Riley Cole and Bonnie-Lynn Montaño (Photo by Charly Charney Cohen)
Reviewed by Socks Whitmore
Last Call Theatre
Through April 20
RECOMMENDED
Docked near the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, the American Pride — a 130 ft tall, 3 masted ship operated by the Los Angeles Maritime Institute — has become the stage for Last Call Theatre’s most ambitious immersive adventure yet. Pirates Wanted! is the company’s sixth production and invites audience members to join the shipwrecked crew of Captain Souvanna as they attempt to commandeer a ship from the British Royal Navy. An inspector from the Great Pirate Council is set to arrive at any moment and pass judgment on the Captain’s vessel, so new recruits must quickly train to become seaworthy pirates.
Pirates Wanted! follows Last Call’s trademark style of quests, audience-driven narrative, multiple potential endings, and exciting combat scenes. The multi-layered approach to audience immersion gives guests a number of ways to play: follow storylines and assist characters, spend the whole night playing games, or don a mask at check-in to be a “sneaky sea spirit” to decline being interacted with by actors. A Narrative Accessibility Menu is available upon request for theatergoers who like to be prepared and know their options. Deckhands in blue bandannas float amongst the crew to offer additional training stations and assist with any audience inquiries. The show also features a variety of pirate training “minigames” and live, original music by composer/lyricist Ronen Rinzler, making for a lively evening of sword fighting and sea shanties. (Souvanna’s invitation notes, “Dress for piracy and comfort, the winds be brisk in the nighttime.”)
The audience gathers along the West Harbor Long Dock for a pre-show debrief, with the opportunity to pick up a Pirate Training Card and mingle with some of the cast before taking the ship. The dock is long and somewhat shaky, and a small set of steps is required to board the American Pride (with helping hands on standby to give a lift as needed). The crew must decide whether to approach stealthily or charge in with brute force, although because of the general size of the audience, this exposition is somewhat clunky in execution; it takes a good bit of time for the whole group to gather on deck, so those who lag behind may miss the beginning of the action that truly kicks off the show.
The deck is surprisingly well lit, and supplemented by Last Call crew members with handheld lights. The outdoor setting also makes it much easier to hear individual conversations in a crowded space, nicely sidestepping one of the usual pitfalls of the immersive medium. Once the Captain’s shipmates have been introduced and the training games explained, the audience is let loose to roam the deck and choose their own adventures.
The punch card system for the minigames is an excellent addition to Last Call’s usual format — it incentivizes players to try and complete as many games as possible just for the fun of it, while not detracting from one’s ability to aide characters and affect the narrative. This tool seems to have made a difference in terms of overcrowding and the premature exhaustion of quests, another one of immersive theater’s dangerous traps when hitting audience capacity. Some games are more informational, like learning the basics of navigation, while others are physical, like practicing sailor’s knots. Sometimes an actor can be caught between facilitating a game and completing the next phase of a linear quest, but it’s fairly easy for players to join in with a neighboring activity while they wait their turn.
There are narrative threads that entail high stakes and visibility, such as assisting Captain Souvanna with establishing the Pirate’s Code or plotting mutiny against her. Other threads track with more private moments, like the hunt for a siren trying to avoid detection or the complex queer romances waiting to unfold. There’s also a great deal of lore to be uncovered through conversing with different characters, from tales of the Great Siren War to secret smuggling. For extroverted players, befriending and having genuine conversations with characters can be one of the special delights of immersive performance. Pirates Wanted! offers an invigorating escapade, rich with laughter, music, magic, and gay pirates.
Last Call Theatre, The American Pride docked at the LAMI Long Dock (to the right of the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. 84 Foot of 6th St Berthing) San Pedro. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Thurs., April 18, 7:30 pm; thru April 20. https://lastcalltheatre.ticketleap.com/pirateswanted/ Running time: two hours with no intermission.
