Betsy Kelso News

For anyone that experienced last season's outrageous sell-out of TheatreWorks Florida's award-winning The Great American Trailer Park Musical, you already know that this holiday musical bash is about to "wreck-the-halls" with some "ho-ho-hos" and Keg Nog! Filled with some of Central FL's most talented actors, including returning cast members from the original Trailer Park production, you better buckle up for a wild sleigh ride to the other side of the tracks!

The TexARTS Professional Series wraps up the summer with The Great American Trailer Park Musical, a country-rock and blues musical about agoraphobia, '80s nostalgia, hysterical pregnancy, kleptomania, strippers, flan, and disco.

If you've ever wondered what the home life of the guests on Jerry Springer was like, you're in luck! THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso, is an adult musical romp about the tenants of Armadillo Acres, Florida's most 'exclusive' trailer park. It was first performed at the very first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004 and made its Off-Broadway debut in 2005. When Pippi (Emily Villarreal), a stripper on the run, becomes the newest tenant, she comes between the agoraphobic Jeannie (Julie Foster) and Norbert (Jarret Mallon) her tollbooth collector husband. What ensues is a hilarious whirlwind tour of a world filled with adultery, strip clubs, flan, spray cheese, ex-boyfriends, permanent marker sniffing, storms, press-on nails and the Ice Capades. There's no deep message here, but there are plenty of laughs, winning performances and great singing voices.If you've ever wondered what the home life of the guests on Jerry Springer was like, you're in luck! THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso, is an adult musical romp about the tenants of Armadillo Acres, Florida's most 'exclusive' trailer park. It was first performed at the very first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004 and made its Off-Broadway debut in 2005. When Pippi (Emily Villarreal), a stripper on the run, becomes the newest tenant, she comes between the agoraphobic Jeannie (Julie Foster) and Norbert (Jarret Mallon) her tollbooth collector husband. What ensues is a hilarious whirlwind tour of a world filled with adultery, strip clubs, flan, spray cheese, ex-boyfriends, permanent marker sniffing, storms, press-on nails and the Ice Capades. There's no deep message here, but there are plenty of laughs, winning performances and great singing voices.

The TexARTS Professional Series presents The Great American Trailer Park Musical with music and lyrics by David Nehls, and book by Betsy Kelso.  The hilarious Off-Broadway hit about no good men, strippers on the run and spray cheese plays August 17 - September 1, 2018 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.

The TexARTS Professional Series presents The Great American Trailer Park Musical with music and lyrics by David Nehls, and book by Betsy Kelso.  The hilarious Off-Broadway hit about no good men, strippers on the run and spray cheese plays August 17 - September 1, 2018 at the Kam & James Morris Theatre in Lakeway.

THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL has officially joined the ranks as one of my all-time favorite musicals. Set on 'this side of the tracks,' the show will steal your heart and make your face hurt with laughter.

Stages Repertory Theatre's 2018-2019 Season, the final full season to be performed at the theatre's current Allen Parkway facility, offers a dynamic mix of new work, fan favorites and stories reflecting Houston's diverse communities. With Stages' signature breadth of programming, the season runs the gamut from beloved musicals to daring new dramas, youth and family programs to adults-only hilarity, with a focus on nurturing emerging artists and welcoming a wide range of audiences.

Stages Repertory Theatre presents the Houston premiere of Ann, the critically acclaimed one-woman production about iconic, larger-than-life Texas Governor Ann Richards featuring the incomparable Sally Edmundson, a longtime Stages favorite known for her starring roles in productions including Auntie Mame, Full Gallop, Driving Miss Daisy and Steel Magnolias. Written by and originally starring Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor, Ann premiered at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston in 2010 under the title Money, Marbles and Chalk: An Affectionate Portrait of Ann Richards, and premiered on Broadway in 2013.

Directed by Kelliey Chavez. Music and lyrics by David Nehls, book by Betsy Kelso.

Desert Theatreworks has mounted a high-quality production of THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK CHRISTMAS MUSICAL, with a superb cast and excellent design. If you're looking for laughs, toe-tapping melodies, corny albeit raunchy jokes, and great performances, you won't want to miss this show.

Directed by Kelliey Chavez. Music and lyrics by David Nehls, book by Betsy Kelso.

Directed by Kelliey Chavez. Music and lyrics by David Nehls, book by Betsy Kelso.

In present-day North Florida, in a town called Starke, in a trailer park called 'Armadillo Acres' (though there are few armadillos and even fewer acres), there's a new tenant - and she's wreaking havoc all over Florida's most exclusive trailer park. New resident, Pippi, the stripper, is on the run, in her five-inch heels no less! Her arrival shakes up the otherwise hum-drum, daily existence of the trailer park residents. When Pippi comes between the Dr. Phil-loving agoraphobic Jeannie and her tollbooth-collector husband Norbert - Conflict shakes the dysfunctional bliss of the trailer park!

In present-day North Florida, in a town called Starke, in a trailer park called 'Armadillo Acres' (though there are few armadillos and even fewer acres), there's a new tenant - and she's wreaking havoc all over Florida's most exclusive trailer park.

In present-day North Florida, in a town called Starke, in a trailer park called 'Armadillo Acres' (though there are few armadillos and even fewer acres), there's a new tenant - and she's wreaking havoc all over Florida's most exclusive trailer park. New resident, Pippi, the stripper, is on the run, in her five-inch heels no less! Her arrival shakes up the otherwise hum-drum, daily existence of the trailer park residents. When Pippi comes between the Dr. Phil-loving agoraphobic Jeannie and her tollbooth-collector husband Norbert - Conflict shakes the dysfunctional bliss of the trailer park!

Always…Patsy Cline, one of the most often performed stage productions in the U.S., makes a triumphant return to Stages Repertory Theatre-where it had its world premiere-to kick off the theatre's 40th Anniversary Season.

Always…Patsy Cline, one of the most often performed stage productions in the U.S., makes a triumphant return to Stages Repertory Theatre-where it had its world premiere-to kick off the theatre's 40th Anniversary Season. Written by Stages' Founding Artistic Director Ted Swindley, and directed by Stages' current Artistic Director Kenn McLaughlin, the internationally-acclaimed musical is based on the true story of an unlikely friendship between the beloved country singer and a Houston fan.

Stages Repertory Theatre presents the regional premiere of award-winning playwright Rebecca Gilman's Luna Gale, a powerful family drama about a burned-out social worker who faces an increasingly complex moral dilemma as she tries to determine the best home for an at-risk infant. 

Stages Repertory Theatre's 2017-2018 Season celebrates the theatre's 40^th Anniversary with a mix of world and regional premieres, fan favorites and stories that reflect Houston's vibrant, diverse community. The season features 3 world and 4 regional premieres, collaborations with New York's One Year Lease Theater Company and Houston's Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, Stages' inaugural Latina/o Theatre Festival, the 10^th anniversary of Stages' hallmark Panto holiday program for children and families, and a return to Miller Outdoor Theatre.

North Raleigh Arts & Creative Theatre has announced its production of The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical.