#9 Good Theatre at Starving College Student Prices

As you may or not be aware, I'm kind of a junkie for musicals. I have a list of favorite musicals.

(1. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
3. Into the Woods
4. Evita
5. Phantom of the Opera
6. Wicked
7. The Lion King
8. Hairspray)

I always like going to musicals, though. So when I bought my $3 ticket to see the school's production of Pioneer Song, I was very excited. And I wasn't disappointed.

The story is about Ruth Maramin and her daughters Sarah (whose husband beats her), Esther, and Tessi (who are both excited to find love and a new life) and their journey on the Oregon Trail. The story focuses on the relationship between Ruth and the other women in the camp, including Sonja, whose husband also beats her; Mary Dove, the unwilling prostitute; and Faith Martin and Mercy Tibbs, who are content enough in their religiousness to judge everyone else in camp.

While it was able to touch on subjects like domestic violence, suicide, illness, and accidental death effectively, it stayed light enough to be silly.

My favorite part was a song that Mercy and Faith sing together about how the best way to salvation is to marry a good Yankee man. "Never marry a man from south of Ohio!" "Make sure he's Christian, and marry him fast as you can!" It reminded me of the people from Upland who told me to go up to Rexburg and find a nice boy, just bring him home at Christmas so they could meet him before the wedding. At least they were all kidding - except for maybe Brother Crest.

Back to the play. Another thing they did that I liked was when Ruth mentioned passing graves, a veil fell in front of a chorus member playing the person in the grave, and they would tell their story. The best of these was that of Mr. Tibbs. His was a song. And he's a BASS, man. Nothing in this world better than a man who can sing well.

And the sets! They were wonderful! Since much of the story was told by way of Ruth's journal, the words would appear behind her on a screen as she said them. Incidentally, Heidi A. Merrill, who played Ruth, looks just like Tina Fey. Or my friends Lindsay and Madisons' mom, depending on the angle.

Overall, Pioneer Song was some of the best $3 I've spent in a long time. Good times.