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 that debuted in March 2015.[2] The podcast is set in the fictional world of Foon, a magical realm in which Niekamp found himself trapped after accidentally passing through a dimensional rift in Chicago. Niekamp and his co-hosts — Usidore the wizard (Matt Young) and Chunt the shapeshifter (Adal Rifai) — record improvised interviews and discussions with various magical guests who pass through the eponymous magic tavern.

New episodes of the podcast are released each Monday on iTunes and the podcast's official website.[3] Niekamp, Young, Rifai, and many of their guests are all regulars of the improv comedy community of the Chicago area. The podcast has generated a strong fanbase and received generally positive reviews. iTunes named it one of the best podcasts of 2015; likewise, 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, a Chicago man who fell into a trans-dimensional portal behind a Burger King restaurant 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 had his podcasting equipment along with him and, picking up a weak Wi-Fi signal from the Burger King through the closed portal, he decided to start a podcast as a way to teach Earth residents 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 almost the entirety of the podcast.[4][5][8]

The podcast is recorded in a tavern called The Vermillion Minotaur, located in a town called Hogsface at the base of the McShingleshane Forest.[5][2] Each week, Arnie, Usidore, and Chunt interview a guest star, usually a magical creature from Foon, 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 e-mail messages to Arnie (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] Simultaneously, he said he believed 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] Niekamp, Young, and Rifai are improv comedians from the Chicago area who had performed together for more than a decade prior to the start of Hello From the Magic Tavern.[4][2][9] They worked together in the weekly satire show Whirled News Tonight at the iO Theater, in which they would improvise scenes based off of newspaper clippings.[1] 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] Nearly all of the guest stars interviewed on the podcast each week are also improv comedians from Chicago.[1][2]

Cast

Regular cast

Recurring guest stars

Reception

Hello from the Magic Tavern has generated a strong fanbase, particularly through Internet websites like Reddit and Tumblr.[2] It 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". (Temkin has made a cameo appearance on the podcast as an employee of the Burger King drive-thru.) 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]

The podcast’s ambient noise convincingly emulates a medieval tavern. The show's effect is deemed very satisfying.[17]

References

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "This Podcast Will Take You On An Imaginary Journey". BuzzFeed. June 30, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  6. 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.
  7. ↑ Kubinski, Matt (January 21, 2016). "We Discuss Portal Movies with Hello From The Magic Tavern". ChicagoNow. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  8. 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.
  9. 1 2 Doctorow, Cory (November 15, 2015). "Hello From the Magic Tavern: hilarious, addictive improv podcast". Boing Boing. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ "An Interview With Adal Rifai From Whirled News Tonight". Hell Yes Fest. October 30, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  11. ↑ Cannon, Ben (May 18, 2015). "The ladies of Wild Horses rile up Improv4Humans". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  12. ↑ "49 – Princess Phillipa". Hello From the Magic Tavern (official). February 15, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  13. ↑ Wright, Megh (July 9, 2015). "This Week in Comedy Podcasts: The Debut of 'Jesse vs Cancer'". SplitSider. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Podcast Review: Hello From The Magic Tavern". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  15. ↑ "14 – Music of Foon". Hello From the Magic Tavern (official). June 9, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  16. ↑ "3 – Flower". Hello From the Magic Tavern (official). March 23, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hershon, Marc (July 10, 2015). "Podcast Review: Hello From The Magic Tavern". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2015. There are a number of podcasts that feature role playing games as they're being played, such as Earwolf's Nerd Poker, Penny Arcade, and Drunks & Dragons. Hello From The Magic Tavern touches on that genre, but the best way to describe the show is that it features characters from a D&D adventure... except they're just hanging out. In a bar. Doing a podcast.

External links

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