The new musical, which began previews Aug. 20, was originally slated to bow Sept. 15 but bumped its opening at Dodger Stages one week to Sept. 22 when Sergio Trujillo joined the team as choreographer. The new delay is "to accommodate the insertion of two new musical numbers which had been scheduled to be introduced a week ago but, due to cast illnesses, were delayed," a spokesperson told Playbill.com.
Producers Jean Doumanian (Democracy) and Jeffrey Richards (Glengarry Glen Ross) present the work which played a run last summer at The New York Musical Theatre Festival.
The new Off-Broadway cast of The Great American Trailer Park Musical features Tony Award winner Shuler Hensley (Oklahoma, "Van Helsing"), Linda Hart (Hairspray, Anything Goes), Kaitlin Hopkins (Bat Boy, Noises Off, Bare), Orfeh (Footloose, Saturday Night Fever), Leslie Kritzer (Hairspray, Bat Boy), Wayne Wilcox (A Man of No Importance, The Light in the Piazza) and original NYMF cast member Marya Grandy.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical centers around the regular guy Norbert (Hensley) and his agoraphobic wife Jeannie (Hopkins) whose marriage is threatened by Armadillo Acres' newcomer, the hot young stripper Pippi (Orfeh). The trailer park also plays home to a Greek chorus-like trio of women Linoleum, Betty and Pickles (Grandy, Hart and Kritzer, respectively) — each dysfunctional in their own right.
Featuring music and lyrics by David Nehls with a book by Betsy Kelso (who also directs the show), the country-rock and blues musical is billed as "a new show about agoraphobia, adultery, '80s nostalgia, spray cheese, road kill, hysterical pregnancy, a broken electric chair, kleptomania, strippers, flan & disco." The design team includes Derek McLane (sets), Donald Holder (lighting), Markas Henry (costumes), Peter Fitzgerald (sound) and Josh Marquette (hair and wig). Richard C. Rauscher serves as production stage manager with Francesca Russell (assistant stage manager) and Rob Conover is technical supervisor.
For more information on The Great American Trailer Park Musical, visit the website at www.trailerparkmusical.com.
