Welcome to our Digital Program!
Enjoy the Show!
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Yorick Ensemble would like to acknowledge that we gather in the ancestral territory of the Pawtucket and Massachusett People, known today as Waltham. We would also like to acknowledge the Pawnee, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, Shoshone, Crow, Nez Perce, Ute, Spokane, Cayuse, Chinook, and Umpqua People, upon whose land the original Oregon Trail crossed.
THE TRAIL TO OREGON
Music and Lyrics by Jeff Blim
Book by Nick Lang, Matt Lang, Brian Holden, & Jeff Blim
Arranged by Clark Baxtresser & Pierce Siebers
Originally Produced by Starkid Productions
Directed by Michael Jay & Josh Telepman
Music Directed by Elias Condakes
Choreographed by Sydney T. Grant
Stage Managed by Paige DeGirolamo
Featuring:
Josh Telepman as Father
Katie Iafolla as Mother
Aiden O’Neal as Daughter
Demi DiCarlo as Son
Tom Marsh as Grandpa & Cletus Jones
Bradley Boutcher as McDoon & Everyone Else
Assistant Stage Manager / Dramaturg : Ben Cantor-Adams
Violence and Intimacy Director : Sydney T. Grant
Scenic Design & Set Dressing: Josh Telepman
Lighting Design: Mark Sherman
Sound Design: Michael Jay
Costume Design: Josh Telepman
Props: Josh Telepman, Toni Telepman, and Traci Herrod
Special Effects Consultant: Toni Telepman
Photography and Graphic Design: Toni Telepman
Deck Manager: Mia Mercurio
Stage Management Intern: Amelia Furlong
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Musicians:
Piano/Conductor - Elias Condakes
Guitar - Douglas Telepman
Bass - Matt Pitts
Banjo - Benjamin Doucette
Drums - Casey Voss
NOTE(S) FROM THE DIRECTOR(S)
Hey there, pioneers!
Welcome to Yorick Ensemble’s 5th production, The Trail to Oregon. Whether this is your first time at a Yorick show, or you’ve been with us since day one, we could not be more excited to share this production with you.
Before there was Yorick, there was Starkid. Like many a theater kid of the late aughts, I fell in love with these goofy kids, and I wanted to be just like them. I could not have foreseen the influence they would go on to have, and the ways they would continue to inspire me. Over the years, they have continued to churn out beloved classics, and have never lost their sense of play.
I created Yorick Ensemble in 2019 when I felt like I was in a sort of creative rut. There was a certain kind of show I wanted to work on, that I felt like I just wasn’t seeing in my local scene - sort of a midway point between community and professional theatre. I wanted to do smaller, weirder stuff, that would let me and other early-career professionals really stretch our actor muscles, while maintaining the community aspect I love about companies like Walking Shadow Shakespeare Project, and the dearly departed Flyleaf Theater Company. With the crew we’ve assembled for Trail, I know that I have succeeded in that mission.
Thank you for joining us, I hope you enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed making it, and who knows? Maybe you'll even learn some history along the way!
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Josh
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yee haw ðŸ¤
Michael
Bradley Boutcher
McDoon & Everyone Else
Bradley Boutcher is excited to be working with Yorick Ensemble for his first time! Bradley is a director, host, and performer in the North Shore area. Select credits include Algernon ("The Importance of Being Earnest" at The Footlight Club), The D'ysquith Family ("Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" at Spotlight Playhouse), Shakespeare ("Something Rotten!" at Acting Out! Theater Company) and Adolpho Pirelli ("Sweeny Todd" at Stage 284). He'd like to thank his partner (yee-haw) Kari for her undying love and support. This one is for you.
Elias Condakes
Music Director
Elias Condakes is incredibly grateful to be back with Yorick after winning the EMACT DASH award for Best Musical Direction of their 2021 production of 35MM: A Musical Exhibition. Other music direction credits include Songs for a New World (Malden Community Theater), Big Fish, Legally Blonde, Cabaret, Billy Elliot, Pippin (Weston Drama Workshop), The Producers (Concord Players) and Godspell (Wayland High School). Elias would like to thank his family for their undying support and love, as well as Josh, Michael, and the entire Trail To Oregon cast and team for their support of his insane endeavors. Please name the family “The Zbornak’s” for me at this performance. Enjoy the show!
