Role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons are inherently theatrical: The players are all playing roles, after all. But the idea of building an actual stage show around the game—an entirely improvised one, guided by audience suggestions and decisions—seems, well, a little dicey. As a D&D enthusiast myself, I didn't know what to expect from The Twenty-Sided Tavern, which is currently playing at Off Broadway’s cavernous Stage 42. But an element of the unexpected is one of the things that makes this goofy fantasy show such fun. Whether or not you know much about D&D going in, it’s an adventuring party you won't want to miss.
The five actors in the cast lead the audience on a journey through the Forgotten Realms of the land of Faerûn. But it may be more accurate to say that the audience leads them. Via an interactive theater technology called Gamiotics, the spectators use their phones to determine much of what happens onstage, including which actors play which of the campaign’s three wacky members: a warrior, a trickster and a mage. This trio is joined by two other figures: David Andrew Laws (who goes by DAGL) as the Dungeon Master and Sarah Davis Reynolds as the Tavern Keeper.
As created by Laws, Reynolds and Gamiotics honcho David Carpenter, The Twenty-Sided Tavern puts the audience in control of where the story goes—which means every performance of the show is different, with new plot points and non-player characters. Each of the three adventurers is controlled by a third of the audience, which makes decisions and lends support at critical junctures.
On the night I attended, the audience cast Madelyn Murphy as an undead cowboy wizard, Tyler Nowell Felix as a “bro-barian” and swing RJ Christian (filling in for Diego Salinas) as the singing and lute-playing “bardiest bard.” Each of them took props, wigs and costumes from onstage shelves and disappeared into the wings; seconds later, they were back, now dressed up as our heroes. Their quest: to save the realm from a chaotic force by collecting magical artifacts and defeating a final boss—which, as chosen by the crowd, was a shiny, grumpy platypus.
Murphy was a standout among the talented improvisers, earning roars of laughter with her sudden-onset Texas drawl. But dungeon master DAGL, who shapes the show as its narrator and arbiter of audience suggestions, was perhaps the best of them all—reacting quickly and humorously to the crowd's crazy decisions and call-outs, with new character voices at the ready to go along with whatever disheveled wig he may have on his head at any given moment. He was adept at keeping the crowd in line and on task while also making it feel like we were all in it together—the mark of a good DM.
If you’re a D&D player like me, you’ll get a kick out of the gamer tropes peppered throughout the show and the Easter eggs that scenic designer K.C. McGeorge has built into his set, whose shelves are full of things you might actually find in someone's game stash: dice, wigs, costumes, props and action figures, plus little allusions to characters, classes and fantastical creatures within the Forgotten Realms. It's part tavern, part toy box. And the design extends into the lobby, which is festooned with maps of Faerûn and weathered "adventurers needed" posters. (There is also a toothy treasure chest full of free dice for the taking. They know their core audience!)
You don’t need to have played D&D to enjoy or understand the show; everything you need to know is carefully explained from the stage. And The Twenty-Sided Tavern takes pains to make sure everyone is having a good time, including introverts. (Audience members can opt for "voter isolation" if they don’t want to get pulled up onstage.) But New Yorkers being New Yorkers—and drinks being allowed in the theater—many of the audience members choose to participate vocally and vociferously. When I saw the show, this raucous climate gave the production a warmly communal quality. It felt like all 499 of us were all in, and all in it together.
The Twenty-Sided Tavern. Stage 42 (Off Broadway). By David Andrew Laws, Sarah Davis Reynolds and David Carpenter. With Laws, Reynolds, Madelyn Murphy, Tyler Nowell Felix, Diego Salinas. Running time: 2hrs 15mins. One intermission.
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