Description: A raucous populist musical farce about Bob Maggot, a garbage man moonlighting as a Baptist preacher, and his eccentric family.

First Produced: 2000
Date Added: 6/15/2011
Content Advisory: Sex, violence, language
Keywords: Musical comedy  Satire/Parody  Mostly Male Characters  Large Cast Size 
5 Acts, 120 Minutes
3 Females, 6 Males

From the Playwright:

Note on the original cast of House of Trash: Because of the way I develop my plays, usually with several public readings and productions (often called "workshops" by the industry), often spread out over the span of several years, it is generally very difficult for me to say which is the "original" or "official" production. The folks listed as the original cast here were the performers attached to the published version of the play, but there were at least three other "original casts" in as many different versions of the script prior to the August, 2000 production dating all the way back to 1996. The original Angel, for example, (then called Joanie) was actually Drea De Matteo, later of The Sopranos, who was one of my classmates at NYU film school. These folks all deserve a nod, though technically they performed in different versions of the script.

NOTE: House of Trash is fully protected by copyright law and is subject to royalty. All inquiries concerning production, publication, reprinting or use of this play in any form should be addressed to travsd.wordpress.com.

Original Production Information

House of Trash was first presented by Trav S.D. and Mountebanks, as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in 2000 at Surf Reality, with the following cast and credits:

Preacher Bob: Trav S.D.

Ma: Gilda Konrad

Toby: Jon Weichsel

Hayseed/Pubert: Hank Flynn

Angel: Rev Jen Miller

Ray: Robert Pinnock

Babe: Loren Kidd

Claude: Jim Castelleiro

Directed by: Trav S.D.

Musical Director: Beau Mansfield

Sound Design: Arthur Schlenger

Music for House of Trash by Trav S.D. may be obtained by contacting the author

Review by Martin Denton

What's the funniest moment in House of Trash? Perhaps it's when Claude the gorilla sits down, crosses his legs, and starts to leaf through a high school student's composition book. Or is it when Angel, a wigged-out druggie who claims to have been abducted by aliens, lets slip that her mother is part of the Manson family? Or when Bob Maggot, an earnest garbageman moonlighting as a Baptist preacher, instructs his step-grandson Pubert to polish a telephone with the remnants of a frog sandwich?

It doesn't really matter: what you need to know is that in House of Trash, the "populist musical" written and directed by downtown comedy favorite Trav S.D., the laughs are nonstop and mostly of the belly variety. This is a burlesque, pure and simple, in the grand comic tradition of Plautus, Goldoni, and Weber & Fields: a rowdy, raucous, profane cartoon of a show--with the blessed ring of truth simmering just beneath the surface.

The story revolves around Preacher Bob's attempts to keep his extended family on the straight and narrow. His wife is a miserable old harridan addicted to tabloid TV who spouts weird malevolent folk wisdom like a deranged cross between Granny Clampett and the Wicked Witch of the West. His son is a walking timebomb of adolescent angst, in love with his high school teacher. His step-son is an imbecilic Hayseed (that's his name) who may be in love with a goat. And his step-grandson is a glue-sniffing dimwit, involved with the aforementioned Angel: a walking lost cause.

Poor Preacher Bob; lucky us. There's a lively country/rock score, as well (performed by Beau Mansfield and his band); plus grandly outrageous performances by Robert Pinnock, Reverend Jen Miller, Gilda Konrad, Loren Kidd, Hank Flynn, Jon Weichsel, and Trav S.D. himself. All are employed in the dubious but worthy cause of poking fun at white trash, who are--let's face it-- the only acceptable figures of derision left in this politically correct world of ours. And they do so with over-the-top vigor in this delicious celebration of good old-fashioned American ignorance.

reviewed at the 2000 New York International Fringe Festival

Excerpt from House of Trash

BOB

“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” Robert Frost said that. You ever heard of Robert Frost?

HAYSEED

Interviews… people… on TV…

BOB

H’m… Nope, that’s David Frost. Robert Frost was a poet. Spoke at President Kennedy’s inauguration years ago.

HAYSEED

Didn’t see it.

BOB

35th President of the United States.

HAYSEED

Jack Frost.

BOB

No. Robert Frost. There is no Jack Frost.

HAYSEED

There ain’t?

BOB

No.

HAYSEED

Then how come they say “Quicker’n you can say ‘Jack Frost’”?

BOB

That’s Jack Robinson.

HAYSEED

They let a baseball player speak at the President’s inaug’ral?

BOB

What baseball player?

HAYSEED

Jackie Robinson!

BOB

No. Forget it.