My overall impression
You probably already know know that you should see this. So short and sweet.
I have almost zero exposure to The Hunger Games. I don’t think this hurt me at all.
I am a child of the late 80s+ video game era. This definitely heightened my enjoyment.
The take away of the above is that I LOVED the concept, I was in from the pressing of start.
The performances were quite good. In particular I enjoyed the Sheik/Zelda dynamic. But where this piece really shines (aside from its excellent fight choreography) is audience engagement. The show handled very well the balance between enough audience involvement for it to feel meaningful and impactful, without letting it bog down the experience. I genuinely want to know the roads not taken, and I wonder if there isn’t room here for a web series, expanding the show (sort of an ERB without the rap).
It’s worth an extra comment that these performers committed to their roles long before the show formally began. When an experience is trying for immersion, it needs to begin before the audience expects it. When I arrived I was running a hair late and looking for a friend of mine that I was meeting there. Pikachu handing me a pair of bracelets to wear and giving me vital instructions™ reset me and began preparing me for the show to come. The dance off between Master Chief and Princess Peach was icing on the preshow cake.
