StarKid Productions was formed in 2009 by a group of University of Michigan Music Graduates producing a low budgeted performance of a musical parody they had written, “A Very Potter Musical” based of course on Harry Potter. This became a YouTube phenomenon and led to more StarKid productions taking off and being put up on YouTube. Shows such as “Firebringer”, “Twisted” and “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” – all of which have been produced by various Adelaide community theatre groups in the last few years. The latest to hit an Adelaide stage is “The Trail To Oregon”.

The show is a musical parody of, of all things, a video game series “The Oregon Trail”. It is witty, clever and potentially hilarious; with some clever nods to the video game such as the audience (The Watchers) naming the characters and voting during interval which character will die before getting to Oregon.  I say potentially hilarious as it is obvious that  Director Allegra Valente has worked hard with her cast of seven to bring out the exaggerated comedy, but there is ‘over the top’ and OVER THE TOP; and unfortunately some cast hit the latter big time. A deep, growly voice might be someone’s idea of tough and villainous, and very well might work if their diction was clear – but unfortunately, this reviewer found the actor unintelligible. Their sidekick on the other hand was intelligible but very soft and sometimes shrill in their delivery.

Before I go any further, I need to address the elephant in the room. In fact, the room is the elephant. As a space for intimate non-musical plays, the Holden Street Theatres’ Studio is not the most ideal spot for musicals. Because of its small intimate size, a live band should not be micced. Let the natural acoustics reign free. Don’t get me wrong, the five piece band under the conductorship of Hamish Westbury was fantastic and anywhere else would have been at perfect volume, but in the studio the music just overtook everything else. This reviewer was in the first row and for the first 15 or 20 minutes had no idea what was going on. Most of the voices were indistinct (even with the use of microphones). One poor girl started the Second Act with what one assumes was a beautiful number sung in a lovely soprano voice but her voice must have been so high that it couldn’t reach over the music and we could not hear a word – it was as if she was miming the song. Her lips were moving but nothing seemed to be coming out.

One performer who could be heard at all times perfectly, and was truly believable for the entire show was Katie Adams as the Mother. Her solo, “When The World’s At Stake” was absolutely beautiful and the highlight of the evening. Kate Wooding was a joy to watch as the seven year old son who liked to bounce things; whilst Marley Haitana was hilariously disturbing as the oxen who was more than just on its last legs.

Overall, the show delivered a fun night out. It just needed a little more care taken with projection and voice control from most of the cast.