Game Play meets Media meets Live Theater for Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern

Dungeons & Dragons, invented by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, was first released as a table top role-playing game in 1974. In what could be described as the ultimate slow burn, in the last fifty years it has grown from a niche game of “nerds” to a cultural powerhouse with multiple editions, books, homages in hit tv shows like Big Bang Theory, Community and Stranger Things, a major motion picture and, since 2024, an off-Broadway show. The latest iteration is the National Tour: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern.

The show, a combination of improv comedy, immersive theater, audience participation and actual game play, is set in the Forgotten Realms, an official Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The set looks like a cross between a tavern and a frat-house, with large screens along the back that display the backdrop of any given scene, or display information for the audience. The cast includes the Dungeon Master (Conner Marx) and the Tavern Keeper (Alex Stompoly), running an adventure for a small cast of improv actors. The night I attended, original cast members Madelyn Murphy and Diego Salinas were joined by special guest Anjali Bhimani.

D&D is inherently a game that requires quick thinking and community involvement. For most of its history, that community would have been the players at the table and the Dungeon Master (the person running the game). What was once an intimate experience in someone’s living room or den changed when live-streaming video became popular – especially during Covid lockdown. In the live stage show, the audience not only watches the cast play the game and act out scenes but also gets to dictate some of the player’s choices. In that way, it’s a lot like a Choose Your Own Adventure book from the 90’s, except there’s a theater full of enthusiastic game players shouting out advice and voting on their smart phones through an interactive web page. The combination of tech, performance and audience engagement makes each night a unique experience.

And what an experience it is: it was up to the charming Conner Marx to explain the ins and outs of the game, as well as fill in as non-player characters (NPCs) while Alex Stompoly ran the tech, made sly comments and generally kept things moving along. Madelyn Murphy has a physical, infectious cheerfulness that worked perfectly for her character, a fearsome warrior-bird (with a lot of love to give). Diego Salinas brought a quick-witted goofiness to his magician-cowboy-undead skeleton character that was unexpectedly loveable. Anjali Bhimani rounded out the threesome as a coy cat-burglar who was of course, actually a cat. As complicated as the game play may seem, the premise was simple and open-ended enough to leave plenty of room for the unexpected, and to be understood by non-game players like myself and my companion. Last night’s story required our merry band to go on a quest to find six magical objects in order to save their world from a demon who’d slipped out of a hole in the dimension, and included a talking Chicago style hot dog who taught Bhimani’s character how to love, Murphy’s character adopting a 47^th child, Salinas saving young people with classic literature and an epic battle that involved both swords and catnip.

Aside from the voting and other phone-related participation, a few audience members were also brought on stage to help move things along or even step in as a character. One wonderful moment was the inspired line-readings of a ten-year-old boy, assisted by the cast. Another was when an audience member reminded Bhimani of an option she had when taking a turn. Because many outcomes depended quite literally on the role of a dice or an audience directive, there were several genuine surprises for everyone. This show is perfect for family groups, regardless of their familiarity with the game itself. Special guests will be appearing throughout the Chicago run, including Damien Haas, Erika Ishii, Aabria Iyengar and Jack Lepiarz. If you’re looking for a fun night out that is as unique as it is entertaining, you can’t go wrong with The Twenty-Sided Tavern.

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS The Twenty-Sided Tavern can be seen at Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St., Chicago) for a limited seven-week engagement, August 12 – September 28. Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:00 p.m., Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Individual tickets are on sale now and range from $50.00 – $70.00 with a select number of premium tickets available. Additional fees apply for online purchases. For more information, visit www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Explore real-life trauma with dream logic in FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE

Set Designer Viscaya Wilson tells the audience nearly everything they need to know when they walk into the Berger Park Coach House for FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE, written by Jamie Greenblatt, with music by Richard Jennings and directed by Izadorius Tortuga. Dream-like, blue waves cover two walls. An antique Singer sewing machine sits on a small table, a spare, leafless tree, hung with folded paper on strings, frames a bench in the back. This lovely staging continued with an excellent use of space, for example, Anna’s (an expressive Haley Basil) hospital room was effectively created with two hooks and a blanket.

Anna is a young textile artist who was adopted at birth. Her only connection to her biological past is that Singer sewing machine, which is also her best friend and confidant. Then, she meets Benjamin (Keith Surney) a devout Jewish man, who tells her he’s certain she must be Ashkenazi. Margot Chervony rounds out the rest of the cast, playing side characters, an ominous narrator of sorts and various ancestors of Anna’s.

The story centers around Anna’s experiences falling in love, marrying and then being diagnosed with ovarian cancer – a result of the BRCA gene that she didn’t know she carried. A DNA test reveals she is a woman of Ashkenazi decent and therefore had a 1 in 40 chance of developing breast or ovarian cancer, due to a genetic bottleneck traced to the Middle Ages. The facts are woven in and out of the narrative, while Anna at first seems resistant to learning about her heritage, and then accepts it.

