50 years ago, the world was introduced to a tabletop wargame that took on a life of its own. Called Dungeons & Dragons, (although both are just marginal elements of the game), it was a cult success. The game received a boost from the highly successful H.R.R. Tolkien fiction novels The Hobbitt and The Lord of the Rings, and leapt from the table to the quads and parks and forests, being credited to giving birth to the entire cosplay/live action roleplay industry.
The latest incarnation, Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty Sided Tavern, is a master level upgrade, created and written by David Carpenter & Director Michael Fell (with additional material provided by Conner Max), that originated off-Broadway a year ago and set out with ambitions to conquer the world, first with a 4 month venture to the Sidney Opera House, and has now embarked on a, so far, nine month national tour of the US. Premiering this week at the Kennedy Center, played to a highly entertained crowd of LARPers of all ages (most in full costume of their self-identified character—elfin ears abounded) and their families in an evening of surprisingly great fun.
Photo courtesy of Bronwen Sharp
Utilizing the second edition of the show, The Tomb of Havoc, a highly invested quintet of very game and equally talented performers in effect play an actual round of the popular game utilizing a high tech set of stunning projections, costumes, props, and a 4 foot diameter 20-sided die. To up the ante for the audience, there is interactive play—votes for outcomes, solving riddles, and battling challenges—so come in with a fully charged phone and feel free to leave it on the entire show—and even take pictures and videos with the company’s blessing, to further their social media presence.
Photo courtesy of Bronwen Sharp
After a basic explanation of the game, the rules, and how the immersive elements of the evening will unfold, the enthusiastic cast introduces themselves and selects their roles. At this performance, R. Alex Murray took the lead as a very engaging and competent Dungeon Master, narrating our story while playing various characters throughout (adopting a dizzying array of accents from Shrek to Leslie Jordan) and navigating the enthralled audience through various situations, choices, and side quests. The live action players fill the roles of a Barbarian symbolizing Might (Diego F. Salinas), a Mage symbolizing Magic (Madelyn Murphy), and a Trickster symbolizing Mischief (Cassidy Sledge), with RJ Christian, the Tavern Keeper, acting as the technical wizard who is in charge of all the dazzling visuals and all the social interaction with the audience, both providing polls and tabulating real time responses on the giants screens. First choice ff the evening, the audience, split into three random teams assigned by the color of program logo they receive upon entering (red for Might, blue for Magic, and green for Mischief), gets to select the actual characters the prototypes will portray—Salinas’ Barbarian was chosen to be an angry Battle Dwarf who’s brawn definitely trumps his brain, Murphy’s Mage a Dragon Wizard who is also a self-appointed Doctor, and Sledge’s Trickster a teenage boy posing as a fake wizard. The trio embraced their impromptu roles and ran with them, finding the innate humor of all the situations the game and the audience placed them in. We are privy to their individual statistics and strengths via some close circuited camera work focusing on their play area (featuring their stat cards and persona dice rolling pit).
Photo courtesy of Daniel Boud
All five are a great team of Might and Magic (and Tech) who combine to exhilarate the experienced players in the audience (two who were luck enough to appear on stage—in their best cosplay of course) as well as mesmerize and entertain the novices (the team this critic played for, but was highly entertained for the entire evening). Their thoroughly invested gameplay and witty improvisational humor keep the evening flowing with fun.
Photo courtesy of Bronwen Sharp
And as engaging, fun, enthusiastic, and funny as the very competent cast is, it’s the technical additions that level up this interactive game to heroic and mighty levels. K.C. McGeorge’s costume and props designs are a smooth blend of professionally constructed items that have a handmade essence to them. His scenic designs are highly enhanced by Derek Christiansen & Ruby O’Brien’s elaborate and mood setting projections of everything from the starting Tavern to the road to the Wizards’ castle and the bowels where the titular Havoc dwells. They also help flesh out the final battle campaigns. And can we give special praise to that giant 20 sided die?
Extra credit goes to David Carpenter, Dave Keene, and Gavin Crews for their very user friendly Gamiotics app which helps the audience easily interact to determine the course of the game via choices, participation quests, and answering riddles. It is utilized frequently enough to keep the audience completely invested in the gaming process without having to touch a die.
Photo courtesy of Bronwen Sharp
The novelty is that the show is different every performance, and this audience, while only about 2.3 full on a Sunday night, was the most solid target audience I’ve ever seen in a theatre short of a house full of Hamil-freaks or Rent-heads at their peak. In the slow part of the summer touring season, it’s a chance to see something unique and enjoyable regardless of expertise. Both the novices and the cosplaying pros both enjoyed their trip to the Twenty-Sided Tavern. So grab your Mage’s cloak, your Wizard’s cap, your Princess gown, and your Elfin ears and pour a mug of ale (and well met!) to enjoy an evening of unique immersive, interactive theatre and gameplay. To sum it up in D&D terms:
Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern The Tomb of Havoc Stats
Strength: +5
Dexterity: +7
Constitution: +2
Intelligence: +10
Wisdom: + 9
Charisma: +25
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission
Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern currently plays through August 3, 2025, at the Eisenhower Theatre at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F Street NW, Washington DC 20566. For tickets, call the box office at 202.467.4600 or purchase online