Two Yeses and a Maybe
Hi all. I normally don’t write again so fast, but one of the things I saw recently was good enough that I want you to see it while you still can. So what follows is three reviews — two immersive and one not, the final one just because it’s great and you should catch it before it’s gone.
Immersive Reviews
Vicky Archives — I saw this on Friday and it’s quite good. It’s a very slighty interactive immersive theater show where you are invited to witness the operations of a memory archive. The show is at the Tank, which is a well-known small theater, but you won’t recognize it because they do such an incredible job of transforming it. Brouhaha, the company that created it, really just nails how to move a quite large audience from room to room on paths into small scenes seamlessly. For the most part, the writing is good and a few of the actors are terrific. I will say the ending is a bit of a letdown, but for a cheaper smaller show, it’s remarkable how much they accomplish on a small budget. This is a keeper.
20-sided Tavern - This is a scaled-up version of an improv comedy show where four people play D&D and have the audience interact by voting on player actions and playing mini-games to give bonuses in scenes. How much you like this will depend on your tolerance for D&D nostalgia. I will say upfront that the performers are very solid — funny and good improvisers and skilled at managing the audience. You will laugh during the show. But it leans so heavily on D&D. They do combat on stage, and it’s just as clunky as you remember D&D being. Everything is shoutouts to saving throws and spell names and Forgotten Realms minutiae. And the interactivity is mostly voting which, as I have argued in the past, doesn’t work because I don’t feel any investment when I’m one of 300 people voting. There’s no depth or meaning or even richer storytelling — just a bunch of general roleplaying content with some skilled clowns performing it. If that kind of nostalgia sounds hilarious to you, go for sure, but otherwise, it’s like having a bowl of popcorn as a meal. It doesn’t taste bad, but you got no calories or nutrients out of it, and you kind of feel gross when it’s over.
Non-Immersive Reviews
Illinoise - So I don’t normally talk about things in traditional dance or theater, but this show was amazing and I don’t want people to not see it. Illinoise is a dance translation of the Sufjan Stevens album of the same name. It’s really beautiful. They really commit to the mission of doing the whole album, which maybe they shouldn’t have (a couple of songs are a stretch), but overall they come up with a truly amazing frame and then use dance and an orchestra version of the songs to tell a clear and powerful story. There are just stunning moments in this piece and if you know the album, it’s a beautiful tribute to it. Don’t miss it.
Alright, I have done my critical duty. More soon when I have events to share.