For almost ten years, the cast of the famed actual play Dungeons & Dragons show, Critical Role, has beamed countless hours of entertainment weekly into homes worldwide, demonstrating for the world the power of acting, friendship, and the infectious allure of the famed tabletop D&D game. Led by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer, cast members Marisha Ray, Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Liam O’Brien, Sam Riegel, and Travis Willingham went from reluctant live streamers to a no-joke cottage industry complete with TV show adaptations, comic books, merchandise and their whole own subscription service all while rolling dice and emoting verbally.
In 2019 as their ascendancy started to explode, they began to expand into successful live shows, and then like most everything else on planet Earth, that all came to a halt temporarily behind the quarantines and lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the public’s reluctance to attend live events waned and government restrictions on unmasked attendance were stripped away, the troupe began scheduling live events again. Last year, they sold out Wembley Arena in London reportedly with attendance somewhere north of 12,000 avid “Critters” (the playful name given to their diehard fans). It was last Saturday that we finally had the pleasure of seeing the group perform live after years of enjoying their content.
NOTE – SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ANYONE WHO HAS NOT YET WATCHED EPISODE 98 OF CRITICAL ROLE. CLICK AWAY IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO HAVE SOME PLOT ELEMENTS SPOILED.
What we witnessed this past weekend has just now aired live via Critical Role’s usual Twitch channel. A plot summary of nearly four hours of content would be an overwrought exercise, especially since most will want to sit through the actors’ improvisations with fresh eyes. But there are a few observations worth pointing out in reflection after having had the experience. The crowd on hand—though not a full sell-out of Los Angeles’ famed Greek Theatre—was elated to be present and ferociously loud. Just like any live album from your favorite band, it’s really hard to capture the roar of the audience successfully. And this evening’s video on demand while presenting those moments, lacks the roar and rush that comes from the ravenous critters. At one point Bailey’s Imogen quipped in response to a question of whether she was single meekly stating, “I’m not sure,” hinting to recent storyline uncertainty between her character and her partner Ray’s half-alive Laudna. The crowd’s agape “Ooh” could be felt palpably in the air.
Sam Riegel had made a powerful choice in recent months having his character Fresh Cut Grass (or F.C.G. for short) sacrifice himself via an internal self-destruct bomb to save the entire party from being murdered by villain Otohan Thull. To some, he may be the group’s class clown, but time and again despite his content efforts to push boundaries and spark laughter, he reveals himself to be one of the team’s most popular performers and most skilled actors. His absence recently had become akin to when Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye was absent from Avengers: Infinity War, never before had fans called out more frequently, “Where’s Sam?” And as such, when he returned as a special surprise, decked out in a wig and black sequined jacket to reveal his new character Braius Doomseed, the audience’s screams were ecstatic glee. This was the stuff of adulation earned from charisma exhibited in the past, as his every quip landed like the best joke of a master standup comedian. Later, his use of an unexpected character ability of his minotaur paladin/bard, allowing a saving throw to be changed to a different saving throw, literally altering the number rolled by 2, created one of the most triumphant cheers of the night.
In shows the group did in the past, announcements were usually made right at the beginning to ask the audience to be respectful and not call out during the performance in order to not hurt anyone’s experience. No such announcement was made here at the Greek, and in our seat, someone directly next to us, spent the entire introduction asking people who each character was and loudly Googling plot points in wild confusion. Thankfully, the lack of policing did not prove problematic and all present somehow snapped into quiet awe as the gameplay and acting commenced. What’s really wild, is how quickly—maybe just north of thirty minutes in—the tapestry of the live performance experience seemed to melt away. It was as cozy as watching the weekly episodes at home on your own couch, riveted by each passing development. You know, only with massively overpriced concert food and beer as is standard with all live events nowadays.
Recent addition (and re-introduction) Robbie Daymond as Dorian Storm added his own special brand of mounting enthusiasm, fitting in well alongside the longtime standard players. Willingham’s sometimes werewolf, sometimes master woodworker, Chetney Pock O’Pea, convincingly was delivered with a touch of fear for the impossible circumstances, the party chasing the story’s unequivocal big bad guy ancient wizard Ludinus Da’leth in the hellish frozen landscape of the crashed, abandoned civilization of Aeor all while one-by-one having their minds and greatest fears invaded by an even older grand demon called Dominox. Four hours almost did not feel like enough time for how much ground was being covered, but somehow the investigation of their surroundings, the introduction of Sam’s new character, a massive fight with a demon, and a confrontation with their main foe Ludinus all fit within the time, and still with enough time for a surprise finale from Dimension 20 / Exandria Unlimited: Calamity Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan.
Making something this abstract in a “theatre of the mind”-way this entertaining is no easy feat. Uniting people joyously behind the communal performance is a thing to witness. If the average frustrations of overpriced parking and food were not a reality in the arena of live entertainment, it would be hard to not want to pay to experience something like this live each and every week, never mind just in comfort at home on the regular live stream.