Enjoy death, banditry – and laughs – with ‘The Trail to Oregon’ at Stage 212 in La Salle

The Oregon Trail. It was littered with the bodies of pioneers who ran afoul of bandits, disease and deadly accidents. How could anyone turn such hard-luck stories into a comic musical?

But there are plenty of laughs and uptempo numbers in “The Trail to Oregon!” Stage 212 in La Salle is staging this genre-bending gem for its offseason production starting Friday, Sept. 20.

I’ve done 15 or 16 shows and this is by far the most fun.”

—  Bob Philip, actor

Originally produced by Starkid Productions, “The Trail to Oregon!” follows a family of five (two parents, two children and a grandfather) as they make their way from Missouri to Oregon in 1848. During their journey, they deal with the prospects of starvation, bandits and dysentery.

Oh, and the basis for “The Trail to Oregon!” is a video game.

Authors Jeff Blim, Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden set about writing a musical parody of the “Oregon Trail” video game series. To hear Stage 212 players tell it, they pulled it off.

“It’s just hilarious,” said Bob Philip, an actor-musician who watched a performance on YouTube and soon auditioned for the part of Grandpa. “So I had to at least try to get into it.

“I’ve done 15 or 16 shows and this is by far the most fun.”

Forrest Boes, who plays McDoon, had grown up with Nintendo’s interactive game that lets players map out their trek and test their survival skills on the western frontier. In later years, Boes learned of the musical adaption and leapt at the chance to try his hand at improvisation.

By Boes’ estimate, “The Trail to Oregon!” is only about 80% defined script. The remaining fifth provides wiggle room for the cast to do improvisation with help from the audience.

“This is a big pivot,” Boes said. “This requires a level of flexibility that I’m not really used to having on stage.”

Director Robert Malerk said “The Trail to Oregon!” was a good choice for offseason production because the show is “not overly complicated in any specific areas.”

“There is no other show like this anywhere,” Malerk said. “This is not your Broadway musical. This is a handful of young people playing around on stage making the audience a little bit uncomfortable. There are a lot of really fun audience participation moments.”

Kylie Atkins plays Daughter and also is the show’s choreographer. She agreed “The Trail to Oregon!” doesn’t readily compare with any other production.

“I’ve done a lot of serious shows, and this is the first where you get to let your creativity flourish,” Atkins said. “Starkid told us, ‘If it’s funnier than what we said, put it in.’ They are awesome partners to work with and their shows are just hilarious.”

The term “audience participation” requires a disclaimer. This isn’t “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” so don’t bring squirt guns and pieces of toast. Like “Rocky Horror,” the show is risque with strong language and is not suitable for family viewing.

And while the humor can be dark – black humor abounds – Boes said much of the dialogue is flat-out silly and lends to belly laughs.

“You’re not going to go home crying,” Boes said.

Rounding out the cast are Dan Schweizer as Father, Chloe Clayton as Mother, Allesyn Wilke as Son and Isaac Alvarado as Cleetus Jones.

Helping Robert Malerk behind the scenes are assistant director Claire Brousseau, producer Karen Lesman, light operator Monika Sudakov, spotlight operators Nik Frig and Jeff Sudakov, sound operator Claire Brousseau and stagehands Haevin Britt, Kenzie Bruce and Lucas Fraga.

“The Trail to Oregon!” will be presented Sept. 20-22 at Stage 212, 700 First St., La Salle. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee begins at 2 p.m.

Tickets cost $22. To buy tickets, visit stage212.org or call or visit the box office at 815-224-3025 from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

“The Trail to Oregon!” is presented by arrangement with Starkid Productions.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 6

The cast of the "The Trail to Oregon!" (from left) Chloe Clayton, Allesyn Wilke, Dan Schweizer, Kylie Atkins and Bob Philip rehearse a scene Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2024, at Stage 212 in La Salle. The production is based off of the classic video game "Oregon Trail." It does have frequent coarse language, loud gunshot sound effects and depictions of violence and discussions of intimacy. "The Trail to Oregon!" is presented 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20-22 Friday and Saturday performances. The Sunday matinee begins at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22 each, and may be purchased by visiting the box office 4 to 6 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday or by calling 815-224-3025 during those hours. Tickets may also be purchased online by visiting stage212.org. (Scott Anderson)