The Travels
a play with songs
book and lyrics by Aaron, music by Kelly Hoppenjans
“This smart play...is quite a pleasant surprise, a political show with a conscience that forgoes didacticism in favor of dark humor. It will make you hurt from laughter, until you realize that behind its jokes lies the scary possibility of prescience.”
“The Travels is a bold piece of theater.”
“The dark pit of totalitarianism is never so fun filled as when it is pondered over in song, dance and pop culture references. That is the take away from The Travels.”
Photos from the 2014 New York Musical Festival production:
Synopsis
Welcome to the U.S. of A. Other countries suffer biblical consequences for their filthy ways, but the U.S. of A. is the most perfect place on Earth — at least, that’s what Mr. Travel preaches every day on the nation’s only TV show. A trippy dystopian tale with an eclectic soundtrack, this Epic play with songs follows Teeny, Mr. Travel’s rule-breaking daughter. Teetering on adulthood and perplexed by this cruel world, Teeny learns to see past smoke and mirrors… and she starts a revolution. Mashing up styles that range from Brecht to dystopian fiction to South Park, this show turns the genre of musical theatre on its ear.
Character Breakdown
4 women, 4 men [8 total]
Production History
Professional, 2014: New York Musical Theatre Festival, dir. Travis Greisler
Development History
Workshop, 2013: Coriolis Theatre Company, Chicago
Workshop, 2011: Agnes Nixon Playwriting Festival, Northwestern University