YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The plot of Stage Left Players’ new show might seem familiar.
And the same goes for its quirky humor.
That’s because “A Trailer Park Holiday” – the latest musical by Kandace Cleland – imitates the well-worn approach of a certain cable network.
The nutball parody also bears Cleland’s comic style, in which zany characters are made sidesplittingly funny by their dry delivery.
Cleland, who is the founder and executive director of Stage Left, summarized the show in a nutshell.
“It’s a cross between a Hallmark movie and a trailer park,” she says.
The musical comedy will get its world premiere on Dec. 5 at the theater company’s Trinity Playhouse in Lisbon, Ohio.
It’s the fifth musical that Cleland has written, directed and produced at the theater. As always, the songs were written by Jodine Palmer, the music director.
Her past musicals include “Jingle My Bell” parts 1 and 2, “Christmas at Mamaw Jo’s Stop-N-Go” and “A Star Trek Christmas.”
A lot of wacky folks live in Up River Estates trailer park, which purportedly exists somewhere near Lisbon. That’s why the new show has a cast of 30. “It’s my biggest one ever,” Cleland says.
Her script further solidifies its link to Lisbon with little touches, such as the offhand references to the Johnny Appleseed Festival and the Columbiana County Fair.
The Plot
The crew at Up River Estates are close-knit and big-hearted. But their home is in danger when a casino developer swoops in and buys the property with plans to evict everyone and build a casino.
That’s when the Hallmark begins to happen.
The obligatory “girl leaves her small town, becomes a success in the big city, returns home to talk the residents into accepting the resettlement offer, and then falls for the handsome old flame she left behind” plot device kicks in.
Tessa Young tackles that role with her character, JoAnn.
Jacob Ward plays her old boyfriend, Tanner. He is busy raising the three kids of his late sister, who died in a tragic turkey-frying mishap at her food truck.
Rising above the lowbrow hijinks of this unsophisticated bunch is their heartfelt sincerity, Cleland says.
Despite the huge cast, Cleland had no trouble getting enough actors. Her regulars showed up, but so did many first-timers.
“I had people at auditions who said they love [my original shows] and always think ‘how can I be part of it’,” Cleland says. “I was honored.”
Other key cast members include Kari Lankford as Myrna, JoAnn’s feisty grandmother; and Eric Kibler as Sheriff Smoot, who hopes to catch her under the mistletoe.
There’s also Kevin Schreffler as the reprobate Plutus; and Renee Schreffler, Jared Lawrence, Logan Stratton, Cora Baer, Lorelei Cleland, Lori DiRocco, Mark Frost and Luke Craft.
Music and Story
Cleland and Pilmer have written so many songs together that they’ve developed a system.
It starts with Cleland writing the play, and also the lyrics to songs that underscore key moments. She then shares the lyrics with Pilmer, who puts it to music.
“We’ll talk, of course, about the style of the music,” Cleland says. “I’ll say, ‘this is a ballad,’ or ‘I’m hearing this as driving rockabilly,’ so she gets the vibe of it. Sometimes she’ll say ‘that lyric is not working there’ or ‘this has to be on this downbeat.’ And we make it right. … It’s an interesting process.”
Cleland has assembled a small band that will play the music live during performances.
As for replicating the Hallmark movie vibe, that comes from knowing the product.
“I’ve stolen all their tropes,” Cleland says. “When I told my granddaughter, who watches Hallmark Christmas movies, she said, ‘You have to have the scene where they’re baking cookies together, and they almost kiss each other.’ And I said, ‘right, got it’.”
The whole plot, in fact, mirrors every tried and true slice of Hallmark-ism.
Tessa left her tiny hometown for the big city and never wanted to look back. But fate has other plans.
Cleland’s knack for visual humor will also be present on the set.
Expect some sight gags that will get played to the hilt. And yes, the tacky holiday yard decor will include giant plastic reindeer.
It’s all part of a bigger picture.
“The stereotypes are there for a reason,” Cleland says. “The people become these wonderful characters that you fall in love with, and you realize that it’s their community, and you want them to be okay, you want them to stay together. You respect them. At the end of the day, these people that you want to make fun of, are real people. It’s a really sweet kind of play, you know?”
Lead Actor
Young, who brings the lead role of JoAnn to life, is no stranger to Stage Left Players, or Cleland’s original comedies.
She starred in “9 to 5” at the theater in June and had a small but fun role in “A Star Trek Christmas” a few years ago.
Bringing Cleland’s ideas to the stage is always exciting, she says.
“Every time she brings up something new, it always kind of shocks me,” Young says. “The new and funny things that she pulls off.”
She was sold on the “A Trailer Park Holiday” script the first time she read it.
“I was just laughing the whole time,” she says. “And then the second time, you just realize that this is actually really sweet. You really do fall in love with the different characters in the story and all the little things they get up to. It’s really endearing.”
Young, who is a preschool teacher in Salem, has been acting in Cleland’s plays since she was a fourth grader. Like many of the regulars, she knows Cleland’s language.
“A lot of the people have done shows with [Cleland] before, especially the shows that she’s written,” Young says. “We can look at something she wrote and say, ‘I think this is what you meant,’ and Kandy will be like, ‘Yes, yes, that’s it.’”
Performances of “A Trailer Park Holiday” will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 5-6 and 12-13; and 2 p.m. Dec. 7 and 14. Trinity Playhouse is at 234 E. Lincoln Way, Lisbon. For tickets, go to stageleftplayers.org.
Pictured at top: Kandy Cleland and Jodine Pilmer in Trinity Playhouse, Lisbon. Cleland wrote “A Trailer Park Holiday” with Pilmer writing the music for the songs.