Five Questions With: Debi Guthery, Betty in "The Great American Trailer Park Musical"

Corey Perrine / Copyright Naples Daily News

Debi Guthery and Randy Jones in Debi Guthery in the Naples
Players production of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

Put on your hard hats folks. And take note. Debi Guthery allows us a peek inside the mind of a musical theatre sorceress. The actress was the first to share her questionnaire with me, but I liked her answers so much that I wanted to save it for the final part of the "Trailer Park" series.

Find out Debi's favorite role, the one part she dreams of playing (keep your eyes out) and find out why she refuses to dish about her most embarrassing moment. And maybe even book the songstress for a party.

Meanwhile, check out Debi's YouTube page here: http://www.youtube.com/user/DebiGuthery

Read our previous Q&A with "Trailer Park" director Dawn Fornara.
Read our previous Q&A with "Trailer Park" actor Randy Jones.
Reviews: Chris Silk ($$) | Bill O'Neill

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs through Nov. 2, 2013 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for children 18 and under. Call 239-263-7990 or naplesplayers.org/tickets.

Reviews: "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" (2)

Photo by Corey Perrine / Naples Daily News

Alyssa Lee, Debi Guthery & Lisa Federico
in "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

Here's the reviews for the Naples Players production of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

Review: Naples Players laugh all the way to the 'Trailer Park'
Chris Silk (Naples Daily News)

Debi Guthery carries the show as Armadillo Acres wiseacre Betty. Pert, sassy and elegant atop towering straw wedges, her brassy personality sparkles. Guthery stars in her own YouTube show, "The Housewives of Sweet Bush Trailer Park;" she brings that comedic charm to the stage. Like her den mother character, she finds the correct mix of hard-edged gruff and lovable charm. Look for the daytime talk show-inspired number, director and choreographer Dawn Lebrecht Fornara's best, boldest creation, with Guthery playing a spot-on version of Sally Jesse Raphael. The scene, featuring most of the cast, sends up every stereotype in a brilliant fashion. Jessica Walck, cooing and purring and "WORKING IT" for the "cameras," practically steals the scene as sex-obsessed Pippi, even though Guthery's glam hostess keeps throwing choreographed elbows at her head. Read the complete review ($$)

Curtain Up: 'Trailer Park Musical' about as classy as trailer trash
Bill O'Neill (Collier Citizen)
The show includes, as the TV warnings would say, crude language and sexual references — lots of both. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but here one feels that these elements are intended to be hilarious in and of themselves. Like an actor dropping his pants when the audience is not responding to his shtick, the show goes for cheap laughs. There is no sympathy in the portrayal of the characters. Read the complete review (free)

Read our previous Q&A with "Trailer Park" director Dawn Fornara.
Read our previous Q&A with "Trailer Park" actor Randy Jones.
Up later this week, a Q&A with "Trailer Park" actress Debi Guthery.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs through Nov. 2, 2013 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for children 18 and under. Call 239-263-7990 or online at naplesplayers.org/tickets.

Five Questions With: Dawn Lebrecht Fornara, director of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical"

Alyssa Lee, Debi Guthery, Laura Needle and Lisa Federico in
"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" at the Naples Players.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" director/choreographer Dawn Lebrecht Fornara took time out of her busy schedule to give us a director questionnaire. Complete with her trademark snark, honed from years on the road as a dancer.

I had to edit a few things, but go behind the scenes to find out Dawn's take on the show, read her breakdown of the cast, thoughts on staging the show and why she absolutely won't reveal the funniest line of "Trailer Park."

PS: Find out why Dawn thinks the viewing public should attend in five words or less!

Read our previous Q&A with "Trailer Park" actor Randy Jones.
Up next week, a Q&A with "Trailer Park" actress Debi Guthery.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs through Nov. 2, 2013 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for children 18 and under. Call 239-263-7990 or online at naplesplayers.org/tickets.

1) Talk about this play. What are audiences going to find out about themselves, life or theatre if they attend?

That it's OK to go to the theatre just to laugh for a while.  Not everything has to be "art."  There is an art to comedy, but not every piece of theatre has to be high-brow.  And even though much of this show is cartoonish caricature, people will recognize themselves in the show.  Also, it's vulgar and raunchy, but also sweet, with a nice story and sentiment.

