The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews- Page 2

[Plum]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#25

Posted: 9/28/05 at 10:04pm

No. It's not nearly as good as those other two, which overcame their nontraditional tininess by sheer word-of-mouth and critical raves. It could have a nice run where it is, though. Fun and flawed shows like that are fine Off-Broadway.

[Michael Bennett]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#26

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:04am

New York Post (a day late) is positive:


http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/28686.htm

[ruprecht]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#27

Posted: 9/29/05 at 10:30am

Yes, two more near-raves... the Post and the Star-Ledger...

A 'TRAILER' LARK
By FRANK SCHECK
New York Post

September 29, 2005 -- THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL Dodger Stages, 340 W. 50th St. [phone].

GIVE the creators of this new musical credit for tackling something other than urban yuppie angst.

A high-spirited musical comedy set in, yes, a trailer park in northern Florida, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" gives us adultery, strippers and murderous ex-boyfriends, while referencing Costco and the Ice Capades.

Narrated by a Greek chorus of three — Betty (Linda Hart), Linoleum (Marya Grandy) and Pickles (Leslie Kritzer) — the soap-opera-style plot concerns the troubled marriage of burly tollbooth collector Norbert (Shuler Hensley) and his agoraphobic wife, Jeannie (Kaitlin Hopkins).

Fed up with her inability to leave their trailer, even to celebrate their 20th anniversary, Norbert's ripe for the picking when beautiful stripper Pippi (Orfeh), on the lam from her violent boyfriend, Duke (Wayne Wilcox), moves in next door.

Enter Duke, who shows up toting a gun and the Magic Markers he's addicted to sniffing.

Betsy Kelso's book and David Nehls' music and lyrics are fairly flimsy. But there's undeniable fun to be had in the fast-paced proceedings, which are performed with just the right mixture of energy and silliness by the highly talented, strong-voiced cast, who clearly relish their down-home characters.

Besides, how can one resist songs with such lyrics as "Just like clothes from Wal-Mart/My love life's falling apart"?



A good ol' gal in a low-rent romp
Thursday, September 29, 2005
BY MICHAEL SOMMERS
Star-Ledger Staff

NEW YORK -- The musical-comedy equivalent of cheese fries, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" is a cheerfully trashy treat that offers plenty of finger-lickin' fun.

This hell-bent for laughter new tuner, which opened Tuesday at Dodger Stages, sure ain't high art, but there's a good bit of style to its bawdy script and tangy score. A bunch of shamelessly talented performers knocks the material right out of the park.

Zooming away at an intermission-free 90 minutes, the musical concerns the ruckus that arises when a stripper on the lam from a bad boyfriend parks herself in a mobile home community in rural Florida.

Very soon the alluring but lonely Pippi (Orfeh) hooks up with her neighbor Norbert (Shuler Hensley), a middle-aged tollbooth collector whose agoraphobic wife Jeannie (Kaitlin Hopkins) hasn't set foot outside their trailer in nearly 20 years.

Then, just as a hurricane approaches, Pippi's magic marker-sniffing ex-boyfriend (Wayne Wilcox) storms into town with a vengeance.

These low-life doings are commented upon musically and otherwise by a bottle-blond trio of local gals, namely Betty (Linda Hart), whose late hubby is buried under her trailer; Lin (Marya Grandy), whose man is on Death Row, and Pickles (Leslie Kritzer), who's prone to hysterical pregnancies.

Like junk food, a little bit of such intentional silliness goes a very long way, so writer-director Betsy Kelso has wisely trimmed all the fat off her script and whips along the cartoon proceedings at a harum-scarum hurry.

David Nehls' lyrics and music sound pretty nice to the ear even as they spoof countrified pop tunes of the '80s and '90s.

Some shake-it-up choreography by Sergio Trujillo -- suggesting synchronized swimming on dry land -- lends extra visual wit to the show, which further benefits from the Costco-style couture of Markas Henry's duds and Derek McLane's bright-hued sets.

