Back to Night Vale again

[starlady]

I (along with the rest of Bay Area nerddom, I kid you not, I ran into friends before, during, and after the show) went to see the new Night Vale live show, "The Investigators," in Oakland tonight. It was really great! I've seen all the touring shows and "Old Oak Doors" live, starting way back in September of 2013, and I found myself thinking about how they've changed a lot since then. They're just as good as they always were, but they've definitely changed to become their own thing, as the review of the show in The Asbury Park Press pointed out.

The APP also got something very right about Night Vale, namely that we are Night Vale, listeners. It's worth quoting the whole thing, actually:

Night Vale is real, because wherever this community congregates, wherever this show travels, wherever the podcast is heard, Night Vale can be found. The beautifully bizarre is all around us, after all. We simply need to open our eyes, our ears, and our minds to it.

That's a big part of why I keep going back to the live shows, and without giving anything away, that aspect of Night Vale definitely gets taken out for a spin in this show. I may not live in Night Vale, but it sure is a great place to visit.

Comments

[laurashapiro]

We had a great time, but I do think the show wasn't as tight as "The Librarian". Still, it was worth the price of admission to hear Carlos' "acting".

[starlady]

I agree "The Librarian" was tighter, but I don't think the difference was hugely huge. I've seen the two actual live episodes ("Condos" and "Old Oak Doors") and the two shows, and I definitely liked the podcast live shows better overall. But I appreciate them trying to push the format and adapt it to the live theater setting.

[laurashapiro]

Oh, I agree, I really like the way they're bringing the audience to Night Vale and embedding us in the drama. But I found it didn't work for me this time. In The Librarian, I was happy to play the role, but in this one I didn't actually find a person to point at and so forth -- I didn't become one of The Investigators. Paul did, though, and I think he had a better time. Maybe it was just me. (: