Hello from the Magic Tavern
| Hello from the Magic Tavern | |
|---|---|
 Hello from the Magic Tavern logo | |
| Presentation | |
| Genre | Improvisational comedy |
| Language | English |
| Updates | Weekly (Mondays) |
| Length | 30 minutes (approximate) |
| Production | |
| Production | Arnie Niekamp, Evan Jacover, Ryan DiGiorgi |
| Publication | |
| Debut | March 9, 2015 |
| Cited as | One of iTunes' Best Podcasts of 2015[1] |
| Website | hellofromthemagictavern.com |
Hello from the Magic Tavern is an improvised comedy podcast hosted and produced by Arnie Niekamp. The podcast is set in the fictional world of Foon, a magical realm where a fictionalized version of Niekamp is trapped after falling through a dimensional rift in Chicago. Niekamp and his co-hosts—a wizard named Usidore the Blue (Matt Young), and a shapeshifter, Chunt (Adal Rifai)—interview various magical creatures at the epononymous tavern. The first episode was released in March 2015.[2] New episodes are released every Monday.[3]
Niekamp, Young, Rifai, and many of their guests are regulars of the Chicago improv comedy community. The podcast has generated a strong fanbase and received generally positive reviews. iTunes has named it as one of the Best Podcasts of 2015 and The Guardian ranked it one of the "10 best new podcasts of 2015 (that aren't Serial)".
Concept
Hello from the Magic Tavern is hosted by a fictionalized version of Arnie Niekamp, who fell into a trans-dimensional portal behind a Burger King restaurant in Chicago and landed in Foon,[1][4][5] a magical land in the style of Narnia or Middle-Earth.[3][6][7] Although unable to return to Earth, Arnie starts a podcast using equipment that he happened to have with him and a weak Wi-Fi signal from the Burger King through the portal to teach people of Earth about Foon. He is joined each week by co-hosts Usidore the Blue (Matt Young), a wizard, and Chunt (Adal Rifai), a shapeshifter who is in the form of a badger for most of the podcast.[4][5][8]
The podcast is recorded in The Vermillion Minotaur, a tavern located in a town called Hogsface near the McShingleshane Forest.[5][2] Each week, Arnie, Usidore, and Chunt interview magical creatures to introduce the listener to new aspects of the world of Foon.[5][9]
Real-life fans and listeners of the podcast can interact with the characters by sending email messages to Arnie and Chunt (some of which are read on the show) and through in-character Twitter accounts set up for Usidore and Chunt.[2]
Production
The podcast was conceived by Arnie Niekamp, who said he enjoyed podcasts that felt like a "laid-back chat show" and relished the idea of introducing a "really weird story".[2] He said that a podcast had to "do something sort of high-concept or a little more niche" to distinguish itself and be successful.[2] Niekamp pitched the idea of the podcast to Matt Young and Adal Rifai, who ultimately became his co-hosts.[2] The trio recorded a pair of "test episodes" to ensure the concept worked, and they eventually became the first two episodes of the actual podcast.[2]
Niekamp, Young, and Rifai are improv comedians from the Chicago area who have performed together for more than a decade prior to Hello From the Magic Tavern.[4][2][9] They worked together on the weekly satire show Whirled News Tonight at the iO Theater, in which they would improvise scenes based on newspaper clippings.[1] Nearly all of the guest stars interviewed on the podcast each week are also improv comedians from Chicago.[1][2]
Cast
Regular cast
- Arnie Niekamp as a fictionalized version of himself. Arnie is the host of the podcast. He has a wife named Sarah and a newborn daughter, although they have not had contact since he first became stranded in Foon.[5] The character is an audience surrogate who leads the podcast's interviews and guides listeners through the magical land of Foon, and also often serves as the straight man to Usidore and Chunt. The real Niekamp had previously hosted other comedic podcasts prior to Hello From the Magic Tavern,[2] and is a writer for the video games You Don't Know Jack and Fibbage, both by Jackbox Games.[1]
- Adal Rifai as Chunt, a shapeshifter who takes the form of a badger.[3] Rifai moved to Chicago to pursue acting and received a scholarship to The Second City improvisational comedy school. His classmates there encouraged him to enroll in classes at the iO Theater. After graduating there, he was placed on a few improv teams, and eventually began performing at the Whirled News Tonight.[10]
- Matt Young as Usidore the Blue,[6] a loud and boisterous wizard who constantly speaks of his quest to defeat an off-screen villain named "the Dark Lord".[4] In each episode, he introduces himself by his extremely-long full name: "I am Usidore! Wizard of the 12th Realm of Ephysiyies, Master of Light and Shadow, Manipulator of Magical Delights, Devourer of Chaos, Champion of the Great Halls of Terr’akkas. The elves know me as Fi’ang Yalok. The dwarves know me as Zoenen Hoogstandjes. And I am also known in the Northeast as Gaismunēnas Meistar."[1] Young also appears in the comedic podcast Improvised Star Trek.[1]
Recurring guest stars
- Tim Sniffen as the Mysterious Man, an unidentified announcer who records introductions and outros for each episode of the podcast, explaining to listeners that the podcast is entirely fictional. Arnie, Chunt, and Usidore have no knowledge of the Man or his messages.[3][11]
- Nick Baer as Otok Barleyfoot,[12] the owner of The Vermillion Minotaur, who allows Arnie, Usidore, and Chunt to record their podcast in his establishment and is a sponsor of the podcast.[5][13]
- Martin Wilson as Blemish, a creepy half-dwarf employee of The Vermillion Minotaur.[14]
- Charlie McCrackin as Spintax the Green, a wizard whom Usidore considers a rival.[1]
- Nick Gage and Meredith Stepien as Glenn Miller and Spants, two traveling bards who travel throughout Foon performing songs.[15]
- Sean Kelley as Jak Vorpal, the greatest swordsman in Foon. Kelley appears with Young in the podcast Improvised Star Trek.[1]
- Brooke Breit as Flower, a foul-mouthed talking flower.[16]
- Tom Gottlieb as Bungaree Chubbins, the owner of Chubbins Chamber Pots and a sponsor of the podcast.
