The Trail to Oregon!

Last updated
The Trail to Oregon!
The trail to oregon cherry lane logo.jpg
Logo
MusicJeff Blim
LyricsJeff Blim
Book Jeff Blim
Matt Lang
Nick Lang
Basis The Oregon Trail
Productions2014 Chicago
2015 Off-Broadway
2018 Off-West End
2018 Edinburgh Fringe

The Trail to Oregon! Is a musical with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim, and book by Jeff Blim, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang (additional music by Drew De Four). [1]

Contents

The musical parodies the video game series The Oregon Trail . The characters' names were picked from suggestions shouted from the audience, and at the end the audience chooses which character dies.

Productions

The musical was performed between July 3 and August 10, 2014, at Stage 773 in Chicago, Illinois. [2] It ran for a total of 24 performances, and was performed in repertory with Ani , both being produced by StarKid Productions. [3] With only six actors, it has the smallest cast of any StarKid musical to date. The group put the entire musical up on YouTube on February 14, 2015. The musical's cast recording was released on iTunes the same day.

The musical had a limited run at the Cherry Lane Theatre off-Broadway in New York City from May 26–31, 2015, running for eight performances. [4] [5] The original Chicago cast returned for this production. [6] This marks the first time a StarKid show has received a full production in New York City.

The musical was also performed at The Other Palace off West End as part of their Edinburgh preview performances by the University of Southampton's touring theatrical group, Gone Rogue. This was followed by a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from the August 13th-25th, 2018. [7]

Trail to Oregon made its Western Australian debut in 2023 at the Don Russell Performing Arts Center by Art in Motion Theatre Company [8] under the direction of Micheal Carroll, Musical Direction of Joshua Hollander and Choreography by Sophie David. The show ran from October 27th until November 4th and was a proven success receiving 8 Robert Finley Award Nominations and 2 award wins including: Best Ensemble, Best Director of a Musical, Best Musical Director, Best Actor in A Musical (Riley Merigan as McDoon/Everyone Else), 2x Best Actress (Verity Lux as Son [win] & Brittany Isaia as Daughter) as well as 2x Breakthrough Award nominations for Carroll and Hollander [win].

The show is now available for licensing on the StarKid Production’s website alongside other shows such as Twisted, Firebringer and The Guy who didn’t like musicals.

Synopsis

Act I

The show begins with the father greeting the audience and introducing his wife, teenage daughter, seven-year-old son, and father-in-law (known as grandpa). The father leads the audience in choosing the name of each character. ("Gone To Oregon"). In the filmed show on YouTube the father is named Jack Bauer, the mother is named Slippery When Wet, the grandpa is named Titty Mitty, the son is named Craphole and the daughter is named Mouthface. Father tries to convince the kids that the journey to Oregon will be fun and educational, while Mother passive-aggressively points out that Father burned down their farm. The journey begins in Independence, Missouri, and the family walks through the town, receiving honest but depressing advice from the townspeople ("Independence!"). They decide to go down to the general store to buy only bullets (their reasoning being that as a family of farmers, they don't need any food).

Daughter is approached by a stranger named McDoon. As they flirt, he warns her about the famous outlaws The Bandit King and Cletus Jones. Upon hearing his name, Cletus appears and inadvertently reveals McDoon is the Bandit King. Mother arrives and scares McDoon away, much to the dismay of Daughter. As the women leaves, McDoon vows revenge. In the meantime, the general store manager has swindled Father into purchasing a wagon in terrible condition for an outrageous price, along with a deformed ox.

They finally begin their journey, and while the rest of the family complain, Father enjoys the fun of the family road trip ("The Grind"). When the wagon breaks and the family discovers Son ate the food reserves, Mother sends Daughter, Son, and Grandpa to go hunting. After Daughter fails to hit small game, Grandpa hands the gun over the Son and tells his outlandish story about his war against the “lobsters” in 1812 - he claims to have banished the lobsters to the sea, for which the lobsters retaliated by stealing the only million-dollar bill in the world, as it had Grandpa's face on it. Son is faced with a family of buffalo and a moral decision, while Daughter and Grandpa try to convince him to kill ("Pays To Be An Animal"). After Son guns down the buffalo, the family drag what little meat they can carry back to the wagon.