Five Questions With: Randall Kenneth Jones, Norbert in "The Great American Trailer Park Musical"

Randall Kenneth Jones as Roger DeBris
in the Naples Players production
of "The Producers."

Randall Kenneth Jones will be familiar face to Naples audiences when he takes the stage as tollbooth collector Norbert in upcoming "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

The Washington, D.C. transplant has appeared in shows with the Marco Players ("The Fourth Wall"), Shakespeare in Paradise ("A Midsummer Night's Dream") and both plays and musicals at the Naples Players. He had roles in "Annie," "The Producers" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." He also starred as David O. Selznick in "Gone With the Wind" send-up "Moonlight and Magnolias."

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" visits a wrong-side-of-the-tracks community in Starke, Florida. Jones's character leaves (or does he?) his agoraphobic wife for a stripper named Pippi. Other inhabitants of the Armadillo Acres trailer park are named Linoleum and Pickles. There's a shootout. Someone sniffs Pam (the cooking spray - not the person). And THEN things get strange... (Read my review of the show from its run at the Off-Broadway Palm in April if you want a few spoilers)

Directed by Dawn Lebrecht Fornara, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" includes Jessica Walck as Pippi, Debi Guthery as Betty, Lisa Frederico as Linoleum, Greg Jensen as Duke, Randall Jones as Norbert, Alyssa Lee as Pickles, and Laura Needle as Jeannie.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs Oct. 9 - Nov. 2 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org.

We caught up with Jones, but left the rest of the surprises in "Trailer Park," along with the cans of Natty Light and Hamms, in the cooler. You'll have to see the show to find out exactly who takes exactly what off at the Litter Box Show Palace.

Jessica Walck replaces Jenna Canfield in "Trailer Park" at Naples Players

The Naples Players announced Friday afternoon that Jessica Walck would replace Jenna Canfield in the upcoming "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

The announcement was made via the Naples Players Facebook page. (When we say "break a leg," we don't mean literally! Get well soon Jenna!)

Directed by Dawn Lebrecht Fornara, "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" includes Jessica Walck as Pippi, Debi Guthery as Betty, Lisa Frederico as Linoleum, Greg Jensen as Duke, Randall Jones as Norbert, Alyssa Lee as Pickles, and Laura Needle as Jeannie.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs Oct. 9 - Nov. 2 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org.

Please note that the full title of the show includes "Musical." This is at least the second piece of press material that has omitted that.

Latest from the "Trailer Park" - watch a video from the set!

Here's a new press release (for no discernible reason) for "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

The show opens October 9. Very few photos of costumes or set have emerged, probably a deliberate plan to keep the sight gags a deliberate surprise. I've seen "Trailer Park" before - and the opportunity for jokes is about four double-wides high. I mean, there's a character named Linoleum.

Do they even still manufacture linoleum? My parents had linoleum - orange and green linoleum, with appliances to match! - in our first kitchen.

In other news, Debi Guthery has been unmasked as the mastermind behind the Journey to the "Great American Trailer Park Musical" Facebook page. This video is absolutely priceless. Please sit down before you view it, especially that moment at the 1:05 mark.

Anyway. "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs Oct. 9 - Nov. 2 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs Oct. 9 - Nov. 2 at the Naples Players.
Tickets are $40. Call (239) 263-7990 or naplesplayers.org.

Complete press release below.

Video: Can you tell me how to get to Armadillo Acres?

Here's a video from the Naples Players production of "The Great American Trailer Park Musical."

Well, not exactly. See. there's an on-the-sly Facebook page promoting the show. Ya'll need to check it out. https://www.facebook.com/AmadilloAcresTrailerPark.




The "Trailer Park" cast includes Jenna Canfield as Pippi, Debi Guthery as Betty, Lisa Frederico as Linoleum, Greg Jensen as Duke, Randall Kenneth Jones as Norbert, Alyssa Lee as Pickles and Laura Needle as Jeannie. Dawn Lebrecht Fornara will direct.

Broadway Palm produced a stellar version of this show in April 2012; read my review here: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/apr/13/review-broadway-palm-great-american-trailer-park/.

"The Great American Trailer Park Musical" runs Oct. 9 - Nov. 2, 2013 at the Naples Players. Tickets are $40 for adults and $10 for children 18 and under. Call 239-263-7990 or online at naplesplayers.org/tickets.