Our First Trip To The Theater: Welcome To Night Vale's Live Show- All Hail!
"A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep." Welcome To Night Vale- Episode 1: Pilot
As a nice break from saving for our down payment and a much needed mini-vacation, @quantumanomaly and I went to St. Louis back in April. I documented some of this with my tour through the botanical gardens we visited, but I didn’t mention at all the actual reason we went to St. Louis. Welcome To Night Vale, one of our most beloved podcasts was holding a live showing of their “All-Hail” episode at The Sheldon Concert Hall. Neither of us had been to a theater showing of a podcast, so we decided it was time to support our favorite community from the small desert town. For those that are not familiar with the show, it follows an old-timey radio style with hints of the Lovecraftian genre. It was created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, and it is a great mix of weird, funny, heartwarming, with a dollop of deranged.
Cecil Baldwin plays the host on the podcast and at the live show. Aside from being an amazing voice actor, he is in general just a fascinating human-being all around. Live music was provided by Disparition and Erin McKeown. Disparition is often featured on the podcasts, but I had not heard Erin McKeown before this show and I fell in love with her quirky lyrics, catchy hymns, and ability to create music and storytelling that really involves the audience as well. Do yourself a favor and give her a listen. I seriously hate trying to decide which song to include in this post because they were all so amazing, but I am going to put the one that really captured me the most that night and it even includes a little intro from McKeown herself on how she writes her songs.
Coming down from the wonderful opening music, the crowd was primed and ready for the show. Some etiquette was hilariously explained by Meg Bashwiner, the voice of Deb and The Proverb Lady. Cecil delivered an enchanting performance alongside Desiree Burch, Symphony Sanders, and Joseph Fink. We jumped from fright, laughed until we cried, held hands with strangers, and participated in paranormal activities. By the end, the entire audience was on our feet, not wanting to leave this scared place the writers and actors had created for us for the evening. We could not have asked anything more for our first theater experience and look forward to seeing them again in the future. If you haven’t ventured into this wonderful world, you are truly missing out.
Visit Welcome To Night Vale Here
Visit Erin McKeown's Website Here
In the meantime: Night Vale City Council Reminds You-
If You See Something, Say Nothing, and Drink To Forget.
Stay awesome,
@tltran
Gotta love the energy thats felt at the theatre!
I havent been to one for quite some time now, but I remember the thrill, the excitement.
Thanks for the great read! :D
Lucky! They came to Oakland recently and I couldn't take the time off nor had the money to go. :( I still listen religiously though. Thanks for posting this. Nice to see another fan on here. All Hail the Glow Cloud!
Do you listen to any other Nightvale Presents shows? They're all pretty rad. Within the Wires is one of my favorites. Alice Isn't Dead was gripping, but a bit anxiety-inducing and depressing at times. The Welcome to Nightvale book was a good read too.