N Klaus, A Dark and Intense Christmas

Synopsis

This year, Christmas came too fast. We had spent so much time on normal life that we had not seen Santa, Krampus, or lights or anything. But we had seen one ad that gave us hope. It was about a show at our favorite local theater, The Majestic Repertory Theater. It was during what they called the “between times”, meaning between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This show was an immersive experience called N. Klaus. The ad gave hints of a dark journey, and a defeat of a Christmas monster. We were intrigued.

On the day of the show, we got an email. It carried a set of mysterious instructions. They said to go to the door of N Klaus’ secret warehouse. This door was described as being in an alley behind the theater. There would be a stocking hanging on the door. We would meet the rest of our 4-person party and, at exactly the start time of the show, knock three times on the door. Then we would say the secret passcode and be let in. How exciting!

It was a good thing I had read the email. The other guests obviously had no idea what I was talking about with the knocking and the passcode. But I would bet the actors were prepared for that to happen. Good immersive actors have to be prepared for anything the guests could do.

Once we entered the door, we were in for a surprise. The theater had been transformed into a warehouse of strange creatures and artifacts. There was a table in the middle, and we were greeted by N Klaus and his apprentice. Drinks were poured, the stories were told, and the show began.

I don’t know if the show will be back next year, but just in case it is, I won’t tell you too much more. I would definitely recommend giving this show a try, and I don’t want to spoil it for you. But I will tell you the ups and downs, and hope it helps you decide if you’ll visit it in the between times this year!

The Good

One of the best parts of this show was the set. It was only a small room in the back of the theater, but they managed to use the lighting to change it with each significant part of the story. Even the props were painted so the light would hit them at the appropriate times and accent the important bits. A shadow screen was used to show (but not show) the monster. I’ve always liked the theory that the monster you can’t see is actually scarier than the one that you can. It lets the imagination put in all of the scary details, and everyone knows what is scary to them. That is one of the reasons I like the original better than the new one. But I digress.

The actors were amazing. There were only two of them, N Klaus and the apprentice. Klaus did most of the talking, with the apprentice doing a few creepy echoes. But that does not discount the apprentice part. While the guests are focused on the main actor, the apprentice is doing small things to lend to the atmosphere. In fact, most of his character is subtle physical acting.

The actors in an immersive experience have to do more than just recite a script. They have to read the guests, drawing them into the show based on their personalities. I loved how these actors did this. They had to assign certain parts to the guests for a “ritual,” and they seemed to pick just the right people for the parts they assigned. I may be a little biased, because I was super honored that they let me read the spell. But that may have to do with the fact that I was probably the most talkative during the beginning of the show. The Dragon was the second most, and the other couple was a bit more reserved. However, the show did ask for a confession that made everyone get involved in a personal way. It was a bit scary but also entrancing.

I loved the makeup they used on N. Klaus. They made him look like he had been out on a frozen tundra. His skin was chapped from the wind, and the artist even added frostbite to the cheeks and nose. The makeup was done at a level to be accented by the low lighting, with details that were amazing close up. It had depth, not just flat airbrush quality. I loved it!

The Bad

It is very hard to find a bad thing to say about this show, so I am nitpicking a little here. But I wish it had been a bit longer. That being said, I’m glad they didn’t overdo it. Think about the TV shows that go on for a few seasons too long. You know where they should have ended, but they want more money, so they just keep going. And they get stupid. I’m glad this show didn’t do that, but at the end, I did leave wanting to stay. I was having so much fun, I wanted to keep going!

The other thing is super small. People came in with coats and purses, because it was winter. We were not given instructions on whether we could put things down somewhere. And I didn’t want to mess up the set, so I didn’t want to just place them somewhere random. If I could give them one hint, I would say for the email to say not to bring stuff, or the apprentice to tell people they could put stuff in a place out of the way. It was not a huge deal, but having to think about where I was going to put my coat when I got warm was a bit of a distraction.

Overall

We had so much fun at this show! It was Christmas-like enough to put us in the holiday spirit, but with none of the forced cheer of the more mainstream exhibits. Those can be fun, but too much cheer just gets annoying after a while. It was definitely immersive, not just a show throwing it in as a buzzword. The small, exclusive groups were a wonderful break from the crowds of the holidays. I had a blast, and if they do it next year, I would tell you all to give it a try!