36 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 4, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com ONSTAGE Soaked in a pink sunset, a row of striped garden chairs awaits. On both sides stand the cutest trailers one can imagine, made of colorful net. Live music is being played in what can be only described as sunroom after dark; it is separated from the main stage. The performance hasn’t started yet, but the audience is already intrigued, delighted by the design and the presence of jamming musicians. This musical is a “cupcake” of the 2026 season at Western Stage, says the theater’s community engagement coordinator, Hope Tinney—and she is not wrong. That’s largely thanks to “the girls,” the ancient chorus in The Great American Trailer Park Musical, the three outspoken trailer park ladies with complicated hairdos and even more complicated biographies. Donna, aka Pickles (Nanni Westgate), Linoleum, aka Lin (Jacqueline Aguilar-Madrigal) and Betty (Reina Cruz Vazquez) steal the show, engaging the audience with their laugh-out-loud, snarky singing commentary on what’s happening at the Armadillo Acres trailer park. We meet an unhappy couple— Jeannie (Chrissy Brooks) and Norbert (John G. Bridges)—who lost a child, which led to Jeannie’s agoraphobia and years of isolation for both of them. Pippi, a good-hearted stripper on the run from her abusive boyfriend, arrives. “Pippi is running away from a toxic relationship; I can relate to that,” says Niki Moon, who plays Pippi. “She is trying to stay positive, have a new start.” Unwittingly she becomes a serious threat to Jeannie and Norbert’s marriage, but the story might not follow expected lines. “I can’t tell you the end of the play, but it’s a happy ending for Pippi—I think,” Moon observes. Moon started performing as a child at ARIEL Theatrical in Salinas. She went to Hartnell College to study music and changed her major to performance arts upon discovering Western Stage (her first show on the main stage was Curtains, she recalls). “Trailer parks used to have a bad rep, but they are having a moment,” says Tinney. “Basically, it’s a story about a community like any other. About how people take care of each other.” In Salinas, potato salad and Twinkies were served at the opening to celebrate trailer park culture. The Great American Trailer Park Musical runs 7:30pm Saturdays; 2pm Sundays, until Nov. 15. Western Stage at Hartnell Community College, 411 Central Ave., Salinas. $30; $24/senior; $12/child. (831) 755-6816, westernstage.com. COURTESY OF WESTERN STAGE Trailer Breaking The Great American Trailer Park Musical delights at Western Stage. By Agata Popęda Pippi (left, played by Niki Moon), a stripper new in town, meets Pickles (Nanni Westgate) at Armadillo Acres trailer park. How will she fit in? Find out at Western Stage in Salinas. H I L LT O P 871 JESSIE STREET 831-646-3975 EL ESTERO 777 PEARL STREET 831-646-3873 Pre-registration by appointment only. Please call the Preschool location of your choice for a registration appointment. Visit www.monterey.gov/rec for more info. learn - engage - play - socialize Tuesday – friday, 3 hours per day THE CITY OF MONTEREY must be “potty” trained years 3-5 for ages preschool p r o g r a m
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