Courtesy F. Michael Zaller plays Norbert and Rene Switzer plays Jeannie in the ‘The Great American Trailer Park Musical.'

“The Great American Trailer Park Musical” is exactly as it sounds.

The production features seven characters, all of whom reside in a Florida trailer park. They have Southern accents, interesting taste in clothing and consider an evening out at Golden Corral as fine dining.

They are the epitome of Southern white-trash stereotypes.

With a twist.

“I don't think it crosses the line of making fun,” said F. Michael Zaller, who plays Norbert, a guy torn between his stripper girlfriend and agoraphobic wife. “The relationships are real, but we keep from making fun of the characters.”

At least, not too much.

“The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” which premieres at the Cameo Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 8, and runs through Dec. 31, features a number of stereotypical Southern characters.

There is Betty (played by Jane Haas), the unofficial matriarch of all those who inhabit the Armadillo Acres trailer park. Pippi (Leigh Anne Stewart) is a stripper on the run from her ex-boyfriend Duke (Joshua Houston Green).

Jeannie (Rene Switzer) is Norbert's wife, who refuses to leave their trailer.
Lin (Lindsey Williams) was born on a kitchen floor, hence her real name, Linoleum. And Pickles (Becky King) is a teenage newlywed who wants everyone to think she's pregnant — even if she isn't.

“I saw the show off-Broadway two years ago, and I fell in love with it,” producer/director Michael Meece said of the musical, which became an off-Broadway hit in 2005 after premiering at the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival. “We (at the Cameo) do a lot of feel-good shows, but we're trying to draw in people that don't consider themselves theatergoers.”

“Having done theater in San Antonio for a long time, no one would do anything that would shock an audience,” King said. “Now, it's OK to shock people, and this has its moments, without taking it to the extreme.”

That includes up-tempo numbers infused with slower, more touching ballads.
Not to mention plenty of wit and banter.

“Betsy Kelso (who wrote “The Great American Trailer Park Musical”) knows how to put in a punch line,” Meece said. “She keeps them coming for two hours.”

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