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Demi DiCarlo
Son
Demi is so excited to be a part of her first show with Yorick Ensemble. This is the first musical she has done in almost ten years and she couldn’t have asked for a more enjoyable experience. Previous credits include Lily in The Skriker with Entropy Theatre and Carter in Uncommon Women and Others at Salem State Theatre. This process has been so fun and Demi feels so lucky to work with such amazing people. She would like to thank her family for their enthusiastic support and her fiancé for watching the Starkid production on YouTube to help her prepare for auditions.
Sydney T. Grant
Choreographer
Violence & Intimacy Director
Sydney is so happy to be joining Yorick Ensemble again for The Trail to Oregon, after previously appearing in Bad Jews. Sydney is a Boston based theatre artist. Recent acting credits include The Skriker and The Moors [Entropy Theatre], Macbeth [Liars and Believers], Here and There [Central Square Youth Underground], Gay shorts [Open Theatre Project], Plank [AllyCat theater], Little Women [film]. Sydney also directs and choreographs, most recently she directed Chicago with Greater Boston Stage, The Young Company.
Aiden O'Neal
Daughter
Aiden is thrilled to be a part of her first Yorick Ensemble show, despite having been on the poster for the company's production of "The Pirates of Penzance" several years ago. As Team Starkid's Space Tour is one of the few concerts she has attended, Aiden is very excited to be in this show. Some of her recent credits included Amy March in Little Women and Chana in Indecent at The Concord Players, and Princess Fiona in Shrek: The Musical at Needham Community Theater. She would like to thank her parents for their support, her partner for always making her laugh, and her therapist, who helped her deal with the strangeness of her partner playing her grandfather in this show. She hopes you enjoy this trek down the trail with this wonderful cast and crew!
Mark Sherman
Lighting Design
Mark Sherman (Lighting Designer) joins Yorick for the first time, having designed technical elements most recently for Legally Blonde, Peter and the Starcatcher, West Side Story, Xanadu, Little Shop of Horrors, and Cabaret. Mark is a professor of computer science at Emmanuel College.
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The Ox*
As Himself
The Ox is thrilled to be making his Yorick Ensemble debut! He made his acting debut at age 8 as Milky White in Into the Woods Jr. and has gone on to perform in numerous regional productions, such as Oxlahoma, Phantom of the Oxpera, Cowbaret, Moolin Rouge, and Steerlight Express. The Ox recently made his Broadway debut in Ox on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Ivo van Hoof. TV/Film credits include: Law and Order: S.V.Moo, Dairy Girls, Schindler’s List, and Uncle Ben’s Farmyard Courthouse (Emmy Nom.). His debut play “Kosher? I Barely Know Her!” premieres this fall at Papermule Playhouse. BFA: Mooliard, MFA: Oxford. The Ox would like to thank his beautiful wife Bessie, his two beautiful calves Stevie and Calferine, and his manager Terry.
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*The Ox appears with permission from Livestock Equity Association
Ben Cantor-Adams
Asst. Stage Manager
Dramaturg
Ben Cantor-Adams feels privileged to be working in his second show with Yorick Ensemble as the assistant stage manager and dramaturg for The Trail to Oregon. His previous work includes set construction and spotlight for Needham High School productions of Curtains and Avenue Q, as well as stage management for Yorick Ensemble’s recent production of Bad Jews. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from McGill University, and his interests outside of theater include music history and genealogy. He hopes you join in the celebration of The Oregon Trail, a best-selling educational video game made by history teachers, by turning your brain off, learning nothing, and enjoying the show!
Paige DeGiralomo
Stage Manager
Paige DeGirolamo is a Boston/Providence based theatre artist who wears all the hats. Some of her past credits include A Common Thread Theatre Company's production of "Little Women" (Director), Theatre to Go, Inc.'s production of "Pygmalion" (Director), and Theatre Uncorked's production of "Passion" (Stage Manager) for which she was a DASH award nominee. She is thrilled to make her Yorick Ensemble debut with a StarKid production that keeps silliness and heart at the center of it all. Thank you to the cast and production team for such a wonderful experience and to my family for putting up with my theatre shenanigans.