There are moments of song, dance and violin music (played well by Venus Fu) weaving in and out of the narrative. Much of the language is poetic and stylized. A semi-finalist in the Jewish Plays Project’s 11^th Jewish Playwriting contest of 2022, one can see why the readers found the creative and ambitious attempt to dramatize the rather dire medical history and dark subject matter compelling. However, once produced, the blend of music, dance, monologues and dream-like scenes come across as rather heavy handed. Chervony plays so many characters, it is also sometimes difficult to know who is who, and whether or not she and Basil are in the real world, or a dream one.

A lighter touch might have made this sorrowful, dramatic story easier to digest. While no laughing matter, many survivors of cancer point to gallows humor as one of their most valuable survival techniques. There were glimmers of what that could look like:  the removal of Anna’s organs involved Chervony’s doctor character pulling a long, growling puppet from a zipper in Anna’s hospital gown, and a repeated refrain that began to take on a tinge of the ridiculous as each character said it. As it was, the moments of levity seemed accidental. Also, unfortunately for the actors, the theater was also stifling hot to the point of distraction, especially given that they were all in winter clothing at some point – if you go, bring a fan and wear light clothing.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

FEMALE, ASHKENAZI WITH A SEWING MACHINE runs August 7-23^rd on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30, and Saturdays at 3:00 pm. Berger Park Coach House, 6205 N. Sheridan. Tickets: $25 general, seniors/students $20 on sale at https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/female-ashkenazi-with-a-sweing-machine.

Visit www.artsjudaica.com for more information. Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.

Flyover in Chicago at Navy Pier

They say the third time is a charm.  In this case it’s much more than that. 

I spent a beautiful Monday afternoon at Navy Pier with my three grandchildren. We walked around enjoying the summer weather and then headed over to the Flyover. I took my grandson last year when he came to visit and it was one of the most memorable parts of his trip. This time it was his sisters that got to experience the fun. 

Raccoons and Meditation bring enlightenment in BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY

BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY, by award winning playwright Amy Crider, began as a ten-minute play written for a Scene Shop Showcase at Chicago Dramatists in 2014. Crider wrote and expanded her original idea, and Lucid Theater Company debuted it August 2, directed by Iris Sowlat.

Pamela (a nervous and likeable Kristie Berger) is a history professor up for tenure. She’s also planning her mother’s 80^th birthday and trying to finish her first book. She’s got a racoon problem in her yard, a leaky roof, and the students at her university are rebelling against the traditional history curriculum. Her husband, Lawrence (a charming Christopher Hainsworth as your favorite college “prof”) a philosophy professor, is doing his best to support her through it all. She does yoga and is a practicing Buddhist, but it’s not helping. Pamela is an anxious mess. It’s affecting every part of her life, and despite her adoring husband and successful career, she is deeply insecure.

As the first act unfolds, Pamela and Lawrence appear to have a loving and solid relationship, though much of their focus is centered on her difficulties getting through any event.

Once Pamela’s mother, Roberta (the delightful Kathleen Ruhl) arrives, the source of Pamela’s raging insecurity is clearer. Ruhl’s Roberta has never held a punch in her life. She has a sharp tongue and a critical eye. She’s also very proud of her other daughter, Ellen, a powerhouse attorney. Crider delivers here with tight, funny, dialogue that is all too familiar to anyone with someone important in their life who only ever seems to notice your flaws. Next is Jennifer (a sweet and sunny Ada Grey), Pamela’s niece, who has flown in for the party after months spent backpacking across the world. The last piece of this family chaos-puzzle is a wily raccoon, who jumps in and out of scenes and creates general havoc, perhaps as a symbol of our inability to truly control anything in this life.

As Pamela strives towards enlightenment, she struggles to connect with each of her family members and her partner, but it’s the relationships between the women that are most interesting. Crider has a keen eye for the complexity inherent in long term and familial relationships. The best part of the show is watching three generations of a family navigate the expectations of each other versus their own personal fulfillment. Ruhl’s Roberta is the definition of a “spitfire” old lady, she’s hilarious, and happily, not my mom. Grey’s Jennifer has a sunny smile and buoyant presence that radiate peace and joy. Her desire to go her own way and easy embrace of self-love highlights her aunt Pamela’s increasingly desperate mind-set, which Berger portrays with a fidgeting, hand wringing intensity. Pamela has spent her whole life desperate for praise and attention from her mother, and it has shaped how much space she allows herself to take up. Pamela’s also spent so much time obsessed with pleasing her mom that she ignores a key conversation with her husband, leading to disastrous results. Luckily, her years of Buddhist practice have left her open to advice from an unexpected source and she finally begins to realize that some of her mother’s narratives that she has accepted without question are utterly wrong.

The text drives towards a confrontation between Pamela and her mother. Her family roots for her, the audience roots for her, and yet, the final act of the play takes an unexpected turn, missing an opportunity. Rather than end with a potentially cathartic confrontation between generations of women, Crider went with a more conventional feminist trope of a woman who cuts herself loose in the span of a moment. Based on the two hours we spent with her, she cut the wrong string, but don’t worry, the raccoon is fine.

Somewhat Recommended

Reviewed by Alina C. Hevia

BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY runs August 2-17^th on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30, and Sunday at 3:00 pm, present by Lucid Theater Co. at The Edge Theatre, 5451 N. Broadway.

Tickets: $38 plus applicable fees, on sale at www.lucidtheater.com

Please visit www.lucidtheater.com for more information.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com.