The much-loved holiday shows that return to local stages this time of year are a cherished part of the season for many folks.

But there’s always room for a newcomer, such as Stage Left Players’ “A Trailer Park Holiday.”

The comic musical got its world premiere last weekend at the theater’s Trinity Playhouse in Lisbon. 

“Trailer Park” was written by Kandy Cleland, who also directs it. She and Jodine Pilmer created the songs.

The show squeezes a Hallmark Channel love story through a Columbiana County trailer park. It has nutball energy and a feel-good aura.

There are a lot of offbeat folks at the trailer park who know each other’s business all too well. They connect to each other with the bluntness that comes from living in close quarters.

But when the chips are down, they pull together.

“Trailer Park” is full of situations you never saw coming – mainly because that’s how they do things in their corner of the world. The local deputy is a hula hoop champ.

It’s obvious this cast has a ton of experience and is used to working together under Cleland. Most of them become audience favorites by the end of the show. 

In the lead role is Tessa Young. She plays the trailer park native who has found success in the big city but can’t break her emotional baggage to the place where she grew up. Young handles it with Hallmark charm.

The 12 original songs are a huge highlight. They come in a range of musical styles – performed by a small ensemble – and have clever lyrics that equate with what you’ll see at the highest levels

Cleland has written a lighthearted show with a lot of spirit.

“Trailer Park” is actually the fifth musical that she has written, directed and produced. That might be a record for Mahoning Valley playwrights.

“A Trailer Park Holiday” is entering its final weekend, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

It’s new, but it might become a tradition.

Samantha Fish

Local blues-rock fans know about Samantha Fish, who always books a date in the Valley when she’s on tour.

Fish will return to the Robins Theatre on Friday for a 7 p.m. concert that also includes Cedric Burnside and Jon Spencer. 

She released her new album, “Paper Doll,” in April, and then freshened it up in October with a deluxe version that includes two bonus tracks: “Dead Armadillo” and a rendition of Neil Young’s classic “Don’t Let it Bring You Down.”

Fish builds her songs on a simple foundation and then lets them take flight with evolving hooks and melodies.

She also gets personal with her lyrics.

“Dead Armadillo” is about accepting that not everyone is going to like you.

“You don’t have to be involved in every situation you encounter, and there’s a good reason for that,” she wrote in her press materials. “Not every person is meant for you. It’s a mix of self-acceptance and being unbothered by the outcomes of that.”

Tickets for her Friday concert are getting scarce. To buy them in advance, click HERE.

For a complete look at everything going on in the Mahoning Valley, check out The List.

Pictured at top: Tessa Young and Jacob Ward in “A Trailer Park Holiday.”