The Twenty-Sided Tavern: an Off-Broadway Review

  This weekend I had the good fortune of venturing into Manhattan to see Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern off-Broadway for the second time. Twenty-Sided Tavern is essentially a largely improvised stage-play version of Dungeons and Dragons, a game which I’ve been an avid player of since middle school. Twenty-Sided Tavern is the most unique show I’ve seen– the plot and characters are different every night, and no two shows are the same. Nearly everything in the show is affected by audience participation and dice rolls. 

Playbill with the set in the background. Photo: Me

The show presents itself as a typical D&D adventure, and the basic premise is the same each night: a mysterious energy called Havoc is sowing chaos throughout the land, and a group of three adventurers– one warrior, one mage, and one trickster– are chosen by a wizard to help put a stop to it. But that’s where the similarities end between shows. The actions the characters take, the success of their quest, even their names are different each and every show. The show I saw this weekend played out nowhere near the same way that the show I saw last May did, and I was absolutely delighted. The show’s audience interaction is accomplished both through calling out and asking for a response, and through a website on the audience’s phones, accessible through a QR code in the playbill. 

Our adventurers meet Clive the Tiny, renowned wizard, as the Tavern Keeper looks on with concern. From left: Aabria Iyengar (mage), Madelyn Murphy (trickster), Connor Marx (Dungeon Master/every NPC), Will Champion (warrior), and Alex Stompoly (Tavern Keeper). Photo: me.

To explain some of the differences between shows: each of the three character archetypes (warrior, mage, trickster) has three character options– at the beginning of the show, the audience gets a vague description of each option before voting on which character they’d like to see that night, for 27 total possible character combinations. Each audience member then chooses a party member they’re going to be affiliated with for the rest of the night. Throughout the show the audience is asked for their input, from anything to making up names for NPCs (non-playable characters), deciding which method the characters should use to fight their enemies, and solving puzzles to help progress the plot. (Notable NPC names from this weekend’s show were Daniel Girth, Clive the Tiny, and Danny DeVito). Certain challenges, tasks, or hints are only available to audience members who’ve affiliated with certain characters, forcing you to work with your fellow audience-members to help the characters on stage succeed. The use of phones is not restricted to simply interacting with the challenges, however; the audience is encouraged to take and post photos or videos of that night’s show (an opportunity I try to take full advantage of). Between the incredible set design and the on-stage shenanigans, there’s a lot to document.

Our warrior character from the show I saw last April (R. Alex Murray) with a frog upon each shoulder. There were many, many frogs in that show. No such frogs were present in this show. Photo: me.

This weekend’s show was especially special for the inclusion of famed voice-actor and D&D player Aabria Iyengar, known for her appearances on popular D&D live-shows like Critical Role and Dimension 20. She played the mage character onstage for a week and a half– which, fortunately for me, coincided with the Off-Broadway Week 2-for-1 ticket promotion. I’m an avid fan of Critical Role and a casual fan of Dimension 20 (sorry Brennan– I’ll get there one day), and so I jumped at the chance to see both Twenty-Sided Tavern and Aabria with my friends. All three of the show’s characters (excluding the Dungeon Master and Tavern Keeper) were walking around the theater beforehand, chatting with the audience, and my friends and I had a lovely conversation with both Aabria and Will Champion, who played the warrior (and has quite possibly the coolest last name ever in the history of man). And I’ve gotta say, Aabria absolutely killed it onstage– from summoning a shark to eat her assailants (on dry land– whoops), to an absolutely nail-biting moment where she sided with the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) and turned against the rest of our heroes, to an epic final attack that took full advantage of both her character’s abilities and the effects of the environment. 

Aabria, narrating her character's future after the events of the show. Photo: me.

Both Will and Madelyn Murphy (who played the trickster) were phenomenal in their roles as well. Will’s accent work was on-point, and he used several throughout the show. Madelyn was actually the mage when I saw the show last May– and let me tell you, she absolutely slayed in both roles. Her character-work is delightfully chaotic, and an absolute joy to watch. Dungeon Master Connor Marx and Tavern Keeper Alex Stompoly were incredible in their roles as well, keeping the energy and the story alive throughout the show. 

The BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy) ended up being a parody of Penguin from Batman. The DM plays all NPCs. And yes, he's missing a shoe. The cast stole it at the beginning of the show. Photo: me.

Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern is currently playing at 422 W 42nd St in Manhattan, and is playing there until April 29, 2025, and you can get in-person rush tickets for as low as $37. Check them out on their Instagram for more details. I cannot speak highly enough about this show, and I fully intend on going back to see it at least one more time (but hopefully way, way more).