The regional premiere of The Great American Trailer Park Musical will take place at Mason Street Warehouse (MSW) in Saugatuck, Michigan. Featuring Klea Blackhurst ("Everything the Traffic Will Allow," Bingo), this production marks the second show announced for MSW's 2006 season. The Trailer Park opens its doors on July 14th and runs through July 30th (closed Mondays) at MSW's uptown theatre in downtown Saugatuck.
"This production, following the Jerry Springer-like soap opera antics of a wacky collection of characters in Florida's Armadillo Acres Trailer Park, is no exception. It features a wonderfully funny cast of characters including an agoraphobic housewife, her toll collector husband, their road-kill-aficionado son and an on-the-run stripper looking for love. A trio of busy-body neighbors provides appropriately tacky commentary throughout the show, complimented by a country pop/rock score," state press notes on the show, which features a book by Betsy Kelso and music and lyrics by David Nehls. The show ran from September 27th through December 4th, 2005 at Dodger Stages (now New World Stages).
David Glenn Armstrong, guest director to MSW, says of his production, "I am thrilled to be doing the regional premiere of
The Great American Trailer Park Musical in West Michigan. Particularly with this definitive cast which brings great warmth and jaw dropping hysterics to one of the funniest musicals in recent memory."
In addition to Blackhurst, other equity cast members from New York and Denver include: Beth Flynn (
Always…Patsy Cline, The Wizard of Oz), Erin Maquire (
Five Course Love, Forbidden Broadway), and Timothy Shew (
Wonderful Town, Les Miserables). Two local actors, Kelly Carey and Patrick Newton, are also featured. The production is sponsored, in part, by Daniel J. Reid.
Mason Street Warehouse was founded in 2002. Saugatuck, a town that USA Today described as "the art coast of Michigan," is the ideal location for a regional theater. A longstanding artist's colony and one of Michigan's prime summer tourist destinations, Saugatuck, located on the coast of Lake Michigan, already boasted a rich cultural heritage making it a perfect home for live theater. The theatre kicked off this season with the hit Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love, An Elvis Presley Musical Tribute. During its first three seasons, MSW has produced eleven plays and musicals including
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change; Dirty Blonde; Our Sinatra; Smokey Joe's Café; Full Gallop; Bright Ideas; Wicked City, The Thing About Men; Urinetown, the Musical; Honky Tonk Highway, and the World Premiere of
What A Glorious Feeling. Mason Street Warehouse is a professional, Equity, non-profit 501(c)3 theatre
Tickets to all 2006 Mason Street Warehouse productions are: $33 for Friday and Saturday night shows ($30 for Seniors and Students); $29.50 for performances on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday Evening ($26.50 for Seniors and Students); $22 for Sunday Bargain Matinees ($20 for Seniors and Students.) Group rates are also available. Tickets are available at the MSW box office or by calling (269) 857-4898. For more information, visit
www.masonstreetwarehouse.org.
