By Julianna Nelson-Gaudette
Elm Staff Writer
Washington College’s Theatre and Dance Department headed west with senior Jaya Basu’s deeply comedic directing SCE “The Trail to Oregon!” debuted at Washington College’s Alonzo G. and Virginia Gent Decker Theater on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
The show is a not-so-historically-accurate musical adaptation of “The Oregon Trail” video game series. During a few months spent by a Missouri family along the Oregon Trail, they encounter sickly oxen, talking buffalo, snake-venom induced psychosis, death by dysentery, and lobsters.
At the start of the show, junior Evan Paddock, who played Father, asked the audience to give names to himself and the other characters. The actors approached the front of the stage one at a time and listened as eager pioneers shouted out potential names. Between both shows, a few particularly funny names were Fetty Wap, Natty Light, and Miku Binder Thomas Jefferson.
Alongside Paddock, senior Zoe Brookbank played kidnapper “The Bandit King” McDoon, the family’s horny ox, plus every other side character; senior Faith Poulton played Daughter, junior Kaitlyn Mankevich played Son, senior KT Pagano played Mother, and sophomore Sarah Fronheiser played Grandpa and Cletus Jones, the accomplice and occasional lover of McDoon.
The dynamic between the characters is stereotypical, with siblings who don’t get along, parents on the brink of divorce, and a father-in-law with a distaste for his daughter’s husband.
The actors in Basu’s production were perfectly chosen for their roles. The cast comprised a group of already established friends, making their interactions feel genuine and on-stage chemistry apparent.
“I just really love the dynamic Jai has created between all of us, and it’s just fun going to rehearsal and laughing for two hours and still putting on a show,” Fronheiser said. “Jai and the whole production team have been so supportive and helpful to everybody.”
In addition to deciding the names of each character, the audience is also tasked with deciding which one of them will die of dysentery at the end of each show. Upon showing a ticket, audience members were given a duck to place in the basket of the character of their choosing, and if they dressed up for opening night on Halloween, they got to vote twice. On opening night, Son was voted to die, and on Saturday, Grandpa.
Sophomore Maeve Powell said that the interactions between audience and cast members was “a great way to get the audience’s energy up … it was very nice and exciting,” Powell said.
Powell’s favorite part of the show was getting to see Mankevich perform the death scene. Those familiar with the show tend to favor the son for his off-putting and humorous personality, so it is no surprise that Mankevich was chosen.
Although the show maintained a comedic tone, several songs dealt with more serious topics, including death in “Pays to Be an Animal.”
Incorporating humor when presenting heavy topics to an audience helps continue conversation in a palatable way while also serving as a reprise from possible tension by evoking laughter.
Innuendos in the show were not limited to serious topics, though, as defecation made its way into songs like “Dysentery World” and “You Gotta Go,” among many examples of dialogue.
Other musical highlights included “When the World’s at Stake” for Pagano’s talent and ability to capture the emotion of the song. The finale, “Naked in a Lake,” uses humorous and well-developed choreography as the family celebrates reaching Oregon by going skinny-dipping.
For Basu, assimilating that feeling of lightheartedness to the audience was very important.
“The show might not have much to comment on the state of the world, but it is funny and reminds us of the importance of family … We need love, community, and high spirits now more than ever,” Basu said in his director’s note.
The blending of serious topics and historical elements with spoken humor and beautiful singing, whether about life’s hardships or seriously needing to defecate, made this production impossible to replicate.
The Theatre and Dance Department’s final show of the season will be Dancescape on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 2 p.m.
Photo Caption: Audiences got to vote for which character succumbed to dysentery at the end of the show.
Photo by Myla Harrell