Senya Scott ‘26

On Friday, Apr. 13, student theatre group Blackdog Productions’ rendition of Trail to Oregon opened in the Black Squirrel. The play is a Starkid production written by Jeff Bilm, Matt Lang, and Nick Lang. It is based on the 1971 video game series, “The Oregon Trail,” which follows a customizable party on their wagon journey to Oregon. The main goal of the game is to keep as many members of the party alive as possible.

The Sarah Lawrence homage to the show was directed by Gill Dominguez-Letelier ‘24 along with assistant director and choreographer Emmariah Wyss ‘26. The production was stripped down in appearance, without many props or set decorations. The show’s vibrant nature was heavily dependent on the performance of its cast members.

And the cast brought it; they all did an excellent job embracing the comedic culture of the piece. So much of this came from interactions with the audience. “It’s a really fun time for cast members and audiences alike. I think that the goal of theater is to create a collaboration with an audience and the cast,” said Marcella Cincotta ‘27, who played the role of “Mother”.

The audience's involvement in the show was one of the leading forces of the many comedic moments. It was as if the people watching the show played a big role in molding the experience of the production for everyone.

Nothing was quite set in stone from the beginning. The audience had the power to control two very significant elements of the show: the main characters' names and which character would have to die in the end. “I play the role of father. He is the wagon leader, as they say in the show,” Solomon said. “I was known as “home skillet” yesterday, we’ll see what they call me today.”

The cast members were able to successfully navigate the unpredictable structure, a credit to their skills and versatility.

The musical elements in the show could’ve used some fine-tuning. Some numbers had issues with timing and pitch throughout the show. At the end of the day, the actors’ commitment to their characters is what carried the production. The spirit of Trail to Oregon stayed intact throughout its musical rough patches. The actors had great comedic timing and rolled with the improvisational punches beautifully. They took the audience’s suggestions in stride and used them to create a genuinely funny show.

Roles fluctuated in Trail to Oregon. The actors in the ensemble took on multiple different characters and forms throughout the show. I initially had a hard time picturing all of these characters as cohesive parts of the storyline. “I’m the general store guy, the buffalo dad, I play the water, and the fire...” said Kacey Miller ‘24.

As the show went on, there were small side plots that followed the family on their journey from Missouri to Oregon. They were some of the funniest, most chaotic scenes in the show. It became evident that the scrambled nature of the side characters was necessary in guiding the family’s journey through the trail. “My main job is to push the story along. I get the family in trouble and get them back out of it again,” said Scout Brooks ‘27.

The show’s dark comedic punch was clearest for me in the scene with the buffalo family. The grandfather comes across three buffalo on a hunting trip with his daughter and son. This small buffalo family chats amongst themselves in the same way the human family does. The human family’s son, holding the rifle, has a hard time shooting the buffalo after seeing them speak amongst one another and lead regular lives. I laughed hardest at this scene specifically.

The musical number,“Pays to Be an Animal,” particularly captured the heart of the audience. The solo features the baby buffalo, played by Noah Steele. Steele did an amazing job playing this funny, frail little creature. There was an air of disappointment in the crowd when we had to see the small but mighty character go.

The care the cast and crew took to bring this homage to life was palpable. “I was so excited when I heard that we were going to do Trail to Oregon. It incorporates beautiful dramatic moments and incredible songwriting into song whacky batshit comedy,” said Cincotta.

At the same time, authenticity has always been important in the theater. Dominguez successfully fostered an environment that allowed the cast members to take their roles into their own hands and take liberties in their acting decisions.

“Gill talked to us about how we get to do this homage to Starkid, but we are not Starkid. We are individuals who get to let that individualism shine through. That’s what the process has been like, all ideas have been very well received,” said Brooks.

Watching this show felt like seeing a bunch of theater kids just doing what they love together. There was not one ounce of seriousness in the Black Squirrel that night, and I think that the fun-loving environment provided us all with this very special and authentic experience. “This is a silly ass show, for silly ass people,” said Miller. I couldn’t agree more.

Life’s an Oregon Trail