A Dungeons & Dragons inspired musical is coming to New York

A musical inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, called Here There Be Dragons – A New Musical Quest, is coming to New York.

Here There Be Dragons is an upcoming musical that takes story elements and thematic cues from the popular tabletop roleplaying game, focusing on a group of friends whose experiences of playing D&D have brought them closer together. Taking place on the night before the friends graduate from college, the musical will revolve around how the group copes with change and the prospect of pursuing their respective futures, with recognisable elements from the Dungeons & