The Small Fries

We stand before the journey that leads us all...TO OREGON!!

The Oregon Trail. I remember sitting in school learning about the pioneers heading west and the many challenges they faced. I have seen numerous documentaries and movies about the pioneers and The Old West - full of cowboys and Indians; bandits and buffalos. However, the one thing I think of almost immediately when hearing “The Oregon Trail” is the old computer game. That’s right. The computer game where someone randomly breaks their leg in the wagon, dies of dysentery, is bitten by a snake...don’t even think about fording the river. The last thing I would ever think of would be a musical. That is, until now.

Last summer, Team Starkid performed their newest musical, The Trail to Oregon, and then released it on YouTube this past Valentine’s Day. This hilarious musical parodies the computer game that many of us played so long ago. Written by Jeff Blim, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang, TTO is a one of a kind musical that allows the audience to interact with the characters. Blim not only was a contributor to the script, but also wrote all of the fun and catchy numbers. I’ve had “Wagon on Fire” and “Lost Without You” stuck in my head for weeks, not that I am complaining. In the opening number, “Gone to Oregon,” the characters are immediately calling on audience members to “decide on the names of all the people in our wagon party.” The audience must choose who are wagon members are, “are they carpenters or bankers or leaving their farm?” Careful with your decisions, because this is more than a game.

From Left: Rachael Soglin, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Corey Dorris, Lauren Lopez, and Jeff Blim

As we dance through the first number, we name our Wagon Leader and Father (Jeff Blim), Wagon Mother (Rachael Soglin), Son (Lauren Lopez), Daughter (Jaime Lyn Beatty), and Grandpa (Corey Dorris). However, what is a wagon party without a wagon and a yoke of oxen? Obviously the best place to get supplies is “where our great trek begins.” Independence, Missouri! It's the city that’s “so pleasing that everyone’s leaving.” Enter Joey Richter, our fast talking townsfolk, General Store Guy, and horny ox. He switches between various character giving advice and ripping off our wagon party. Richter’s many characters warn everyone of the various hazards on the trail like dysentery, losing your ox, and fording rivers. I believe his exact words are “Friends don’t let friends ford the river; take a ferry.” “Independence” is a fast paced song that informs and warns the audience and wagon members making The Trail to Oregon “fun and edumacational.” This is one of my favorite parts of the whole musical, because it shows just how talented of a group these actors are. Richter manages to fly through several sections of the song listing things to do and not do on the trail all while switching between several characters (I lost count after a while) and keeping the song and show moving forward.

Joey Richter as one of his many roles in "Independence"

Now that our wagon party is ready to go with their supplies and “Wago-9000,” we are almost ready to start our journey. Except for one small detail. We have yet to meet the villain of our story. Joey Richter piles on yet another role to the stack he already bears. “The name’s McDoon, and I make the ladies McSwoon,” or so he tells the daughter. McDoon, partnered with Cletus Jones (Corey Dorris), is the infamous Bandit King, and he has his eyes set on the daughter. He wants to make her his “bride, alright alright!” The Mother has something to say about that, and basically denies him the chance of marrying her daughter. This now gives the family a new enemy, The Bandit King.

Joey Richter as The Bandit King

As our wagon party heads down the bumpy trail, they stumble over a broken axle, hunger, and your typical family road trip obstacles. “The Grind” pretty much covers everything from playing I Spy to enjoying time with the family on the road. Honestly, this song sums up every one of my family road trips. Once the family is set in and is going at a great pace, they realize they’re out of food. Grandpa take both children out to gather more food via hunting which leads into the next song, “Pays to be an Animal.” This teaches the son a lesson about being an animal, because “sometimes it pays to be an animal, sometimes it don’t.” In the end they shoot an entire adorable family of buffalo, approximately 2000 pounds, but they can only carry back about 20. This is obviously poking fun at the computer game, because of the amount of meat you can bring back to your wagon after killing several animals. *insert side-eye at the game makers.*

Joey Richter as "Horny Ox" and Rachael Soglin as Mother

We open on the next scene which leads to a very powerful and beautiful song performed by Rachael Soglin. “When the World’s at Stake” is about her difficulties as a young mother and how she is doing everything to give her daughter a better life, despite the fact she may resent her for it in the end. Just before the song, Mother and Daughter have a typical mother-daughter fight, and this song justifies her reasoning behind everything she’s done for her children. Soglin does such an amazing job with this emotional number and conveys such strong emotion throughout the entire performance. You can feel the love she has for her children.

"I can do better, hold you closer. I'm learning that as I grow older." - When the World's at Stake

The next few scenes leave behind the serious and head into the hilarious and ridiculous. Blim’s character travels through a snake venom induced dream telling him that one of his family members will die of dysentery. “Dysentery World” is telling the audience that someone they choose is doomed to die. Yes, the audience does choose who dies at the end. “No two shows will ever be the same.”

