By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
People who love road trips will tell you that getting there is half the fun. In the musical comedy “The Trail to Oregon!” ‘getting there’ is equal parts traumatic and hilarious.
The musical is a parody of The Oregon Trail, a series of video games popular for having come pre-installed on many elementary school computers. While its value as an educational tool is dubious at best, the game does an excellent job at portraying what perils awaited settlers. Kids who grew up with The Oregon Trail will no doubt have a sweet nostalgia for sickly oxen, fording rivers, snake bites, and most iconically, dying of dysentery.
“The Trail to Oregon!” is being put on by I Hate This Stupid Bike Productions under the direction of John Toth, who is also performing the male lead role Father. Thomas Johnston is the show’s music director. Performances will be at the University of Toledo’s Center for Performing Arts.
Catch the show on these dates:
• Thursday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m.
• Friday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 10, at 2 p.m.
Click here to purchase tickets. https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/i-hate-this-stupid-bike-productions/67cb1080f63d890f59b9f3f7/tickets#/productions-view
The year is 1848 and a family of pioneers sets out from Independence, Missouri, to the land of Oregon, “where the crops grow themselves and the cows are overflowing with milk – just gotta be there to catch some of it squirting at ya.” In the spirit of video games, the show begins with some interactivity – the audience names each family member. Theatre-goers are encouraged to shout out their worst ideas.
“The Trail to Oregon!” borrows from some familiar tropes in the road trip comedy genre. Father is intrepid but naive to the terrible journey that awaits, quick to get scammed into buying a dud covered wagon. Mother (Angie Crawford) is pragmatic and fed up with her husband’s ineptness. Since Father overestimates his farming abilities and opts out of buying rations, Mother is left with no choice but to bottle up several dozen mason jars of grass.
Son (Sage Ryan) is also inept, but only in the airy way one would typically expect a 7-year-old to be. He has a penchant for tossing important items off the wagon and putting inedible objects in his mouth. Daughter (Nat Merriman) is tired of her mom’s domineering ways and ready to find love on the trail.
Enter McDoon (Dylan Haught), who “makes the ladies McSwoon.” He operates under his not-so-secret villainous alter-ego The Bandit King and is hellbent on making Daughter his child bride.
That leaves Grandpa (Esteban Vega), the most unhinged member of the family. He seems to happily embrace the prospect of a grisly death and serves as a terrible mentor to all involved.
“The Trail to Oregon!” is an irreverent comedy that will leave the audience in stitches. If the family can pull it together, they may just make it to Oregon in one piece.
