When I first got the invite for tickets to "She Kills Monsters", I wasn't entirely sure what I was in for. Because seriously....how does one attempt to stage a play that tackles the topic of D&D?
Well I found my answer this evening at the Flea theatre, down in tribeca. I wouldn't say it was a "critical hit" but it certainly dealt a formidable blow.
The basic premise is that adult Angie never truly got to know her kid sister-and when Angie's entire family is killed in a crash, she is forced to acknowledge that she won't be able to ever again. But upon cleaning out the family's home, she comes across her younger sister's Dungeons & Dragons notebook- a collection of the adventures young Tilly was immersed in up until her death.
This then is our gateway to a surreal fantasy storytelling, full of adventure, profanity, genetalia jokes and surprisingly beneath it all a really great core message---that sometimes a kid needs an escape outlet like their imagination and there's nothing wrong in admitting who you are deep down; But first let's hit the humor.
In another shining example of the Age of the Geek, we are introduced to the fictional heroes Tilly played with through Angie's first-timer eyes, when she asks one of Tilly's friends to teach her how to play. And while the stereotypes are vamped up well past eleven, it is done in such style that is both completely farcical and yet strangely respective of the costumed, funny-talking, sword-weilding alternate selves that some young people choose to embrace as they explore a different mode of imagination-play. Yes, we've got the badass chick, the spock-like emotionless elf, and the noble but troubled lead; yes we've got the pot-smoking asshole, yes we've got the insecure and the inept, but throughout the piece we come to see, alongside Angie's journey of coming to learn more about her sister Tilly, that in Tilly's mind this was how they all COULD be. And in her imagination, cheerleader bullies become succubi, and the dragons we all have in our own lives are quite manageable if you aren't the only one in your quest. We can all make it through if we travel with other heroes.
The production values themselves are quite respectable-- I have the utmost respect for the efficient way in which a little went a long way-the only real set dressing was a permanent table and chairs- a small reminder that gaming is as powerful as the people playing it;
The lights and sounds were wonderfully orchestrated to add to the over-the-top feel, with Lord of the Rings-type fanfare and comical delivery of lines (which to be fair do seem to be absurd. the River of Wetness is hilarious when you realize that authors and DMs alike will write basically loftier versions but mean the same thing when pared down.) And while I won't go into spoiler detail, the "final boss battle" is so precision-performed that you are nothing short of impressed that on such a stage with the space limitations being what they were, the performers were able to pull of this monstrous magic. My only complaint is that the staged combat was, ahem, hit-or-miss. There were some outstanding combat sections that sadly were brought down by some very very shoddy other ones. The actors do have a lot on their plates, agreed, but it seems like some sections could have been given more detail and brought up to the level of the impressive combats so everything would have been balanced. To their credit it is a very physical-heavy show. It should not be passed ov
er that to handle verbose diatribe AND learn a pile of combat, then cram it all into an hour and twenty minutes, is small peas. These adventurers definitely took a few levels in concentration before donning their costumes.
All in all, I would reccommend you see this show if you have a free evening; It pokes fun at gamers in such a way that "non-geeks" will laugh, and it is a bit tongue-in-cheek at the unusual ways gamers sometimes have, without insulting the gaming crowd (and of course there's a slew of jokes only a gamer would completely get/enjoy that I wholeheartedly encourage if you are of the d-20 tendency).
Four and a half out of five monster manuals.
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