After Daughter tells Mother that she thinks she is overbearing, Mother fakes death so that Daughter will admit she needs her. When Mother 'wakes up', Daughter claims she wishes she didn't have a family to care about and that the Bandit King would take her away. After she leaves, Mother laments her daughter's sadness, and expresses her love ("When The World's At Stake").

Father tries to convince Mother to have sex, but fails several times. She finally agrees, only to be bitten by a snake as soon as they get in the bed together. Father saves her by sucking out the venom, but accidentally poisons himself. While in a coma, he hallucinates a mysterious voice telling him that the 'watchers' (the audience) will kill off one of the family members ("Dysentery World"). The family assumes Father is dead. However, he abruptly awakens and tells them of the fate the voice described. McDoon is watching from afar, planning to take Daughter away and make her his bride, upsetting Cletus Jones (who has his own feelings for the thief). McDoon sets the family wagon on fire while Cletus kidnaps Daughter ("Wagon on Fire").

Act II

The show restarts with Daughter in the wagon of The Bandit King, missing her family ("Lost Without You"). Her family arrives at a pub, where Mother pays for her drink with her wedding ring. Mother takes Son and leaves the pub to walk to Oregon, while Father is left with Grandpa. Grandpa gives Father a pep talk, admitting that he left the lobster world in disgrace after losing the love of his life to the lobster and his best friend, Cornwallis. The General Store Guy then enters the pub. Father decides that he will do anything to get back his family and approaches The General Store Guy, demanding a working wagon. When he refuses, Father threatens to shoot him and his partner, because he needed to fix his family no matter what ("When The World's At Stake (Reprise)"). The General Store Guy gives Father his wagon. Father takes the new wagon on the trail, picking up Mother and Son on the way. Mother is overjoyed, and takes the reins, setting the pace to grueling and the rations to barebones ("Speedrun").

While the family races to Oregon, Cletus Jones reveals his jealousy to Daughter, who constantly rejects The Bandit King's advances. The trio come upon the Columbia River, and the bandits decide to float their wagon across the river ("Caulk The Wagon"). While in the river, they hit a rock that causes them to fall out. Daughter grabs onto a rock while the thieves are swept away. The family arrives just in time to see Daughter in the river. Father tells the family they will need to ford the river to save her. When Son protests, remembering a warning from an Independence town person, Mother declares they are a family. They manage to reach Daughter, but crash and wreck their wagon. Luckily, every member of the family is saved by Grandpa's lobster nemesis, Cornwallis.

The family is thrilled to see the Oregon border just a few yards away. When they reach the state line, they are stopped by a doctor (Joey Richter), who tells them only the healthy members of the party can continue to Oregon, and one of them (chosen earlier by the audience) is about to die of dysentery. The doctor announces the victim, who says their final goodbyes to the rest of the family, complete with all the sounds and smells of death by dysentery ("You Gotta Go").

Determined to reach Oregon as a family, the remaining members dragged the body across the border, and are amazed when the victim comes back to life thanks to the pure Oregon air (except in the case of Daughter and Mother, who were only pretending to be dead). Grandpa discovers his million-dollar bill in his pocket that the lobsters returned to him, and shares his fortune with his family. To celebrate, Son finally convinces the family to help realize his dream of skinny dipping ("Naked In A Lake").

