We Saved the World: Thoughts after watching The Twenty-Sided Tavern

I admit it. I like wizards. I like dragons. I long for adventure. I am, perhaps, fantasy-curious. BUT I’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons. This makes me adjacent to the ideal audience for Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern playing January 20 – February first in the Wyly Theatre. Fortunately, the show is so good, the brand of fun so universal, that you can be a D&D pro or a ‘noob’ and have the time of your life. I loved it.

There are nights at the theater where you admire the craft, respect the talent, and politely applaud. And then there are nights where you lean forward in your seat, forget where you are, and realize that you are emotionally invested in the fate of a fictional narcoleptic wizard you helped create with your phone. The Twenty-Sided Tavern is very much the second kind of night. Set inside a warmly lit fantasy/medieval tavern, I found myself thinking, “Yes. I could absolutely have a drink here and accidentally join a quest to save the world.”

After soaking in the ambiance of the tavern preshow, I was surprised to discover that the entire back wall doubles as an immersive projection screen and storytelling engine. As the Dungeon Master guides us through the world of Faerûn (the mythical world of D&D), the visuals shift with the narrative in real time. The tavern becomes city streets. City streets slip into dark alleys. A fireball erupts, and the stage floods with flame at the exact moment the spell is cast. It’s a piece of deeply satisfying stagecraft.

The Dungeon Master anchors the evening, fluidly shifting between narrator and an entire world of NPCs (Non-Player Characters). He’s joined by a Rules Keeper who keeps the game moving, controls the tech, and steals laughs with (on my night) impeccable comedic timing. Together, they make the intimidating mechanics of Dungeons & Dragons feel fully theatrical rather than technical.

Three player characters, expert improvisers and obvious D&D devotees, are shaped by audience choices and then set loose to save the world. They work hard to entertain and just as hard to tell an awesome story and… gulp… survive. Characters can die. Quests can fail. The stakes are truly high when the next roll of the dice could mean your last. The entire audience at the performance I attended gasped when a possessed wizard struck one of our heroes, a lovable “Chaos Gremlin” and left her with ONE hit point! She was near death and every single person in the theater was FULLY INVESTED in her well-being. Truly astonishing storytelling.

As an audience member, participation is SO simple: scan a QR code, vote, solve puzzles, influence the story. No apps, no friction, just play. It was clever and seamless. Occasionally they’ll ask for individual volunteers to help them on stage. Raise your hand. Trust me.

Each performance is unique. On the night I attended, an ancient demon threatened to break free from its hellish prison and destroy Faerûn. Through smart choices, bad dice rolls, good dice rolls, and collective will, our heroes narrowly prevailed. Whew! I laughed a lot. I felt oddly responsible for some of the poorer choices, and yes, I helped save the world. A little.

The Twenty-Sided Tavern isn’t a gimmick. It’s live theater that understands games, fandom, and storytelling can coexist beautifully. It doesn’t ask you to suspend disbelief, it hands you some dice and lets you live it.  ~ Matt Lyle, Chaotic Good Bard

June 20 – February 1, 2026 | Wyly Theatre | GET TICKETS HERE