“The Oregon Trail” by Bekah Brunstetter will be performed Wednesday through Friday, March 25 through 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Wolf Kuhn Theatre of the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. Performances are free and open to the public.

“You have died of dysentery!”

For those who grew up playing The Oregon Trail computer game, dysentery was serious business. In this fresh and funny retelling, we follow two Janes as they traverse The Oregon Trail. “Now Jane” is playing the computer game in her middle school computer lab in 1997; “Then Jane” is in a covered wagon in 1848. A judge-y game show narrator, a domineering sister, their widowed father, the highschooler hunk, a goofy storekeeper, and two oxen try to corral the two Janes. Fate maneuvers them both to a conclusion that changes their lives and sends them to the end of the trail.

Brunstetter’s play invites us to reflect on our own struggles with depression and unfulfilled dreams while nurturing the hopeful desire for a fresh start. By using the nostalgic backdrop of a classic computer game, it contrasts the illusion of virtual control with overwhelming challenges of real life, ultimately encouraging us to embrace our histories.

Performances are free and open to the public thanks to the Kjell Meling Arts for All Initiative. For further information, call the box office at 814-949-5452. “The Oregon Trail” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc., www.concordtheatricals.com.