This past weekend, my wife and I went to see the Thrilling Adventure Hour/Welcome to Night Vale crossover show at the Moore. I've been listening to the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast for years, but I had missed Welcome to Night Vale until hearing about the crossover. My wife hadn't heard either podcast and came in with completely fresh eyes. And in order to not bury the lead, we both loved the show. The TAH portions of the show were excellent as I'd hoped. "Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars" is my favorite of the serials (winning against "Beyond Belief" and "Captain Laserbeam" by barely a nose), and I was thrilled to finally be able to see the actors on stage doing their thing. The Workjuice Players never fail to amaze me when I'm listening to the podcast, and seeing the live show just drove home how good they all are. Marc Evan Jackson really sells Sparks on stage, and Mark Gagliardi was equally brilliant as Croach. This show also included Annie Savage, Hal Lublin, John DiMaggio, Craig Cackowski, Molly Quinn, and Alan Tudyk, all of whom were as entertaining and as talented as I could've hoped, Having not heard Night Vale before, I wasn't sure what to expect from their side of the show. I was blown away by how funny and clever it was and regret not having heard it sooner. Cecil Baldwin's delivery was impeccable, lending that much more punch to the twisted humor in the script. Through the whole Night Vale middle stretch of the show, I found myself doubled over laughing almost non-stop and looking forward to more. During the show, there was also a musical interlude by guest star John Roderick of The Long Winters. That was great to see as I'd not seen him before; I'd only heard him on his various collaborations with people like John Hodgman and Jonathan Coulton. The show was enjoyable enough that my wife immediately subscribed to both podcasts (and I to Night Vale) during the intermission; I can't wait to catch up on Night Vale and see what I've missed. The only possible complaint I could have is that I wish I could've seen some of my other favorite serials on stage, but really, that's not a fair complaint. After all, what I'm really saying is just, "You know what would've made that show better? More show!" I couldn't have been happier with both the available Workjuice Players and the guest stars who participated in the show. Night Vale is now on my radar, and I'm excited to delve into that world as well. I'm definitely looking forward to the possibility of seeing any future live performances from either or both of these groups; whenever they're in the Seattle area, I'll be sure to be there. |
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