My overall impression
I’ve seen Tales of the Extraordinary before, so I know what they’re capable of. This is an incredibly talented group that has developed an awesome show and podcast with a strong, loyal following. Therefore, I came in with high expectations. When it came to this particular performance though, I thought the show was solid, but it clearly felt under-rehearsed. Now granted, all of the performers work on-book, since it’s a radio drama, but it seemed to me like some of them hadn’t even seen the script before the show began and were reading it completely cold. This resulted in a lot of awkward line-readings, which the cast would then go back to do a second (or in some cases third) take on when they realized that the intention of their initial delivery was wrong, disrupting the momentum of the show and giving this performance an unfortunate amateurish feel – which is a shame considering that this was the first experience many in the audience have ever had with the show. Now, I realize that they’re recording this episode for a podcast, but I personally felt a little disrespected as a live audience member that the cast wasn’t better prepared.
That being said, the script was engaging, the audience interactivity fun, and the voice talent of the group exceptional across the board. Furthermore, the associated band, Windows to Sky, absolutely blew my mind with their rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” after the show. That by itself was worth the price of admission alone.
