[Nerdist] DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Comes to the Stage with THE TWENTY-SIDED TAVERN

[kyonshi]

Source:
https://nerdist.com/article/dungeons-and-dragons-gets-theatrical-production-the-twenty-sided-tavern/

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Comes to the Stage with THE TWENTY-SIDED TAVERN
Powered by Geek & Sundry
by Amy Ratcliffe
Feb 15 2024 • 8:00 AM

Dungeons & Dragons keeps evolving across platforms. The beloved game
keeps growing and changing. For its next leap, the tabletop game will
head to the stage for the first-ever official Dungeons & Dragons
theatrical production. The Twenty-Sided Tavern is an interactive
theatrical adventure from Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, Curious
Hedgehog, and Showpath Entertainment. This production began as a
D&D-style roleplaying game on the stage and has transformed into
experiential entertainment.

The Twenty-Sided Tavern has had limited showings in Chicago, Pittsburg,
and The Edinburgh Fringe festival. Experiences sold out. But now the
show will be settled in at Stage 42 in New York City. Previews begin on
April 19, and the show officially opens on May 5. Here’s how Wizards
describes the experience:

At Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern, the audience is not
just a viewer but the “fourth player,” influencing key decisions via
Gamiotics, a browser-based software that allows you to vote on where the
story will go — what characters appear, what experiences they explore,
and more. With a cast of five actors and over 30 playable characters,
audiences will experience an expansive fantasy world set in the
Forgotten Realms, and face riddles, puzzles, combat, and more, to help
shape the story. Laughter will flow like ale and with the audience in
full control and exciting reveals around every corner, no two shows are
alike! For those seeking a more daring experience, there are
opportunities to join the action onstage and test your strength (or
dexterity, or wisdom, or charisma) through a variety of rollicking
games, including trivia, charades, and the ever-popular Fantasy Beer
Pong. Featuring behind-the-scenes talent from popular theatrical shows
such as Dimension 20, Marvel’s Rogers: The Musical, Beavis and Butthead
and more, Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern is the game you
know and the experience you’ll love but bigger and better than ever.

You can get exclusive presale tickets for this Dungeons & Dragons
theatrical production beginning on February 29. General public ticket
sales begin on May 4. And if you can’t make it to New York, don’t worry.
Plans are in the works for a national tour.

[Spalls Hurgenson]

Post by kyonshi
https://nerdist.com/article/dungeons-and-dragons-gets-theatrical-production-the-twenty-sided-tavern/
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Comes to the Stage with THE TWENTY-SIDED TAVERN
Powered by Geek & Sundry
by Amy Ratcliffe
Feb 15 2024 • 8:00 AM
Dungeons & Dragons keeps evolving across platforms. The beloved game
keeps growing and changing. For its next leap, the tabletop game will
head to the stage for the first-ever official Dungeons & Dragons
theatrical production. The Twenty-Sided Tavern is an interactive
theatrical adventure from Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, Curious
Hedgehog, and Showpath Entertainment. This production began as a
D&D-style roleplaying game on the stage and has transformed into
experiential entertainment.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the whole thing seems a more suitable use
of the license than was the movie. First of all, I doubt Hasbro had
much to do with the whole thing except to say, "sure, you can license
our IP for money", and maybe offer the advice of a few WOTC staffers.
I doubt they invested heavily into it.

But even if they did, it would STILL be a much less expensive
undertaking than a movie. Expectations will also be much lower;
theatre is already fairly niche; theatre based around D&D even more
so, and some weird experimental D&D show where the audience
"nfluencing key decisions via" an app is practically DOA in terms of
reaching any significant audience. But it makes for good marketing for
Hasbro; it's a novelty that will attract a few people and evangelicize
the brand as this oddball theater/game thing...

... which, really, is what D&D itself is.

TL;DR: it's a loss-leader where Hasbro doesn't intend to make its
money back but will hopefully keep people interested in the actual
product: the game itself.

And I think that's fine. For those interested in that sort of thing,
they'll probably have a fun time, it promotes the game itself, and is
more in tune with the hobby than was the big budget movie. So even
though there's no chance I'd pay to see the thing, I wish the
production company good luck.