What We're Seeing: Here There Be Dragons
A ragtag, DnD-inspired musical infused with infectious, energetic gumption
Unless you live under a rock, at this point in 2022, you’ve probably heard of Dungeons & Dragons (DnD), a table-top role-playing game invented in 1974 that invokes one’s imagination and choose-your-own-adventure stylings to DIY quests of your own making and playing. Thanks to Netflix’s Stranger Things, the game seems bigger than ever before, straddling the pop culture zeitgeist between enthusiastic cult following and mainstream mania.
Check out these Dungeons & Dragons statistics:
50 million people played DnD to date.
40% of players are aged 25 or younger.
11% of players are 40 years or older.
39% of players identify as female.
Most popular Google searches are in Canada followed by the US,
There’s been recent growth across Europe, others listed here
After the huge recent success of Broadway Licensing’s Clue and Selladoor’s widely popular global attraction for Monopoly, it’s not a stretch to imagine a future of stageworks and immersive entertainment drawing from gaming IP more and more frequently, especially as we enter a generation of writers and theatremakers who grew up with more and more platforms for, well, gaming.
Enter Here There Be Dragons.
The new musical, Here There Be Dragons: A New Musical Quest, now running at NYC’s Players Theatre through July 17, emerges from— you guessed it— DnD. Featuring book and lyrics by Chase O'Neill, music by Theo Teris, orchestrations by Scott Wasserman (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen), and direction by Austin Harleson, the show is not officially endorsed but rather inspired by the game itself (gamemaker Wizards of the Coast is parent-owned by Hasbro).
The original Latin for the titular phrase means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist. It’s precisely this concept of potential dangers and unexplored territory the show seeks to highlight, utilizing the last night before friends graduate college to create a strong ensemble piece with universal themes of moving on, friendship, and adventure— a perfect recipe for a strong licensable future in the US and global marketplaces, perhaps after some tightening and repositioning.
O’Neill’s book has the daunting task of capturing college-aged earnestness through tonal shifts between cheeky musketeering shenanigans and histrionic graduation outbursts. The stakes are the highest these characters have felt at this point in their lives so far, the setting being the friend group’s last night before their lives change forever after their impending graduation and, inevitable, separation. Teris and O’Neill’s approach to the subject is one of pragmatic grit though, and they add a believably personal sheen of relatability to the work that, in less capable or authentic fan hands, could have easily been bogged down by “hey fellow kids” squeamishness. Instead, their work here plows through mood and circumstantial shape-shifts as the characters walk the tightrope between realism and fantasy, ping-ponging between their hopes and fears in role-play and real life battles. The songs are at their best when they’re in the fantasy mind’s eye of the players, with the flip of fiction allowing Teris and O’Neill to explore and show off a musical rolodex of genres to fit the outlandish circumstances. There’s a wizard-dictated dance number, a seductive shrubbery romp, and a hobnobbing Goblins ditty led by scene-stealers Cassidy Sledge and Steven Martella that by far outshine the humdrummery of the IRL insecurities songs. Sledge and Martella embody dynamite comedic relief, showing real versatility and malleability with the material that establishes almost immediate visual and aural tropes to be leaned into and raucously enjoyed.
The other characters, aka the main gang we follow along with, don’t ever quite hit an authentic nerve of individuality beyond trope, struggling to let us in beyond surface-level veneers until the second half or much later in the show. There’s the dungeon master Ronee (the exuberant Celia Tedde), secretly pining after best friend Lucas (an earnest Christopher Oram) who’s about to propose to college girlfriend Myra (a lovely Bailey Lee). When Myra breaks up with him before he can propose, citing DnD games taking priority over quality time with her, Lucas enlists the help of his fellow Adventurers to, well, adventure off on tracking her down and presumably change her mind. While this catapults us into compelling action, it’s strange to be following a chump of a protagonist who isn’t established as very likable (yet somehow the object of two girls’ affections? Yikes.), lacking an empathetic hook in his entrance or exposition that would benefit from being fleshed out.
Lucas as protagonist is out of focus as the show instead is structured as a shift from ensemble member to ensemble member, great for spotlighting a true team effort but not super great for audience empathy and deep character development as we race to get to know any of them. Many of the scenes are slow, overwrought, and too pedantic to hold great appeal in their quest for earnestness; director Austin Harleson’s pacing leaves much to be desired as the kids stop-and-start slog from one checkpoint to the next, with so much air between scenes I started to wonder if this was a meta commentary on the relativity of time in DnD.
Through the foggy pacing, an amalgamation of Off-Broadway debuts and veterans bring the ragtag squad to life, infused with infectious, energetic gumption. There’s the steadfast and firecracker player Brigid (Regina Famatigan), nervous Nathan still finding his footing (Spencer Gonzalez), wry wise-cracker Topher ready for more (Regan Teller), and their RA Daphne (Kaylie DeLauri) who is just frankly over it. Each brings dedicated enthusiasm to their IRL and in-world characters, peppering in witticisms and zingers that land with slice-and-dice comedic pacing that capitalizes on knowledge of the game source material without ever gatekeeping.
The over-arching vision for the musical is a close to perfect roll. Costume designer Kayla Specht and lighting designer Bill West-Davis flawlessly paint both sides of the story with exuberant and creative clarity in partnership with scenic designer Sandra Lopez’s stunning archaic arches. The combined result is ample playground space for this cast to run, duck, hide, dance, and generally cavort around for comedic and effective nerdiness and fun.
While leaving room for further development on its quest for a larger commercial audience, Here There Be Dragons is an exciting foray into original pop culture musical infusions, a saccharine love letter to the game beloved by millions.
Photo credit: Bill West-Davis; Photo of Regan Teller, Christopher K. Oram, Celia Tedde, Regina Famatigan, Spencer Gonzalez
Production credits
Here There Be Dragons - A New Musical Quest, inspired by the classic tabletop fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Featuring book and lyrics by Chase O'Neill, music by Theo Teris, orchestrations by Scott Wasserman, and direction by Austin Harleson.
The cast includes Kaylie DeLauri, Regina Famatigan, Spencer Gonzalez, Bailey Lee, Steven Martella, Emily Matthews, Sam Maxwell, Christopher K. Oram, Cassidy Sledge, Celia Tedde, and Regan Teller.
The creative team includes Shayna Isaacs (music director), Kayla Specht (costume designer), Sandra Lopez (scenic designer), Bill West-Davis (lighting designer), and Lauren Carlton (intimacy choreographer).
Running at The Players Theatre (115 MacDougal Street) Thursday, June 16 through Sunday July 17, 2022. Run time is approximately 90 minutes (0 intermissions). For more information visit https://www.terisandoneill.com/heretherebedragons.