Cast and characters

CharacterStage 773
Chicago
(2014)		 Cherry Lane Theatre
Off-Broadway
(2015)		 The Other Palace
Off-West End
(2018)		 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
(2018)		Stage 2 Theatre Company
Duluth
(2019)		Small Waves Production Company
Duluth
(2022)		Art In Motion Theatre Company
Perth (WA)
(2023)
FatherJeff BlimJosh VaatstraBrendan FinnMathew Leak
MotherRachael SoglinGeorgia HarperAnna MatthesLukas Perez
Daughter Jaime Lyn Beatty Gem TunleyHaley MethnerBrittany Isaia
Son Lauren Lopez Bella NorrisRianna RyanVerity Lux
Grandpa / Cletus JonesCorey DorrisJohn WildersAntony FergusonMax Leunig
McDoon / Ensemble Joey Richter James AdamsSam HildestadRiley Merigan
Ox / EnsembleMaddie Schafer

Musical numbers

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Hee Haw</i> American television variety show (1969-93 and 1996-97)

Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on RFD-TV from September 2008 to April 2020, and aired on Circle.

You Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play premiered at the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia, on November 30, 1936. The production then transferred to Broadway's Booth Theatre on December 14, 1936, where it played for 838 performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tex Ritter</span> American country singer (1905–1974)

Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter was a pioneer of American Country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Clayton</span> American actress (1917–1983)

Jan Clayton was a film, musical theater, and television actress. She starred in the popular 1950s TV series Lassie.

<i>The Robber Bridegroom</i> (musical) Broadway musical

The Robber Bridegroom is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry and music by Robert Waldman. The story is based on the 1942 novella by Eudora Welty of the same name, with a Robin Hood-like hero; the adaptation placed it in a late 18th-century American setting. The musical ran on Broadway in 1975 and again in 1976.

StarKid Productions, also known as Team StarKid, is an American musical theatre company founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan by Darren Criss, Brian Holden, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. Originally known for the viral success of their first musical, A Very Potter Musical, a parody of the Harry Potter series, the troupe primarily produces musical comedies inspired by pop culture, with original scripts, songs, and music. StarKid distributes their musicals for free on YouTube, with recent projects being funded by Kickstarter and physical ticket sales.

<i>A Very Potter Musical</i> Harry Potter parody musical

A Very Potter Musical is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and A. J. Holmes and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden. The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as well as their film adaptations.

<i>Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai</i> Indian Hindi-language soap opera

Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, also known internationally as The Inseparables, is an Indian Hindi-language family drama television series that aired on StarPlus during weekdays from 3 October 2011 to 13 September 2013. It is digitally available on Disney+ Hotstar.

<i>Ragtime</i> (musical) Musical based on E.L. Doctorows Ragtime

Ragtime is a musical with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally. It is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow.

<i>Saraswatichandra</i> (TV series) Indian television series

Saraswatichandra is an Indian Hindi-language musical romance drama television series produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, written by Saba Mumtaz, Shruti Vaidys, Utkarsh Naithani, Ved Raj and Abhijit Sinha, and is based on Govardhanram Tripathi's 1887-1901 four volume novel of the same name. It aired on Star Plus from 25 February 2013 to 20 September 2014.

<i>A Very Potter Senior Year</i> Harry Potter parody musical

A Very Potter Senior Year is a musical written by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden with songs by Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers, A. J. Holmes, and additional songs by Darren Criss. It is the conclusion of the Very Potter trilogy of Harry Potter-inspired musicals produced over four years by StarKid Productions. Rather than a full musical, as with its previous installments, the production took the form of a live staged reading of the script with performances of the songs at LeakyCon in Chicago, Illinois, on August 11, 2012. It featured nearly all of the StarKid actors and actresses who had starred in previous StarKid shows to date, including actor Darren Criss, who returned to the company to reprise his role as Harry Potter, and Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood, who played the character in the original film series.

<i>Uncle Grandpa</i> American animated television series

Uncle Grandpa is an American animated television series created by Peter Browngardt for Cartoon Network that ran from September 2, 2013, to June 30, 2017. It is based on Browngardt's animated short of the same name from The Cartoonstitute. Uncle Grandpa is also a spin-off of Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, which was in turn a spin-off of The Cartoonstitute short. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios.

