Yahoo Lifestyle Dimension 20’s ‘Gauntlet at the Garden’ Review: Hilarious Madison Square Garden Show Sets a High Bar for Dungeons and Dragons Live Shows
Madison Square Garden was sold-out and packed with screaming fans on Friday night, but it wasn’t for a Grammy-winning artist or New York sports team: It was a group of “intrepid heroes” who have taken over the world of Dungeons and Dragons.
Dimension 20, a group of D&D players who specialize in monster slaying and absurd improv on the streaming service Dropout, took MSG by storm for their first major live show, “Gauntlet at the Garden.” Led by their dungeon master Brennan Lee Mulligan, the Dimension 20 crew, made up of Zac Oyama, Emily Axford, Lou Wilson, Brian Murphy, Ally Beardsley and Siobhan Thompson, revisited their popular NYC-inspired Unsleeping City campaign. However, D20 fans were in for a treat as surprise crossover characters from other games popped into the show after being influenced by random dice rolls from the audience. Once considered a niche, nerdy hobby, Dungeons and Dragons has rocketed to mainstream popularity, with Dimension 20 as one of its fastest-rising groups.
More from Variety
Thousands of fans lined up outside Madison Square Garden — onlookers may have thought it was for a Knicks game or sold-out pop concert if it weren’t for the many cosplayers dressed up as their favorite D20 characters. Once inside, the “Gauntlet at the Garden” was far from a normal D20 show. The stars sat in the center of the floor, illuminated by blue lights that would turn a glaring red during dangerous combat encounters. Blasts of fire or a shower of sparklers would erupt around them during climactic moments, and giant TV screens showed off character animations when a character was introduced.
As for the actual show, the D20 crew reprised their Unsleeping City characters from Season 1. Set in New York City with a magical sixth borough, the Unsleeping City party had to battle monsters that crossed over from other D20 campaigns. Oyama played firefighter Ricky Matsui, Wilson was elderly Harlem nurse Kingston Brown, Axford was Staten Island native Sofia Bicicleta, Thompson played Broadway star Misty Moore, Beardsley was drug dealer Pete “the Plug” Conlan and Murphy was the talking sewer rat Kugrash.
Due to some multiverse-esque hijinks, three otherworldly creatures invaded New York City in “Gauntlet at the Garden,” including the dragon principal Kalvaxus from “Fantasy High,” the sugar-plum fairy from “Crown of Candy” and the robotic Junkmother from “Starstruck Odyssey.” After introducing their characters and learning about their mission from the Gramercy Occult Society, the D20 heroes turned the reins to the audience: Using their phones, fans rolled a virtual, 20-sided die to bring an ally or enemy into the show. After two dismal rolls that introduced the divorced elf Gilear Faeth from “Fantasy High” and the sugary villain Calroy Cruller from “Crown of Candy,” Mulligan gave the audience advantage (a D&D mechanic that lets you roll two dice and use the higher number) which resulted in a natural 20 (the highest roll on a 20-sided die). That brought in two characters: Plug Strutt, an elderly salesman from “Starstruck Odyssey,” and Ayda Aguefort, a half-phoenix wizard from “Fantasy High.”
Alternating between improvisational scenes and action-packed combat, the Unsleeping City gang defeated the monsters one by one in various ways. They fought the sugar-plum fairy at a performance of “The Nutcracker” at Lincoln Center, then charmed their way past the Junkmother, who took up residence at Freshkills Park in Staten Island. During particularly crucial moments, Mulligan had the cast members toss their dice in the Box of Doom, an imposing, skull-shaped box that had its own camera ready to give a victorious or disastrous roll a close-up. The most dramatic die roll came during the final showdown with Kalvaxus, when Thompson attempted to cast a spell on the dragon that caused him to dance uncontrollably and become extra vulnerable to attacks. Mulligan brought out a comically large, 20-sided die to roll on the floor — and after an anticlimactic miss that the audience voted to be re-rolled — the heroes were triumphant and stunned the dancing dragon. After a few more attacks and spells, the adventurers sent the final villain back to his home dimension and saved New York City.
Thanks to a few lucky die rolls, the Dimension 20 crew strutted out of Madison Square Garden as heroes — though their devoted fans would’ve surely loved them the same even if they had been defeated. With three more stadium shows coming this year, it’s clear that Dimension 20 has rolled a nat 20 and set the bar high for the Dungeons and Dragons live experience.
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