The throaty Orfeh, sharp-as-a-tack Hart and altogether giddy Kritzer are especially endearing presences, but the entire cast is excellent and everybody appears to be having a lot of fun chewing on their white-cracker stereotypes.

There's nothing socially or culturally redeeming about "The Great American Trailer Park Musical," of course, and it's certainly not a show meant for kids. Yet it's an undeniably entertaining hullabaloo for folks hankering for a rowdy good time.

[nickatnight]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#28

Posted: 10/2/05 at 1:17am

Is the show selling? the Times review was pretty bad...and the Daily News awful too. Its gotta affect the crowd sizes...

[ZONEACE]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#29

Posted: 10/2/05 at 1:21am

actually the Times review was mixed with high marks for the Cast.

when ducks grow thumbs then maybe my opinion will change.

[nickatnight]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#30

Posted: 10/2/05 at 1:29am

I'm just back in town and reading the Times review tonight. The cast does fair really well, but he calls the show 'flimsy' and the jokes 'stale' and overall is pretty hard on the piece. It was an extended skit when i saw it downtown but I'd wanna see the improvements this week.

[midtowngym]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#31

Posted: 10/2/05 at 1:35am

I saw today's matinee as well as one the first week of previews. The show hums--it's much improved. The sound system has been tweaked--you can hear the clever lyrics. The intermission's been cut as well as 20 minutes, and I can't even recall the deleted scenes--they obviously weren't important. The new choreography improves upon the originally static staging. Some new jokes and lighting are seamless. And, I think Orfeh has turned into a fine comic actress.

'The Devil be hitting me!'--Whitney Houston

[melissa errico fan]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#32

Posted: 10/2/05 at 8:15am

Is the show selling?

They're still papering it like there's no tomorrow.

[almostxfamous]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#33

Posted: 10/2/05 at 9:53am

I think we all knew the cast would get raves, I mean, look who it's made up of! I hope the show has a nice run, because I really want to see it the next time I can (finally) make it into the city. I think they should record this, too. I need some Orfeh.<3

[Mr Roxy]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#34

Posted: 10/2/05 at 9:57am

It appears Dodger Stages has an obsession with 90 minute shows. Altar Boyz is one .Heard yesterday that Trailer Park was originally 2 hrs & now is cut down to 90 minutes

Poster Emeritus

[almostxfamous]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#35

Posted: 10/2/05 at 10:15am

Well, Altar Boyz never had an intermission to begin with. It transferred as an intermissionless, 90-minute show. Trailer Park just changed it because they thought it flowed better.

Has anybody seen it since opening night, and seen the actual finished product?

[popcultureboy]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#36

Posted: 10/2/05 at 10:24am

Going at 7pm today, I'll add my thoughts here when I get home.

Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.

[BreeDaniel]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#37

Posted: 10/2/05 at 3:04pm

I saw both versions of Trailer Park and prefered the intermission.

[erinrebecca]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#38

Posted: 10/16/05 at 5:29pm

Saw today's matinee and enjoyed it a lot. I hadn't seen it before the intermission was eliminated but I have to say that I think it is probably *just* the right length now. It's 90 minutes of plain old fun and it appeared that the entire audience had a good time. :) Anthony Holds played Norbert. I was a little disappointed not to see Shuler but no biggie. Leslie Kritzer was fabulous and Orfeh's voice is still one of my favorites. It was the most fun I've had at the theatre in a while. It reminded me a bit of a show I saw several years ago off-Broadway called Summer '69. Same type of show. Anyone here remember that one?

[Unknown User]

re: The Great American Trailer Park Musical Reviews#39

Posted: 10/17/05 at 1:44pm

Shuler was in LA yesterday for the premiere of The LEGEND of ZORRO (he plays a Pinkerton agent in the movie, which opens on the 28th) but he should be back in Trailer Park tonight.
Shuler Hensley.com