Book and Lyrics: Alana Jacoby
Music: Scotty Arnold
Director: Jill Dion
Music Director: Danielle Wright
Wayne State University
Run Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Trivøya Gold, with book and lyrics by Alana Jacoby and music by Scotty Arnold, is set on a small island off the coast of Norway, where it is so cold that human bodies do not decompose after death, and, as a result, its residents are not allowed to die at home.
Angered by this final indignity, the residents of Trivoya demand their independence and are offered it if they can win an Olympic gold medal in curling.
The composer, Scotty Arnold, and the lyricist, Alana Jacoby, have characterized “Trivoya Gold” as being an aggregate of “Urinetown” and “The Mighty Ducks.”
They said it started out as a story about teamwork and family, but the pandemic has highlighted its other themes, including the dangers of blind nationalism.
“One thing we love about theater, in general, is how one show can take on a variety of meanings over time, depending on when, where, how, and by whom it is being staged,” Arnold and Jacoby said in a statement. “It’s been an absolute joy to watch the amazing students, faculty, and staff of Wayne State bring Trivøya Gold to life over the past year, and to see them work with ingenuity and creativity to turn the challenges of the past year into opportunities.”