Producer: Wing Valley Productions
Director: Jason Wing
Musical Director: Jonty Climo
Choreographer: Emelia Jennings
The Meteor, 7-11 November 2023
The Trail To Oregon! is quite the ride.
Perhaps the best place to begin is with the biggest takeaway of all. This is not a show for kids. Repeat, this is not a show for kids. There were one, maybe a dozen too many F-bombs in the preshow announcement. The Trail To Oregon! was advertised as “Contains Mature Themes.” I would have slapped a M or R16 icon on the marketing collateral just to add an extra warning layer to cover coarse language, adult themes and nudity.*
The story begins on 8 November 1848 as a family set out for Oregon after their farm burns down. Obstacles come thick and fast with a dodgy wagon, blind ox, run ins with bandits, snake bites, abductions, and dysentery.
Some of the laughs are driven by input from the audience. Each night Pa, Ma, the daughter and son are named by the crowd. Last night’s performance comprised Stone Cold Steve Austin Sad-Crew (Bailey Lindsey), The Darkness Within Sad-Crew (Courteney Mayall), Dixie Normous Sad-Crew (Lucy Thomas), and WaA Ah Ahh Sad-Crew (Charlotte Menhennet). The deadpan delivery by characters calling each other by these ridiculous monikers in American accents, often with complete exasperation, was priceless.
Throughout, the cast had fun winding each other up. Lindsey in particular had to dig deep into his restraint reserves while Grandpa (Moshe Merz) delivered the most absurd story about a turkey. The core cast of Lindsey, Mayall, Thomas, Menhennet and Merz proved themselves to be lively, quick-witted, entertaining and adaptable performers. Mayall’s accent was exceptional. Have you ever tried screaming WaA Ah Ahh in a mid-western 1800s accent?
The supporting cast of Jack Turner, Kimmy Hall, Chris Lockley, Michael Deibert, Paige McOnie, Tayla Cassells and Lachlan Braithwaite hammed up their various roles making the most of slapstick comedy and silly storyline. The fun extended to the crew who looked as though they were having a blast. “Speedrun” was a highlight of Act 2 due to the antics of the physically fit crew.
The Trail To Oregon! was James Smith’s first foray into musical lighting design. Their attention to detail was obvious, and the lighting cues complimented the action and music. Smith’s design was admirable thanks to an extensive background in theatre and innate understanding of the importance of clever lighting to emphasise dialogue beats in the script and accent beats in the score.
Again, Emelia Jennings produced fantastic choreography. The entire cast were confident in their movements and had great spatial awareness. Jennings choreo suited the spirit of the show, playing on themes of all things western.
Fresh off the sell-out season of Legally Blonde in Morrinsville, Jonty Climo was back with his baton to lead a proficient band featuring Hamilton’s favourite musical theatre drummer, Darryn Redshaw. Redshaw along with bassist Tony Sisam were a formidable rhythm section. Ye-Gon Ryoo played more than six instruments including featuring in saxophone solos in which he was able to strut his stuff amongst the cast. Jonathan Hawthorn (keys), Jacob Nelson (guitar) and Matthew Lynch (violin) rounded out this tight and talented band whose vamps were toe-tappingly infectious. The music chosen for the bows was well-timed in more ways than one.
The Trail to Oregon! is an original musical from Starkid Productions, first performed in Chicago in 2014. Director Jason Wing who stumbled across the musical on Spotify was immediately taken with the show and decided to produce it as his inaugural musical. Wing’s sense of the ridiculous and overall management of the staging was great. The dialogue provided plenty of opportunities to draw laughs from the audience as did the subplots that played out.
The Trail To Oregon! was nothing like anything I had ever seen before. Some of the content pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone. I don't often go there, so well done Wing Valley Productions. This show is perfect night-out-with-mates entertainment. There’s a short intermission so you can recharge at the bar. Giddy up and get down to The Meteor for the ride of your life on The Trail To Oregon!
*Not real nudity but, well, you have to see it for yourself.
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