Amanda Ross

Editor-In-Chief

This post was originally published on November 19.

From Nov. 13 to Nov. 16, Penn State Behrend Studio Theatre performed The Trail to Oregon as their second fall musical. The show highlighted not only the department’s exceptional actors but their flourishing program. 

The Trail to Oregon is an interactive comedy musical created by Team Starkid which is loosely based on the 1985 educational video game The Oregon Trail. It follows a family of five pioneers, all of whom are named by the audience at the beginning of the show, who embark towards Oregon after losing their farm in a fire. Throughout the journey, they deal with hunger, poison, the Bandit King, and the ever-present threat of dysentery. 

While the family encountered a number of strange characters, the show sported a cast of only six. Yet, it doesn’t feel that way while watching the show. Will Mortimore, who played Grandpa and Cleetus Jones, and Sylas Fromyer, who played McDoon and Everyone Else, handled their roles with effortlessness that allowed each change to flow instantaneously into one another. In the moments where the change was noticeable, each hurried costume piece was played with a comedic timing that thoroughly hurt my sides. Mortimore’s specific, deadpan delivery perfectly contrasted the bombastic personalities of his castmates. 

Most bombastic of them all being Father, played by Logan Boyle. Boyle has been with the theatre since his freshman year, and his experience shined through in this role. He balanced the character’s comedic and serious moments with an expert switch, always leaving himself room to go bigger, bigger, bigger. However, he was easily complimented by his Son and Daughter, played by Antony Falk and Ace Moore. Falk played Son with an earnest, genuine naivety that never becomes grating, and sold Son’s issues regarding killing animals with an honesty that can be buried under the comedic setpieces. Moore similarly brought dimensionality to her character, showing Daughter not just as a foolish child but as a young woman coming into her own on a trail too quick to take advantage of her. Taylor Goodyear, who played Mother, held the show’s emotional heart, agonizing over taking care of her young children while simultaneously strong-arming the trail to her will. Her voice was also a standout, especially during “When the World’s at Stake”. 

The show’s interactivity was limited, but well used. While it would’ve been nice to see a few more instances of it, the two moments it was there stuck out as some of the show’s highlights. At the show’s beginning, the audience was tasked with naming the family. On opening night, the names given were Anime T*ddies for Father, Fartface for Mother, 67 for Son, (iii) for Daughter, and JFK for Grandpa. Often, these names elevated casual moments to ridiculous farces, especially in the case of Son’s. The second moment happened during intermission, where audience members voted on which family member would die of dysentery at the border to Oregon. Opening night chose to kill Son. Falk then performed a nearly 4 minute song about his own death, interlaced with canned farts and his family’s horrified gawking as they attempted to comfort him in his last moments, despite the smell. This moment in particular shocked me mainly due to the time commitment necessary to potentially kill a different member of the show each night, with each member of the family needing to practice both dying and reacting to the death. It’s indicative of the show’s overall philosophy of striving for real emotion before comedically bulldozing the audience. The fact that it plays as well as it does isli a testament to the show’s writing and acting that this remains criminally funny the entire way through. 

Notably, Trail to Oregon is a show from Team Starkid, a small musical theatre company that originally began at the University of Michigan. If this is an indication that Studio Theatre intends to start taking risks with more niche shows and ideas, I’m all for it.