<i>Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? Ek Baar Phir</i> Indian romantic drama television series

Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? Ek Baar Phir is an Indian romantic drama television series created and produced by Sunjoy Waddhwa under Sphere Origins. The series aired on StarPlus from 26 August 2013 to 13 June 2015, completing 542 episodes. The show stars Avinash Sachdev and Shrenu Parikh as Shlok and Aastha, respectively. It is the second installment in the Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? series.

<i>Yeh Hai Mohabbatein</i> Indian drama television series

Yeh Hai Mohabbatein is an Indian romance drama television series that aired from 3 December 2013 to 18 December 2019 on Star Plus. Produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms, it starred Karan Patel, Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya, Ruhanika Dhawan and Aditi Bhatia. The story was initially based on Manju Kapur's 2011 novel Custody, with Yeh Hai Mohabbatein continuing beyond Custody's story in later episodes.

<i>Living with Fran</i> American television sitcom

Living with Fran is an American television sitcom that aired on The WB. It starred Fran Drescher and Ryan McPartlin, and was co-created by Jamie Kennedy. The series debuted on April 8, 2005, and ran two seasons before ending on March 24, 2006.

<i>Nisha Aur Uske Cousins</i> Indian TV series or programme

Nisha Aur Uske Cousins is an Indian coming of age romantic drama television series which aired on StarPlus from 18 August 2014 to 27 June 2015. It starred Aneri Vajani and Mishkat Varma. The story revolved around the relationship between seven cousins residing in the Jaipur city of Rajasthan and focused on the family disputes caused by the difference of opinions due to generation gaps.

<i>The War with Grandpa</i> 2020 American family-comedy-drama film directed by Tim Hill

The War with Grandpa is a 2020 American family comedy film directed by Tim Hill, from a screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember, based upon the novel of the same name by Robert Kimmel Smith. The film is about a young boy named Peter who fights in a prank war with his grandfather to get his grandfather to move out of his room after he moves in with his family. Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Laura Marano, Cheech Marin, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Walken also star.

<i>The Oregon Trail</i> (series) Series of educational computer games

The Oregon Trail is a series of educational computer games. The first game was originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974. The original game was designed to teach eighth grade schoolchildren about the realities of 19th-century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The player assumes the role of a wagon leader guiding a party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley via a covered wagon in 1848.

<i>The Guy Who Didnt Like Musicals</i> 2018 musical by Jeff Blim, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is a horror comedy musical with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim and a book by Matt and Nick Lang. The show is the first installment in StarKid's Hatchetfield series. Loosely inspired by 1956 horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, it is the 11th stage show produced by StarKid Productions. The show follows Paul, an average guy who “doesn’t like musicals,” as the citizens of his town are gradually overcome by an alien hive mind that makes them sing and dance as if they are in a musical.

<i>Nerdy Prudes Must Die</i> 2023 horror-comedy musical

Nerdy Prudes Must Die is a horror comedy musical with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim and a book by Matt and Nick Lang. It is the thirteenth staged show produced by StarKid Productions and is part of the Hatchetfield series, following the musicals The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Black Friday, along with the web series Nightmare Time.

References

  1. ↑ "The Trail to Oregon".
  2. ↑ Rought, Karen (9 April 2014). "Team StarKid announce summer season schedule, 2 new parody shows". Hypable. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Fisher, Natalie (15 May 2014). "Team StarKid announces Summer Season schedule". Hypable. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Buy Tickets". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  5. ↑ StarKid Productions (March 6, 2015). "The Trail to Oregon! in New York City!!!". YouTube . Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Trail to Oregon!". Cherry Lane Theatre. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  7. ↑ "The Trail to Oregon!". Gone Rogue Productions.
  8. ↑ "Facebook". Art in Motion Facebook page. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.