Trail to Oregon

Big Job Productions is associated with the Isabella Rose Stage company. Principal, Isabella Briffa, is a young woman of vision and passion who has moved into the largely dormant void of Amateur Musical Theatre which is Hobart. Mostly working with young people, this is the first adult production she has brought to the Tasmanian public.

And this is an adult production. Trail to Oregon is another irreverent parody by StarKids, a US based group first known for A Very Potter Musical. Blasphemous and profane, but terribly, terribly, clever, this show is a great vehicle for the talented cast of six.

The players consist of Elise Bagorski (mother), Will Norris (father), Andromeda Smith (son), Isabella Briffa (daughter) Hamish Chilcott (Grandpa and Cletus) and Tommy Howard (The Bandit King and everyone else).

The singing, to backing tracks, was strong. Sometimes the diction was compromised (in rapid sections) and one or two songs were not in the best tessitura for the voices but the storytelling was solid and the accents comprehensible. Norris is making great strides as a performer; his physical characterisation and emotional range have improved in recent years. His singing is strong. Bagorski has a beautiful voice that is often underrated. Comedy is also Bagorski’s strength. 

However, the honours for comedy go to Howard and Chilcott. These two have an innate mastery of timing. Both are adept at accents and silly voices and both use their bodies well. They are skilled at improvisation. Chilcott was appropriately camp as Cletus without overdoing it. Howard was wicked (and clueless) as Henry McDoon, the Bandit King. Howard also played dozens of other characters with energy and versatility. He was a delight in every role but Cornwallis brought the house down as did his line (extemporised) about movies turned into musicals.

Andromedra Smith has a unique ability in being able to play a convincing child. Vocally and physically, Smith evokes youthful cluelessness with resorting to caricature or trope. They gave two excellent monologues. One was about eating and the other was given in a drunken state. The evening on which the show was reviewed, Smith’s character was the one selected to die. “Gotta Go” (when dying of dysentery) culminated a secure performance.

Part of the silliness of the show is the fact that the audience chooses the names of the characters and also selects (via QR code) who will die on the trail. This breaking of the fourth wall creates a certain self-awareness in the cast that never (fortunately) descends into self-indulgence. Yes, they occasionally broke character, but were still there for the audience’s entertainment and not their own.

Co-directors Bailey Finch and Inigo Wadsley stick very closely to the Starkid version, which is no aspersion. Coaching the cast to achieve their best is integral to the role of director.

Simple and cleverly used devices, such as fabric, represent blood or fire. Lighting is cleverly designed to enhance these effects. Masks were used to good effect. The stage is small and sometimes crowded but the simple properties were well utilised. The burning wagon as conveyed by Smith and Chilcott with fabric streamers was skilfully executed and hilarious. Lighting also effectively depicted moments underwater.

This was a very strong ensemble where every individual pulled their weight and more. Trail to Oregon was jam packed with laughs and admirable performances.

Anne Blythe-Cooper

Photographer: Megan Kenna