Welcome To Night Vale, Chicago!
By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on May 13, 2015 3:35PM
There was rain, unforeseen complications and lines out the door last week at the Copernicus Center when Welcome To Night Vale rolled into town. As beginnings of evenings go, it wasn’t the best start. Droves of Night Vale cosplayers shielded their faces to avoid any make-up running, and the glow cloud could easily have become a glow sponge. Still, spirits and excitement were high.
If you’ve not yet been welcomed to the world of Night Vale, here’s what you need to know. It’s an incredibly popular podcast, written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, done in the style of local public radio. Cecil Baldwin, known and loved by fans as Cecil Gershwin Palmer, the voice of Night Vale, provides his audience with updates on community happenings, from elections and bowling league nights to traffic and weather (which is actually a musical interlude for podcast listeners). That might not sound like the sort of thing anyone would be interested in until you realize that Night Vale is a place where any sinister, dark and evil thing not only “could” happen but does, frequently. There are secret police, alternate dimensions, deeply evil corporations and a faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home. Oh, and the dog park.
The podcast airs twice a month and its unique brand of storytelling has created a cult following that has sold out shows in nearly every major city it travels to, even overseas. Friday night’s show was no exception. Things kicked off with musical guest Mary Epworth, who had an effervescent, esoteric stage presence. She sang three tracks, our favorite of which was the a haunting song called “Long Gone.”
It wasn’t long after that Cecil Baldwin took the stage to well-deserved, thunderous applause. Though we can’t share too many details about the show’s plot, as it’s previously un-broadcast material, we can say that it’s quite participatory, weaving the audience directly into the story. Baldwin’s sonorous voice works as it always does— comforting at times, menacing at others, all the while creating a character everyone wants to root for. Guests included Mara Wilson, Symphony Sanders, Fink and Cranor themselves and Dylan Marron as Cecil's boyfriend, Carlos the Scientist, who provided a surprising amount of the night’s laughs.
When it came time for the weather segment, Mary Epworth came back to the stage and performed a folky/gritty tune called “Black Doe.” While the podcast sticks to about a twenty minute tale each time, the live show was at least three times as long but never felt plodding or boring. Baldwin has to be congratulated for his immense abilities, not only as a voice actor, but for his charisma and stamina on stage. Welcome To Night Vale delivered on all points in this Chicago show—it was engaging, unnerving, heartfelt and hilarious and we enjoyed every mysterious minute of it.
All hail the glow cloud.