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

Recurring guest stars

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. 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.

External links

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