Were Critics Charmed by The Great American Trailer Park Musical?
Here is a sampling of what they had to say:
Kevin Manganaro in his Broadway.com Review: "Trailer Park's kitschy, sometimes vulgar charm… is not for everyone. Nevertheless, Betsy Kelso, who doubles as bookwriter and director, manages to treat her over-the-top characters with compassion that makes them down-home and sometimes even lovable. She's also to be commended for letting her cast paint their characters in such bold strokes, wisely knowing that in a broad comedy such as this one, the truth often lies closest to the absurd."
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times: "The notable talent amassed onstage for this handsomely produced but monotonous enterprise might have been snatched on sale at some ideal emporium of theater vocalists, the imaginary Wal-Mart where skilled Broadway veterans and aspiring youngsters languish on the shelves, waiting for somebody, anybody, to put on a new musical... The show, with music and lyrics by David Nehls and book by Betsy Kelso, who also directed, doesn't seem to have developed much beyond the conceptual stage. The title's mighty cute, and a few of Mr. Nehls's dozen ditties raise a hearty chuckle. It's hard to resist the show's valedictory anthem, in which its hard-luck heroines collectively vow to 'make like a nail and press on.' But the musical has all but dispensed with plot, and substitutes crude cartoons for characters. It seems to hope to get by on jokes and attitude, and both are on the stale side."
Frank Scheck of The New York Post: "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'?"
Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News: "Most of the time the writers condescend to their characters… As a change of pace, they resort to coarseness… The music is relentless. From time to time, a song would start slowly and I thought we would get something quiet. No such luck. Every song is loud and rhythmically monotonous, its lyrics smug and obvious. Given the flatness of the material, the cast brings great energy and zest to their work. There is something depressing about as fine an actor as Shuler Hensley appearing in this slop, but he manages to make Norbert human. So does Kaitlin Hopkins as the trailer-bound Jeannie. Linda Hart sparkles as the shrewdest of the women. Orfeh has a brassy charm as a stripper who seduces Norbert."
David Rooney of Variety: "There are probably few harder-working ensembles on stage in New York right now than the talented performers in The Great American Trailer Park Musical. But even a committed cast without a single weak link struggles to breathe freshness into such a crassly cartoonish show... It's not that Trailer Park is enjoyment-free, as audience reactions at Dodger Stages can attest. The derivative numbers are relentlessly peppy and sung with gusto by some terrific voices; vulgar as they often are, many of the jokes are funny; and, in a gallery of gleefully unsubtle stereotypes, there's one priceless comic characterization. But overall, this raucous show has all the cutting edge of a Mama's Family rerun and might ultimately play better in the hinterland than in more sophisticated markets like New York."