Fat Shirley’s: A Trailer Park Opera, a zany musical comedy will open at the Mountain Arts Community Center through July 31. Directed by Josh Ruben, the show features a live bluegrass band and leaves audiences laughing long after the curtain closes. Fat Shirley’s is of course not really an opera, but rather an odd ball off the wall musical comedy set in an “unnamed region of the South.”
Written by T. J. Brown and D. B. Crawford, Fat Shirley’s debuted in 2006 at Dalton Little Theatre. Since then the show has been staged at numerous theaters throughout the Southeast as well as in the United Kingdom, including the Redgrave Theatre in Bristol, the Stroud Theatre Festival, and the Bath Theatre Festival.
The performances will also feature special guests during each show. August 1 will feature Channel 9 News Reporter Beth Neuhoff, the former Baylor Headmaster Dr. Herbert Barks will make an appearance at the August 2 matinee, the special guest for August 6 will be the talented vocalist Trish Wileman, and producer Rabbit Zilke of NPR Affiliate WUTC 88.1 will be on stage for the final performance on August 8.