The Oregon Trail
January 13 - February 12, 2017
WP Theater
A new play by Bekah Brunstetter
Directed by Geordie Broadwater
WP Theater at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre
2162 Broadway at 76th Street
New York, NY 10024
Run Time: 85 minutes (no intermission)
"Continue. On. The. Trail."
It’s 1997. Alone in her computer lab, 13-year-old Jane finds her escape from the awkward throes of puberty by joining her sister and her unattainable high school crush in a covered wagon headed west on “The Oregon Trail.” Under the guidance of the all-powerful Voice of the Game, we watch “Then Jane” and her family navigate the deadly perils of 1850s frontier life, while present day Jane navigates the different but all-too-real dangers of high school, college, and eventually adulthood. Jane soon finds herself in her 20s, unemployed and battling an undefinable lifelong sadness she cannot name, even as “Then Jane” continues to face the tribulations of the trail. With nearly two centuries between them, both Janes face hardships that seem impossible to overcome—until they find one another.
Featuring
Liba Vaynberg*
Laura Ramadei*
Juan Arturo*
Emily Louise Perkins*
Jimmy King*
Stage Manager: Shayna O'Neill*
Lighting Design: John Eckert
Costume Design: Isabelle Fields
Sound Design: Chad Raines
Props Design: Becky Phillips
Assistant Stage Manager: Kaila Galinat
* appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association
Reviews
“A feisty, formally inventive comedy! Wonderfully real and raw, horrible and funny!”
“Swiftly directed... Bekah Brunstetter has established herself as a sympathetic, keen-eyed chronicler of a flailing American middle class.”
“There is a sincerity and warmth to these young women, who display strength in their survival of the game of life.”
“An honest, funny, heartbreaking piece about earning sadness and our human entitlement to feel things deeply.”
“The Oregon Trail delivers both a nuanced portrait of depression and a gently humanized vision of a game.”