- Kate James as Tricia, one of a series of clones that intern in the Mysterious Man's space station.
- Ryan DiGiorgi as Craig, a vending machine technician who finds himself stuck and now working in the Mysterious Man's space station.
Reception
Hello from the Magic Tavern has generated a fanbase, particularly through social media platforms like Reddit and Tumblr.[2] The show has received generally positive reviews, and was named one of iTunes' best podcasts of 2015.[1] The Guardian also ranked it one of the "10 best new podcasts of 2015 (that aren't Serial)". Guardian writer Melissa Locker called the show "unabashedly goofy" and "incredibly entertaining and binge-worthy", particularly praising the comedic chemistry of Niekamp, Young, and Rifai.[4] The A.V. Club also ranked it among the best podcasts of 2015, and declared the Vermillion Minotaur the "best fictional place we want to go to".[8] Writer Ben Cannon called the podcast Hello From the Magic Tavern "comic podcasting's most continually rewarding achievement", and praised it for its worldbuilding abetted by consistent callbacks to jokes and references from past episodes. He added, "There is simply no other podcast recording today which contains as vast and vivid a collection of fantastic oddities as Hello From The Magic Tavern."[8]
Max Temkin, co-creator of the card game Cards Against Humanity, has been a strong proponent of the show, calling it in a blog entry "probably my favorite comedy thing happening right now". He said the show is effective because of the "special comedy relationship" of Niekamp, Young, and Rifai, of whom he said, "their instincts are incredible, and they have the kind of rapport that only comes from a decade of working together".[1] Steve Guntli of The Northern Light praised the show's consistency and world-building, which he said makes Foon "feel like a real and lived-in place". He also praised the voice acting, particularly the performance of Matt Young, who he said plays Usidore to "pompous perfection".[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Temkin, Max (November 8, 2015). "Hello from the Magic Tavern". Maxistentialism. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Schroeder, Audra (November 23, 2015). "Live from the 'Magic Tavern,' it's your new favorite podcast". The Daily Dot. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Guntli, Steve (November 18, 2015). "The Indoor Report: Three podcasts you should be listening to". The Northern Light. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Locker, Melissa (December 11, 2015). "The 10 best new podcasts of 2015 (that aren't Serial!)". The Guardian. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "This Podcast Will Take You On An Imaginary Journey". BuzzFeed. June 30, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- 1 2 Cannon, Ben (April 13, 2015). "Rich Sommer debuts board game podcast, Tom Scharpling revisits old format". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ↑ Kubinski, Matt (January 21, 2016). "We Discuss Portal Movies with Hello From The Magic Tavern". ChicagoNow. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Cannon, Ben (December 7, 2015). "Podmass' 2015 superlatives, including awards for Obama and Charles Manson". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- 1 2 Doctorow, Cory (November 15, 2015). "Hello From the Magic Tavern: hilarious, addictive improv podcast". Boing Boing. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
- ↑ "An Interview With Adal Rifai From Whirled News Tonight". Hell Yes Fest. October 30, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ↑ Cannon, Ben (May 18, 2015). "The ladies of Wild Horses rile up Improv4Humans". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ↑ "49 – Princess Phillipa". Hello From the Magic Tavern (official). February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ↑ Wright, Megh (July 9, 2015). "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: The Debut of 'Jesse vs Cancer'". SplitSider. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ↑ "Podcast Review: Hello From The Magic Tavern". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
- ↑ "14 – Music of Foon". Hello From the Magic Tavern (official). June 9, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ↑ "3 – Flower". Hello From the Magic Tavern (official). March 23, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
External links
- Official website
- Official Twitter account
- Hello from the Magic Tavern on iTunes
- Official Twitter accounts written in the voices of podcast characters