How to go
What: ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical’
Where: Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Center, Second and Main streets, Dayton
When: 8 p.m. Jan. 8 and 15; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 9 and 16
Cost: $20
Tickets/more info: For tickets or more information, call Ticket Center Stage at (937) 228-3630 or visit www.ticketcenterstage.com.
FYI: The production contains adult themes.
Dare to Defy Productions aims to please with campy, trashy and raunchy fun as it presents David Nehls and Betsy Kelso’s 2005 off-Broadway satire “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” beginning Friday in the black box Mathile Theatre of the Schuster Center.
Inside Florida’s Armadillo Acres mobile home park, relationships are in chaos. Sexy new tenant Pippi, “a stripper on the run,” has come between the Dr. Phil-adoring agoraphobic Jeannie (who hasn’t stepped outside her trailer in nearly 20 years) and her tollbooth-collector husband Norbert. Mayhem ensues to such colorful numbers as “This Side of the Tracks,” “Flushed Down the Pipes,” “Storm’s A-Brewin,’” “But He’s Mine/It’s Never Easy” and “That’s Why I Love My Man.”
“The true appeal of the material is acceptance,” said director/choreographer Matthew Smith, who staged “The Fantasticks” for Dayton Playhouse last season. “The trailer park is described as being full of former rock stars, bikers, widows, strippers, couples. Long-term friendships are forged here and a community of tolerance is created among those on the other side of the tracks.”
“Although this show involves funny, over-the-top characters dealing with many different issues, they still accept one another regardless and find a way to be a community albeit a dysfunctional one,” echoed Angie Thacker, who portrays Jeannie and appeared last season in Dare to Defy’s “Nunsense.” “In the end, they overcome their trials and find a way to, in the words of Jeannie, ‘make like a nail and press on.’”
The cast includes Rob Willoughby as Norbert, Lisa Glover as Pippi, Eric Julian Walker as Pippi’s ex-boyfriend Duke, Hayley Penchoff as Pickles, Tia R. Seay as Betty, and Tori Kocher as Lin. In addition, Lorri Topping serves as music director.
“The sense of unity between the residents is greatly appealing,” said Seay, recently featured in Dare to Defy’s “Godspell.” “Yes, it’s a trailer park but it’s also a community. The material connects because as wacky, zany or crazy the characters seem their heart shines through each and every obstacle. When it comes right down to it the characters have each other to lean on as a family.”
“The material is relevant and has a beautiful message woven between power vocals and a rocking band,” Smith said. “It is the modern musical at its best. The audience almost becomes a member of the storytelling. They definitely define the experience we’re creating.”
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