Review: VWCT musical ‘a superb show’

P.S. LUHN/for the Van Wert independent

I was prepared for a little bit of the white trash craziness that The Great American Trailer Park Musical (hereinafter, TGATPM) would bring. I had been to the state convention and showcase of The Ohio Community Theatre Association (OCTA), an event where the best productions from all over the state come to show off. Each show is invited to bring its best 30-minute excerpt to present to theatre aficionados and stage veterans from across Ohio.

I happened to see an excerpt from this musical (and) I remembered laughing a lot and marveling over how talented the performers were.

I just attended VWCT’s version, and wondered why I thought those others were so great. Northwest Ohio has some extremely talented singers and actors, and today it seemed as though they were all collected in Van Wert for my benefit. This was a superb show from start to finish and had me smiling and chortling the entire time.

To begin with, the play is about some residents of a Florida condo complex. No, not true. As you could have already realized, it’s about the denizens of a pretty low-down trailer park who love to sing and dance their cares away. Norbert, a freeway toll-taker, is married to Jeannie, a woman who can’t bring herself to pass the front door to the outside world.

There is a powerful trio of park residents, three women, a musical Greek chorus, ala Little Shop of Horrors, who have their own problems but are highly attuned to those of Norbert and Jeannie. Into the park, Armadillo Acres, comes a young woman on the run from an abusive boyfriend. She is also a stripper who manages to catch the eye of Norbert, a man whose wife is no longer interesting to him.

To begin with, the women’s roles in this musical are full of the stuff that makes musical comedy actors shine. There are five parts for women, and every one requires lead actress capabilities. There is no place to hide lesser talent here.

The VWCT chorus, Betty (Kristin Lee), Lin (Kara Place), and Pickles (Stacy Rife), must be top notch, as it carries large sections of the action. From the opening gun, these three used their voices and their energy to set the tone. Of course, good music helps, but this group gave us powerful and funny songs, getting us in the trailer trash mood. Rife was in there with two champs, while Lee and Place are both long-time musical comedy vets and it showed. Rife does not have the same power as the others, but she brought a certain lunkheaded-ness and innocence to her character. And she, Lee, and Place had some fabulous harmonies together. The crowd was everything that author Betsy Kelso and music and lyrics creator David Nehls could have envisioned for their work. I would imagine theatre savant and TGATPM director Jerry Zimmerman was pleased as well.

As Jeannie, Mary Ann Falk surprised me. I have seen her before several times, but I always seem to forget just how great she is as a singer. And an actress. She put the emotionally challenged housewife right out front, showing pain in her voice and on her face. I felt this part must have its own seriousness, separate from everyone else’s, and Falk was so adept at drawing us in. I must remember to anticipate her talent earlier next time.

Outrageous as the young-ish stripper/slut, Pippi, Nancy Williams Shuffle overwhelmed in a singular role that screams “overwhelming”. I have acted against, and watched, Williams Shuffle for over 20 years and cannot believe I finally get to see her take her clothes off (not really). This woman is a huge star whose lithe body lies about her actual age. She is not as young as she once was, but you would never know it.  She can really bring sex appeal, and she is not afraid to let it all out. But as pretty and hot as she is, the very best thing about Williams Shuffle is her glorious voice. The audience, already used to terrific voices in this story, is riveted by the power and savvy technical prowess. It is difficult not to watch or listen to her even when she is not the main focus on the stage. This eternally-young ingénue is magnificent in everything she does, but especially exceptional in this setting.

That said, if the women were powerful and spellbinding, the men were not quite. But this is a show that features and favors women stereotypes, and relegates the two men to the fringe of the cast. Daileas Duclo (Norbert) gives his frustrated husband the kind of “damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t” pathos that the audience wants to identify with. And he not only hits all the notes, but shows some real vocal strength in the second act.

Travis Nihiser, who is relatively new to the musical game, played Pippi’s tough boyfriend, Duke. Nihiser is protected in that the authors have not given Duke much to do, musically. He is there to be the bad guy and that was just what he did. I would have liked to see his tough-guy-cowboy hat pulled back a bit so that his face could act a bit more, but this was minor, as Duke is almost more like an afterthought to the play’s creators.

This was the dynamite show it was made out to be. I was totally engrossed, from start to finish. I especially enjoyed the less-is-more set concept, which had rolling platforms that signaled different locale changes and gave us a little glimpse of the professional pit orchestra led by Dee Fisher, who also seemed to get a charge out of being seen.

But what impressed me most was a chord struck by the ensemble near the end of the play: a complicated, but oh-so-delicious chord. This chord, belted and held out, was near-perfect. The sheer power, cohesion, and harmony had goosebumps coming up on my arms. Nothing suits me better than a musical cast that can blend such as this one did.

Zimmerman, a legend for both direction and choreography at VWCT and other venues, did not get as much chance with this show for big dance numbers, but what was there more than satisfied the need. Once again, Zimmerman has given us a well-rehearsed, well cast, and well-conceptualized show. Congratulations to all involved.

TGATPM continues its run this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (March 15- 17) at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 18, at 2 in the afternoon. If the size of last Friday’s crowd is any indication, seats may be hard to come by. Order tickets ahead of time by calling the VWCT box office between 2 and 6 p.m. at 419.238.9689. I highly recommend taking an opportunity to catch this entertaining and funny show.