing ex-boyfriend, Duke. Pippi ends up performing at a local strip club, The Litter Box, where she meets Norbert, and things get complicated from there.

Cherisse Martinelli as Pippi is the perfect doe-eyed knockout, hocking her wares in the song "The Buck Stops Here," and tugging on audience heartstrings in the "Finale," which is basically her "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" moment. She, Lamb and Raiha sing a lovely trio in the number "But He's Mine/It's Never Easy"

Apart from the red-neck humor of his character, poor Kyle James Traver as Duke doesn't get to do much vocally...his one number, "Road Kill," wouldn't really be memorable if not for the "car" he drives, and the stuffed toy animals used. I definitely blame weak writing for the lack of effectiveness.

Then we have our Greek chorus of sorts, reminiscent of the street urchins in Little Shop of Horrors...

In the role of Betty, manager of the Armadillo Acres Trailer Park, Loretta Deranleau Howard is a force of nature, her voice filling the room and threatening to overshadow any hurricane the Florida coast could conjure up. She is particularly diverting in the numbers "The Great American TV Show" and "Storm's A-Brewin'."

Tori Spero Dullenty plays prison wife Lin, whose husband waits on death row for there to be enough electricity available to carry out his sentence. She also exhibits impressive vocal command, ferociously ripping into numbers like "That's Why I Love My Man."

Rounding out the powerhouse trio is Walker Caplan as waifish teen-bride Pickles. In addition to having fearsome vocal chops like her cohorts, she is side-splittingly funny in songs like "It Doesn't Take a Genius," and especially in her incidental roles.

Each of these three women portray various characters; men frequenting the local stripper bar, the strippers who work there, a TV talk show host and guests, but none of the incidentals is more engaging than Caplan as Tina, the flan girl.

Production elements are typically solid, from set design by John Ambos to costumes by Cherelle Ashby and Jonelle Cornwell, lighting by John Chenault, and sound design and choreography by John R. Huddlestun.

While I enjoyed the show overall, I did notice that the humor of it tends toward the mean-spirited...I think director Irwin and the cast do their best to try and minimalize the effect, but there were moments I felt the audience response was a bit on the smug side...superior laughter as opposed to amused recognition of human traits we all share. Again, it's a product of the writing...how can the audience help but feel superior to a group of low-income trailer park dwellers who speak with thick southern accents, brandish guns and boast of adultery, convicted spouses, murder, and other unsavory acts? Luckily, there's enough of a love story to shine a little light on this bleak landscape, thus keeping the audience from completely surrendering to cruel jests...find your light indeed!

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" from STAGEright performs at Richard Hugo House through August 29th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.seattlestageright.org.