Stage Review - The Trail to Oregon (Lesser Known Players)
Stage Review - The Trail to Oregon
Presented By: Lesser Known Players (Grange Hall, Bainbridge Island, WA)
Date Reviewed: Thursday, November 3, 2023
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
It’s easy to find things when they’re out in the open. Sometimes, though, the best things aren’t so easy to find. A lot of great restaurants are tucked in a back alley, or off the beaten path, some of the best music can be heard in small venues that might not be as well known as larger ones. And so it is with theatre. If I’ve learned one thing over the past few years covering theatre around the Sound, it’s that you shouldn’t judge the quality of a show based on the size, amenities, or budget of theatre. A prime example was last year’s surprise production from the Lesser Known Players, Ride the Cyclone, which was one of my favorite shows of the past season. Driving through the woods of Bainbridge Island at night, it’s easy to drive right past the Grange Hall, where the troupe’s latest production, The Trail to Oregon, runs onstage through November 12, even with a GPS pointing the way. I can say I know this from experience in traveling to the opening night production of this show. But what this obscure, out of the way facility belies is how exceptional this show taking place inside really is. The Trail to Oregon, from Starkid Productions, written by Jeff Blim, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang, and based largely on the Oregon Trail video game series, is a hilarious, irreverent, and thoroughly entertaining show. In short, it’s a hoot!
The show, directed here by Erik Lawrence and produced by Gary Fetterplace, follows a family of five as they make their way from Independence, MO to Oregon after their farm burns down. Starring Alex Clark as “Father”, Sarah Conte-Bacolini as “Mother”, Abby Dickson as “Son”, Elizabeth Dangelo as “Daughter”, and Dante True as “Grandpa”, it’s almost a Ride the Cyclone reunion. If you;’re not familiar with the show, you may wonder about the names. Well, this is where the show gets interesting. And I use the term “show” lightly. It’s more of a party. The audience gets to name the each of the characters, and given that the show is advertised as “not for children”, it tends to skew more toward an adult Mad Lib, meaning the more vulgar the names, the funnier the show is. And given this, no two shows are ever the same. Once the names are called out, they’re recalled throughout in any number of humorous turns of phrase, settings, and song lyrics. This show works best when it’s interactive and when the cast is free to ad-lib and there was plenty of both on opening night. This family encounters any number of obstacles on their journey, each more fantastic and funnier than the last, and most of them involving Erik Lawrence playing so many supporting characters, I think I lost count after about seven. This is a fun show to watch for sure, but this cast makes it clear that it’s also fun to perform. They let loose and just exude their enjoyment of the material.
Beyond all of the humor and the callbacks to Oregon Trail, it’s also a musical, with vocal direction from Angela McDermott and choreography by Elizabeth Dangelo, the same pair that collaborated on Ride the Cyclone. The music plays a big part in this show, too, and having a cast this talented allows the humor to come through the songs, since they perform them so well. Using a less talented cast would have almost mocked the material, but when it’s performed well, the humor hits much better. When the songs are being performed, there’s usually something else happening on another part of the stage, to the extent that it might take a few viewings to really catch everything. The only downside to having so much humor in this show is that it is difficult sometimes to pick up song lyrics when the audience is laughing so loudly. This is especially true during the songs that feature Alex as the family’s father. A little more volume from him on some of the songs where he’s featured could help here. Otherwise, I find him to be excellent in this role, you can think of him as an even more hapless version of Clark Griswold, always trying to see the positive in the mess that is his family’s trip west, but nevertheless creating most of the issues himself. Sarah, as the family’s mother is perfect. I really like her portrayal and I’ve never seen her as funny as she is here. All that said, it bears pointing out that while the majority of the show is just plain funny, Sarah manages the one serious and heartfelt moment of the show with her performance of “When the World’s At Stake”. This is a beautiful performance and features Sarah’s vocal talent which stands out especially given that this is the one moment of levity in a show that otherwise never takes itself seriously. Abby and Elizabeth are also excellent in all aspects of their roles (vocally and otherwise). The thing that sets them apart in my opinion is the sheer expressiveness they bring to these characters. There’s so much humor in a look or a motion that could otherwise land flat, but of course nothing does here. Dante’s grandpa is a worthwhile foil for the entire family and brings so much energy to this character, while Erik’s many portrayals in this show are varied and each very good. There is also a ton of chemistry within this group, from their vocal abilities (credit to Angela’s vocal direction), movement with Elizabeth’s choreography, and general interactions, it’s clear this cast is comfortable with each other, and that’s important for a show that requires a lot of ad-libbing and flexibility.
Shows like The Trail to Oregon aren’t designed to be introspective or change opinions or make us better humans. Rather they’re designed to provide a high degree of entertainment value and, frankly, fun. This production hits on all marks. The cast knows what it takes to tell this story successfully, the creative team is hitting its stride, and the Grange Hall on Bainbridge just feels like the perfect out of the way place for this. Nobody would call this a perfect show, but it’s almost intentionally imperfect. And that’s the beauty of it, though it doesn’t mean the individual pieces don’t work, because they do. Kristi Ann Jacobson’s costumes are, in typical fashion, excellently designed and put together, and it’s so nice to see Tina Henley-Hicks’ return to the Kitsap theatre scene through her artwork on the set backdrops. It’s a production that knows what it is, and delivers on every aspect of that knowledge.
The Trail to Oregon brings to life a cultural icon, the Oregon Trail computer game, and does it with humor and irreverence. The Lesser Known Players production is a hilarious and wholly entertaining theatre experience, one that is interactive and never the same twice. Told by an excellent cast of settlers, The Trail to Oregon is not going to change the world, but it’s going to make you laugh, and laugh, and laugh some more. It’s only running for two weekends, and sure you might come away with a fatal case of dysentery, but in all honesty, I can’t think of a better way to go out!
The Lesser Known Players production of The Trail to Oregon runs onstage at the Grange Hall on Bainbridge Island through November 12. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.lesserknownplayers.org/. Note that there is adult content and language in this show and therefore it is not suitable for children.