"It's a shitty shitty world for all you boys and girls. Oregon is for the damned." - Dysentery World

Once the family decides to pick up where they left off after a good night’s rest, we head into the end of Act One and one of my favorite songs of the show, “Wagon on Fire.” FINALLY, Joey Richter has a villain song. As long as I have been a Starkid fan, I’ve wanted to see him in a villainous role with a villain song. “Wagon on Fire” is an intense song that shows McDoon and Cletus capturing the daughter. Not only that, but it blends together all of the themes already sung making it a very powerful song that ends the first Act. On top of that, Richter does an amazing job showing his range as a vocalist and an actor.

The Second Act follows up with just as strong of an opening with Jaime Lyn’s song “Lost Without You.” We see this angsty teenage girl finally realizing how much she loves and needs her family. As “in love” with McDoon as she was at the beginning of the show, Daughter resents her captor, because she believes he killed her family in order to achieve his goal. She’s not as naive as her mother thinks she is. This song is a sad, but catchy number that gives her a chance to show off her pipes that we haven’t really seen since A Very Potter Musical.

"Your wagon is on fire! Your wagon is a flame! Your wagon is on fire! It'll never be the same." - Wagon on Fire

When we finally catch up with our broken and beaten down wagon party, they are at a bar in the middle of winter. Frustrated, Mother takes the rest of what’s left of her family and leaves Father behind. Leading to a heartwarming reprise of “When the World’s at Stake” performed by Jeff Blim. It shows that his character is a true family man, because he just wants his family to be safe and happy. He thought this road trip to Oregon would be the “Greatest Family Vacation.” He often reminds me of Clark Griswold in how often he puts his family and their happiness first. We see his motivation and love for his family in the sweet reprise, along with Joey Richter’s great improv skills when he tries to belt out his own version of the song. Each time his story is different, and Blim’s reactions are priceless.

With our family headed after McDoon to get their daughter back, they’re “gonna have to go down this trail like no one’s ever gone before. [They’re] gonna do a Speedrun.” I enjoy “Speedrun,” because it makes another nod at the game about reducing rations and going faster down the trail, trying to make it to the next checkpoint/Oregon before you die. Honestly, it’s impossible. I always die or run out of food before I can get to my next checkpoint on a speedrun. Kudos to this Wagon Party.

Remember the piece of advice the townsfolk gave earlier about fording the river? Well in “Caulk Your Wagon,” McDoon is planning on fording the Great Columbia River, the most dangerous river in the world, and sailing south to start his new life with his “Child-Bride.” This song is hilarious and full of fun innuendos as McDoon, Cletus, and Daughter prepare to sail down the river. Of course, her family arrives just in time to save her, leaving McDoon and Cletus behind.

Corey Dorris, Jaime Lyn Beatty, and Joey Richter caulking their wagon

Just as the family is reunited and they finally make it to the Oregon border, a Doctor (Joey Richter) appears and does his “routine check” for dysentery. Sadly, one of them has it and cannot cross over into Oregon. This is where the family member the audience chose dies. “You Gotta Go” is by far the funniest song in the entire show. From the fart noises Richter makes on his arms to the different dramatic interpretations of dying of dysentery, this scene is a riot. Each character’s ending is on Starkid’s YouTube channel, and each character does a hilarious interpretation. On top of the character dying, you have the other characters reacting behind them to the smells and sight of the death. I can’t pick a favorite ending because they are all so different and equally hilarious.

"You gotta go when you gotta go. Close you eyes, give it a shove." - You Gotta Go

Now, just because they’re dead, doesn’t mean the rest of the family will cross over into Oregon without them. Once everyone is safely on the Oregon side, the deceased rises from the dead. Everyone is happy and reunited, and finds their favorite stretch of land. And you know what that means, “come on, buddy, the water’s just right. So come on, buddy, let’s have a water fight.”

“Naked in a Lake” is such a carefree and fun ending to this piece of comedic gold. Everyone is taking a “mini-vaca wearing only your birthday clothes.” While our Wagon Party is singing and having a great time, Jeff Blim randomly walks out playing his saxophone. Honestly, highlight of the whole show right there. Who knew Blim could play the sax so well?!

Let's get NAKED IN A LAKE!!

Overall, I think this show is one of the best Team Starkid has done so far. Not only is it incredibly funny and well-written, but it gives the audience a sense of nostalgia to see their favorite educational game come to life on stage. The actors have done a great job with portraying their characters and working with the audience to create a storyline that is different each time. For those fans who missed the original run last summer, Team Starkid will be doing a limited run of the show this week in New York City at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Seriously, this is a show you do not want to miss.

 For Tickets follow the link below:

http://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/9992989

 Can’t make the show? Check out the YouTube version here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxKCX-UvPrI

--Kasey