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Local talent makes most of 'Trailer Park'
By: Russ Simmons, Theater Reviewer
Well, if nothing else, the title of the new show at The Unicorn Theatre is an example of truth in advertising.
"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is unashamedly daffy. Featuring some of Kansas City's best musical theater performers and the sure-handed direction of Cynthia Levin, the show is an excuse to allow the talented cast to cut loose with a little redneck fun.
Set designer Jon Young must have constructed his clever, pastel set from something mighty tasty, because these folks sure are enjoying chewing the scenery.
Set in a Florida "manufactured housing community" called Armadillo Acres, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is something like a hayseed version of "Desperate Housewives." It details the sordid stories of folks who could have easily been featured on "The Jerry Springer Show."
The play features a trio that act as something of a Greek chorus, setting the scene and providing musical narration. They are the park's widowed manager, Betty (Cathy Barnett), a hysterically pregnant teenager called Pickles (Julie Taylor) and another resident named Lin ("My real name's Linoleum 'cause my mother gave birth to me on the kitchen floor"), played by Teri Adams.
Through a series of songs, they tell the story of Jeannie and Norbert (Karen Errington and James Wright), on the cusp of their 20th wedding anniversary. Trouble is, Jeannie is agoraphobic and hasn't been out of their trailer since their infant son was snatched away nearly two decades ago.
The frustrated Norbert finds some comfort in the arms of a new arrival to the trailer park, a young stripper named Pippi (Jessalyn Kincaid). "Do you have any idea what it's like to make your living by collecting dollar bill after dollar bill after dollar bill?" she asks him. "Yes," he answers, "I'm a toll collector."
Although she is aware that the other Armadillo Acres denizens resent her, Pippi has other problems to worry about. She is on the run from her violent, Magic Marker-sniffing boyfriend, Duke (Jake Walker).
The book by stand-up comic Betsy Kelso mines its laughs from broad, over-the-top stereotyping. While more sophisticated than "Hee Haw," it isn't above throwing in a line like, "My boyfriend's real fancy. He likes foreign beer and cheese that smells like urine." While she finds humor at the expense of white trash, her script never comes off as mean-spirited.
The zippy songs by David Nehls run the gamut from country to rock to R&B to disco. The score sounds a bit like random radio surfing on a long cross-country drive. To give you a sense of the jokiness of the tunes, as Jeannie warbles a lamentation called "Flushed Down the Pipes," the backup singers accompany her with toilet brushes. On another tune, a character insists that she must "make like a nail, and press on."
For the most part, the show is good-natured fun. But things occasionally bog down with the introduction of some unnecessary ballads. The show also takes a wrong turn with an awkward segment called "The Great American TV Show."
But the game cast is uniformly terrific, and they look beautifully awful in Georgianna Londr/'s kitschy costumes. The ever-reliable Barnett, with her beehive hairdo piled up like a frigid stack of flapjacks, is the embodiment of bumpkin chic.
Levin makes the right decision by presenting this tomfoolery without an intermission, ensuring that the show ends before it wears out its welcome. Steven Eubank's cagey choreography is a plus, too.
Endearingly corny, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is the Pabst Blue Ribbon alternative to holiday eggnog.
"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs through Dec. 31 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. For information, call (816) 531-PLAY.
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"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is unashamedly daffy. Featuring some of Kansas City's best musical theater performers and the sure-handed direction of Cynthia Levin, the show is an excuse to allow the talented cast to cut loose with a little redneck fun.
Set designer Jon Young must have constructed his clever, pastel set from something mighty tasty, because these folks sure are enjoying chewing the scenery.
Set in a Florida "manufactured housing community" called Armadillo Acres, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is something like a hayseed version of "Desperate Housewives." It details the sordid stories of folks who could have easily been featured on "The Jerry Springer Show."
The play features a trio that act as something of a Greek chorus, setting the scene and providing musical narration. They are the park's widowed manager, Betty (Cathy Barnett), a hysterically pregnant teenager called Pickles (Julie Taylor) and another resident named Lin ("My real name's Linoleum 'cause my mother gave birth to me on the kitchen floor"), played by Teri Adams.
Through a series of songs, they tell the story of Jeannie and Norbert (Karen Errington and James Wright), on the cusp of their 20th wedding anniversary. Trouble is, Jeannie is agoraphobic and hasn't been out of their trailer since their infant son was snatched away nearly two decades ago.
The frustrated Norbert finds some comfort in the arms of a new arrival to the trailer park, a young stripper named Pippi (Jessalyn Kincaid). "Do you have any idea what it's like to make your living by collecting dollar bill after dollar bill after dollar bill?" she asks him. "Yes," he answers, "I'm a toll collector."
Although she is aware that the other Armadillo Acres denizens resent her, Pippi has other problems to worry about. She is on the run from her violent, Magic Marker-sniffing boyfriend, Duke (Jake Walker).
The book by stand-up comic Betsy Kelso mines its laughs from broad, over-the-top stereotyping. While more sophisticated than "Hee Haw," it isn't above throwing in a line like, "My boyfriend's real fancy. He likes foreign beer and cheese that smells like urine." While she finds humor at the expense of white trash, her script never comes off as mean-spirited.
The zippy songs by David Nehls run the gamut from country to rock to R&B to disco. The score sounds a bit like random radio surfing on a long cross-country drive. To give you a sense of the jokiness of the tunes, as Jeannie warbles a lamentation called "Flushed Down the Pipes," the backup singers accompany her with toilet brushes. On another tune, a character insists that she must "make like a nail, and press on."
For the most part, the show is good-natured fun. But things occasionally bog down with the introduction of some unnecessary ballads. The show also takes a wrong turn with an awkward segment called "The Great American TV Show."
But the game cast is uniformly terrific, and they look beautifully awful in Georgianna Londr/'s kitschy costumes. The ever-reliable Barnett, with her beehive hairdo piled up like a frigid stack of flapjacks, is the embodiment of bumpkin chic.
Levin makes the right decision by presenting this tomfoolery without an intermission, ensuring that the show ends before it wears out its welcome. Steven Eubank's cagey choreography is a plus, too.
Endearingly corny, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is the Pabst Blue Ribbon alternative to holiday eggnog.
"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs through Dec. 31 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. For information, call (816) 531-PLAY.