TDF Stages

How high-tech audience participation shapes the anything-can-happen adventure The Twenty-Sided Tavern

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Be sure your smartphone is fully charged when you attend Dungeons and Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern, the new interactive show based on the classic fantasy role-playing game D&D. While most productions ask you to turn off your mobile devices, at the outset of The Twenty-Sided Taven, cast member and co-creator Sarah Davis Reynolds encourages audiences to take photos and videos throughout the quest, "because the real treasure is the social media followers we make along the way!"

But there's more at stake than likes and follows. Smartphones are how theatregoers help shape the narrative of each performance via Gamiotics software.

Currently running at Stage 42, The Twenty-Sided Tavern is one of many interactive shows playing beyond Broadway. But it's the only one that uses a high-tech element to ensure the production is different and engaging every single night.

A comical, scavenger hunt-style quest, the show is overseen by a Dungeon Master (essentially an informative emcee) and acted out by a cast of crack improvisors. While there are a few instances of shouting out suggestions, audiences mostly participate using Gamiotics, which was developed by the show's co-creator, David Carpenter, to "gamify the live entertainment experience." The audience gets to choose the characters, solve riddles and determine the outcome of different actions, so every performance is unique.

Longtime colleagues, Reynolds and Carpenter have strong backgrounds in gaming and theatre. An avid Atari gamer in his youth, Carpenter is a theatre producer whose credits include the long-running Harry Potter parody Puffs, or: Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic & Magic. "Puffs really taught me a lot about the enormous power and value of fandoms in entertainment," he says. Meanwhile, Reynolds was a general manager on Broadway for many years who "accidentally fell into game design."

It wasn't until the pandemic that they found a way to combine their passions. As theatre went on an extended hiatus, Carpenter called Reynolds and suggested they create an interactive show on Zoom. Along with co-creator DAGL (the show's original Dungeon Master), they recognized the theatrical possibilities inherent in the world of D&D, especially when combined with Carpenter's Gamiotics. During the shutdown, the trio repeatedly tested The Twenty-Sided Tavern, working out the technological and storytelling challenges of creating the online show.

When theatres reopened, they revised The Twenty-Sided Tavern for an in-person audience, mounting it at Fringe festivals, including Edinburgh, then playing an extended run in Chicago before bringing it to NYC.

While there are inside jokes for D&D aficionados, neophytes won't get lost. (If you're concerned, a helpful FAQ on the website goes over all the basics). It's not an actual D&D campaign—those often go on for months. As Carpenter explains, the show "makes some allowances for things that aren't necessarily part of the D&D game in order to tell a story in two and a half hours." The communal experience means everyone in the theatre feels invested and has fun. "D&D is about telling stories together," Reynolds says, adding that the audience is key to moving the narrative forward.

"One of the most crucial things in developing interactive entertainment is recognizing that the audience voice is the most important one," Reynolds says. "That is the voice you are designing for." That's why, as a performer in the show, she listens so intently to theatregoers' responses. "You have to allow yourself to be surprised and receptive to whatever they're telling you."

Reynolds and Carpenter are particularly gratified that so many families are attending, and that the tweens sometimes help their older relatives navigate Gamiotics, which runs on a browser, no app download needed. "These kids have never lived in the world without a phone," Carpenter notes. "It's so easy for them to dive into the experience."

The Twenty-Sided Tavern recently extended through April 2025 and is poised to launch a national tour. To entice audiences to return, Carpenter and Reynolds are planning to introduce new quests and characters. "The way that the show is technically and creatively constructed, it's built on a template design that allows us this possibility," Carpenter says

After 50 years of gameplay, D&D is celebrating its golden anniversary in the spotlight. In addition to The Twenty-Sided Tavern, there are other, smaller, no-tech D&D-themed shows around town along with rumors that last year's well-reviewed (though underattended) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves may get a sequel. As hardcore D&D adventurers, Reynolds and Carpenter are not surprised by its enduring popularity, and they're thrilled to be sharing their love of the property with their fellow fans.

"Post-pandemic, people are very judicious about the media they choose to consume," says Reynolds. "If people are gonna spend their time and money on something, they want it to be something they have a say in, an experience that they will remember." That's exactly what The Twenty-Sided Tavern is serving.

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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Dungeons & Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern. Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.

Dungeons and Dragons The Twenty-Sided Tavern is also frequently available at our TKTS Discount Booths.