ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Dave Babcock and Beth Owens are pictured in a scene from “You Have Died of Dysentery!” at LynnArts.
By LEAH DEARBORN
LYNN — “You Have Died of Dysentery!” invited viewers to experience the Oregon Trail firsthand at the LynnArts’ Black Box Theatre on Friday.
The original comedy production by Soap and Rope Theatre was presented by Arts After Hours as a fundraiser for their seventh season, which begins in June.
The play draws inspiration from “The Oregon Trail,” a popular computer game used in schools in the 1980s and 1990s to teach students about geography and history.
Performer Jill Rogati said the development of the script, which took six months to write, involved each of the four cast members.
When the group first sat down to discuss potential ideas, favorite historical fiction novels from childhood like “Anne of Green Gables” and “Little House on the Prairie” kept coming up.
The conversation eventually turned to memories of the retro computer game, with the end result of an interactive play based loosely on the source material and even more loosely on historical events.
“We didn’t fact check anything,” said fellow cast member Anne Sablich with a laugh.
The interactive part of the show comes in when the characters on stage ask for assistance or direction from the audience.
Viewers follow three intrepid women as they journey westward and sometimes encounter interference from Dave Babcock, who acts in a similar capacity to the computer in the original game, placing obstacles in their way.
Rogati said someone always dies of dysentery during a performance, but the interactive element means the number of metaphoric deaths can vary widely.
“The reason why it’s funny is that really, not much is happening,” said Rogati of the play’s namesake. “So we took that initial skeleton and built on it.”
Corey Jackson, managing director of Arts After Hours, said the organization has a number of performances lined up for the new season.
The drama “Next to Normal” is playing in June and free summer Shakespeare shows of “The Tempest” are planned for later in the summer.
The final performance of “You Have Died of Dysentery!” will take place tonight at 8 p.m.
Leah Dearborn can be reached at ldearborn@itemlive.com.