Tripod vs. the dragon

[ogre]

Hello Enworld!

I just wanted to pass this along to everyone. Perhaps someone here in Enworld will be lucky enough to be able to catch this show. It's the first comedic opera about D&D, and it's one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Not only are these guys talented writers, performers and professional musicians... they play D&D (thus the inspiration for show).

I know you don't know me from squat, but if you're a gamer, love monty python and funny songs and have at least a twinge of appreciation for art, this show is for you.

I think they we're heading to LA this week. Anyway, it's worth the effort, if you can find a show near you.

Here's where I saw the show last week:
MASS MoCA - Tripod versus The Dragon

Here's the group's website
The Official Tripod Website

 

[Otterscrubber]

Their website is interesting, but not super clear. Sounds like they are in australia though or I'd check it out.

 

[Droogie]

I saw the show at MassMoCA as well. Funny as hell, with flashes of brilliance. The music was fantastic.

 

[ogre]

Sadly, they are from Australia (well, sadly for we who want to see them anyway), so it's a long shot at best. I'm secretly hoping they have mad success and continue the tour throughout the states in the near future.

Hey droogie, I bet you're a trojan like me ;-) and I completely agree with your review. The DM, she is an amazing singer.

 

[Droogie]

Sadly, they are from Australia (well, sadly for we who want to see them anyway), so it's a long shot at best. I'm secretly hoping they have mad success and continue the tour throughout the states in the near future.

Hey droogie, I bet you're a trojan like me ;-) and I completely agree with your review. The DM, she is an amazing singer.

Indeed, I am a fellow Trojan, although that info is a bit outdated- I live in Albany now. She had a fantastic voice, and the shadow puppets were hilariously clever. Hard to believe most of the show was put together in only two weeks!

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Tripod most definitely are Australian. They're performing Tripod vs the Dragon at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in March this year. That works out great for me since Adelaide is my home town.

I figured it would be a funny show to see, but even better to see it with a group of my fellow gamers. So my D&D gaming group is going together to the performance on the 3rd of March.

I'll make sure I post a review up of the show on EN World once I've seen it.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Olaf the Stout]

So I saw the show last night. It was good, but not as great as I thought it could have been. I am not a musical lover so this may bias what I thought of the show a little bit. Having said that, I knew going in what sort of comedy act Tripod are so I expected quite a bit of singing.

The singing was great. Some of their songs are quite funny and all of them have a lot better voices than I thought they did (I've seen them on TV a number of times). They can all definitely sing. Elana Stone, who plays the DM/Dragon had an awesome voice in particular (she was a bit of a cutie too! ).

The jokes they made were funny, with none of them falling flat. Even the crude scenes displayed on the projector were good, and didn't feel like a cheap cop out. Despite being 90 minutes long, they were able to hold my attention for the entire show. There wasn't any point that I felt like things were starting to drag on or anything like that.

The downsides:

There wasn't as many D&D jokes in there as I thought there might be. I had read an interview with them in the local paper where they said the first couple of shows would have more of the "inside" jokes that gamers would get but there really weren't that many of them. Gatesy, who plays the role of a first time gamer makes some jokes about D&D. Scod and Yon comment on how Bards suck (which was quite funny in a self-deprecating way considering that Tripod are basically Bards in real life ). I can't really thing of many other "inside" jokes that D&D players would have gotten though.

There was certainly opportunity for them to have added more D&D jokes. And considering that all 3 of them have played D&D in their lives (and one still does now) I would have thought that some of them were obvious targets. There is one part where Scod, who is playing the Wizard, has the perfect opportunity to cast Magic Missile at "the darkness". I was waiting for a comment along those lines but it never happened. I really thought there would be a THACO joke or an alignment joke or even one of them rolling to see if they were getting drunk.

The other big downside for me was the lack of costumes. Based on the poster for the show, I expected there to be some sort of costumes, even if it was just a cloak for the Wizard, a mace and shield for the Cleric and a sword and breastplate for the Fighter. They would be easy enough to get on and off if needed, whilst helping them look more in character. With no costumes it made the show feel a bit rough and unfinished still.

But I think that's enough about the downsides. Overall I did enjoy the show, despite not being a fan of musicals. The songs were well done, the jokes hit their mark and the story doesn't drag on, despite being 90 minutes long. If you like musical comedy then I would definitely recommend it. Just don't expect it too much in the way of D&D-related jokes.

Overall I would give it a 7 out of 10. If the guys had worn some D&D style costumes during the show I would have bumped that score up to at least an 8, if not an 8 1/2.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

There was certainly opportunity for them to have added more D&D jokes. And considering that all 3 of them have played D&D in their lives (and one still does now) I would have thought that some of them were obvious targets. There is one part where Scod, who is playing the Wizard, has the perfect opportunity to cast Magic Missile at "the darkness". I was waiting for a comment along those lines but it never happened. I really thought there would be a THACO joke or an alignment joke or even one of them rolling to see if they were getting drunk.
Olaf the Stout

Well, since "at the darkness" or "getting drunk" jokes would essentially be stealing from the Dead Alewives, they probably avoid them. I know when I pay to see a professional show, I prefer to hear original material rather than somebody just rehashing someone else's jokes.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Well, since "at the darkness" or "getting drunk" jokes would essentially be stealing from the Dead Alewives, they probably avoid them. I know when I pay to see a professional show, I prefer to hear original material rather than somebody just rehashing someone else's jokes.

You're probably right in that regard. Even still, I think they missed some easy targets for gamer jokes like THACO and alignment.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Droogie]

There wasn't as many D&D jokes in there as I thought there might be. I had read an interview with them in the local paper where they said the first couple of shows would have more of the "inside" jokes that gamers would get but there really weren't that many of them. Gatesy, who plays the role of a first time gamer makes some jokes about D&D. Scod and Yon comment on how Bards suck (which was quite funny in a self-deprecating way considering that Tripod are basically Bards in real life ). I can't really thing of many other "inside" jokes that D&D players would have gotten though.

This didn't really bother me at all. It had the spirit of the game in there, which was enough for me. I went to the show expecting a lame musical version of "The Gamers" but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't; the show turned out to be more sophisticated than that. I got the impression it was a fun show done by gamers, rather than for gamers; a show that a broader audience could enjoy (less crunch, more fluff?).