'Trailer Park gets a little trashy, and that's the way we like it

Harrison Thorp A REVIEW 9:46 a.m.


'Trailer Park gets a little trashy, and that's the way we like it

The cast of 'Trailer Park' will have you laughing from the get-go. (Courtesy/Rochester Opera House)

ROCHESTER - Inflation gotchya down? Gas prices got you feelin' blue? Feelin' angst amid the neverending political squabbles?
There's a cure for that down at the Rochester Opera House called The Great American Trailer Park Musical, which is replete with raunchy sex jokes, ribald repartee and other such notions of a prurient nature sure to get you out of your funk.
The plot centers around Pippi - she's no Pippi Longstocking - a journeywoman stripper who ends up at Florida's most exclusive trailer park, Armadillo Acres.
It is there that this cast of magnificent seven wend their way through a unrelenting, fast-paced plot involving a philandering husband, his agoraphobic wife and their collection of motley acquaintances who like nothing more than to joke about whose making whoopie with whom.
Pippi, played by Elana Cantor, is, well, like her married paramour says, "flexible," meaning she can sing, dance and execute a really solid hip thrust.
Pippi's entrance upon Armadillo Acres roils the entire trailer park, including her paramour's wife, Jeannie, played by Jenry Towle, whose husband, Norbert, played by Miles Burns, is soon having a torrid affair with the come-hither stripper.
The ensemble cast is rounded out by a sort of Greek Chorus of Pickles, played by Miranda Wolf; Linoleum, played by Heidi Gagne; and Betty, played by Amanda Dane, who all possess powerful voices and have no qualms about engaging with the audience off script.
The play moves toward its climax, so to speak, when Pippi's magic-marker sniffing on- and off-boyfriend Duke, played by Christian Arnold, comes a calling and a bizarre coincidence leads to a wacky family reunion.
Now if that gets you thinking, think no more, just start making plans to see this rollicking production before its run at the Opera House ends on Oct. 2.
We were there on opening night last Friday, when there are supposed to be some kinks, but they were rare except for some sound issues that sometimes made it difficult to hear individual cast members through their wireless mics. We're sure that'll be fixed by Thursday when the play begins its second weekend.
For tickets click here.