Trailer Trash Housewife in Atlanta Review - The Trials and Tribulations

This performance is presented by The Process Theatre Company and OnStage Atlanta, and directed by DeWayne Morgan. The performace is at OnStage Atlanta located at 2597 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA 30033. The play is set in small town trailer park Texas. Home of the cowboys team. "Trailer Trash Housewives" explores the lives of Willadean Winkler, her abusive husband J.D., best friend LaSonia (pronounced "Lasagna"), and trashy cocktail waitress Rayleen Hobbs. The play is scored around soul-soaring blues songs. A delicate blend of frightened humor and pain, it delves right into the heart of abuse. Explosive one-sided arguments erupt and build, until one disastrous night it all goes too far, and the lives of those in the trailer park are never the same.

The cast of performers include Claire Brown, whose character is Willadean. Some of Claire's other favorite characters have included Gertrude in Hamlet and Brenda Sue in Marietta, the Soap! Travis Young whose character is J.D. is making his OnStage Atlanta debut. Some of his previous credits include, Take me out at TITS (where he was nominated for a Suzi in 2005), A Skull in Connemara, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and Bald Grace to name a few. He has performed in over 40 films and commercials during 22 years as an actor. Roblyn Allicia (LaSonia) is a native Atlantan. She holds a BFA in Fine Arts in Theatre Arts, graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas in Arlington back in 2005. Some of her works include, Tyler Perry, "Meet The Browns" TV Sitcom January 2009 (Young Sister #2) Respect, A musical Journey of Women at the 14th Street, Playhouse (Rosa u/s), Having Our Say (Sadie), Smokey Joe's Cafe (BJ) to name a few. Jennifer R. Lee whose character is Rayleen Hobbs has participated in many staged readings for PRocess Theater Company. Her most recent project is "A Gentleman's Wish and Noir." She is also a founding member of the Onstage Atlanta Artistic Company and was most recently seen at OSA in The Underpants and The Weir. Caitlyn Renee (Blues Singer) is one of Atlanta's Premier "up and coming" singer/songwriter. She has performed at some of Atlanta's smoothest night venues, including Weezy's Cafe' 290, and 2 Willies. Having been trained classically, and in some different styles, Caitlyn's four octave range allows her to sing multiple genres from country to opera with ease. She is very involved in the musical theater community in the Atlanta area.

The OnStage Atlanta location was a little surprising. It is located in the Bellevidere Shopping Center (next to Big Lots). The theatre is actually smaller than what I had expected. As you enter, you go down two fights of stairs into the lobby. It is like a little cafe' with a couple of tables and chairs. The stage is also small scale; however, the actors made the performance very believable and convincing to the audience. The stage is set up to replicate the interior of a mobile home, which includes a small living room and kitchen. Also, the back wall is set up like a honky tonk including the bar area and a table and chairs. Finally, there is a small room to the right of the living room which is used as the bedroom space for the set.

The performace begins with the Blues Singer (Caitlyn Renee) singing a soulful song setting the moode as Willadean (Claire Brown) enters the living room. The performance is based on a battered wife, and the relationship she has with her abusive husband. It also includes the relationship she has with her neighbor, LaSonia (Roblyn Allicia), whom her husband forbids her to associate with others because she is black. Also, the story line also includes the relationship between her and her husband has with Rayleen (Jennifer Lee), who plays the cocktail waitheres. as the story progresses, Caitlyn sings additional soulful blues which helps lead you from scene to scene.

As I read the previews and watched the trailer, I assessed the play as being on the comical side. However, as I watched the performance I became disturbed. The language contained excessive profanity including a word I consider very offensive, and to hear a woman saying, and repeating that particular word was very unsettling. This play is a PG 13 play and it is not appropriate for kids under 12 years old. The comical lines were very few and far between. The racial language was offensive as well. I understand that the script wants to make an impact; however, I believe that could have been accomplished with less offensive language. The actors gave a great performance, but I know some people were unable to enjoy the play because of the profanity language. I can tell that some people left the theater very tensed once the performance concluded. I would suggest the audience that have not been exposed to a lot of live performances, to check and screen future plays review to make sure that you are aware of the contents and language. The age suitability ratig was teens and up. I would not recommend to teenagers to watch the performance mainly due to the language. I may be old school; however, I believe the impact could have been achieved without that kind of language. In all probability, I will not recommend this performance for that reason. In the end, the actors gave an outstanding the performance and it projected the reality of most housewives' home of America.