Katie Iafolla
Mother
Katie is thrilled to be making her Yorick Ensemble debut with Trail to Oregon. Having been a Starkid fan since high school, she never imagined she'd get the chance to perform one of their shows. This show is unlike anything she has done before and this process has been so fun and collaborative. Some of her previous credits include Into the Woods (Lucinda) with Colonial Chorus Players, Young Frankenstein (Elizabeth) at Hopkinton Center for the Arts, and The Music Man at the Footlight Club. A million thank yous to Josh, Michael, Lee, & team for including her in this experience, working with this crazy talented cast has been a dream. Love always to her family for their unending support.
Michael Jay
Co-Director
Sound Design
Michael returns for his fourth show with Yorick Ensemble, his third production directing with the company, and his second show co-directing with Josh, having previously worked on Bad Jews, Our Town, and The Pirates of Penzance. Other recent credits include playing Avram in Indecent (Concord Players) and Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Curtain Call Theater). Catch Michael on stage this fall appearing as Dennis in The Play That Goes Wrong (Concord Players), or back in the booth at Richard II (World's a Stage Players). Michael is deeply proud of the magnificently talented and dedicated cast and crew, and hopes you enjoy watching the show a fraction as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Thomas Christopher Marsh
Grandpa & Cletus Jones
Thomas is excited to be a part of his first Yorick Ensemble show! He attended UMass Lowell for electrical engineering and was a part of the all-male A Cappella group UML Hawkapella. He has been performing in local theatre for a number of years. Some of his previous credits include Jack Kelly in “Newsies” at a Common Thread Theater, “Little Woman” twice, once as Laurie at a Common Thread Theater and again in the ensemble and Laurie understudy during the decennial run at the Concord Players in 2023. He has also played Aaron Shultz in “Legally Blonde” at Footlight Club, Lafou in “Beauty and the Beast” and Barnaby in “Hello, Dolly!” at Riverside Theater Works. He is excited to share the stage with an amazing cast and production team for a Starkid musical that he will never forget. Tom would like to thank his family, friends, and his new nephew Devin Alexander, your crazy uncle is just non-stop.
Josh Telepman
Producer, Co-Director
Costume Design
Father
Josh is the founder and creative director of Yorick Ensemble. Previously with Yorick: Bad Jews, Our Town, 35mm: A Musical Exhibition, and The Pirates of Penzance. Acting credits include Michael in Dancing at Lughnasa (AFD), Lt. Barri in Passion (Theatre UnCorked), Dickon in The Secret Garden (Concord Players), and Alf in Peter and the Starcatcher (Vokes). Upcoming: The Little Mermaid at Reagle Music Theatre. BFA: Emerson College. My endless thanks to everyone who supports the endeavor that is Yorick Ensemble and keeps this train rolling.
Thank you to the donors who made this production possible:
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Anonymous
Joel Hersh
Sara Jay
MJ Jepsen
Matt Marasco
Becca Mayersohn
Brenda McDonough
Kyle Pope
Douglas Telepman
Merle & Daniel Weiss
And a Special Thanks to:
Andrew DiGiralomo
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
Hayden Spitz
Hovey Players Board of Directors
Jeff Kimball
Jess Meyer
John Alzapiedi
John O'Neil & Club Cafe
Kat O'Connor
Kayla Morello
Katie Swimm
Michelle Aguillon
The Mike's Hard Gang:
John Condakes
Peter Hayden
Andrew Long
Andrew Tierney
Ben Xu
Jack Zendzian
Kleanthis Zymaris
Northborough Cultural Council
Saint John’s Episcopal Church
Points of Inspiration
A few pieces of media that influenced our production...
We'll let the work speak for itself.
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Airplane!
Anastasia
Arrested Development
Blazing Saddles
Blue’s Clues
Community
Donkey Kong 64
Ducktales
Earring Magic Ken
Evita
Fast & Furious franchise
Footlight Parade
The Full Monty
Ghost
The Golden Girls
Grand Theft Auto franchise
The Grapes of Wrath
Gravity Falls
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Jay Leno
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Kia Soul Hamsters
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Mortal Kombat
The Music Man
Oklahoma!
Orville Peck
Paint Your Wagon
Pokémon Stadium
Ricochet Rabbit
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Seussical the Musical
The Simpsons
The Sound of Music
Toy Story franchise
Wallace and Gromit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Wile E. Coyote
The Wizard of Oz
Young Frankenstein
From Our Friends:
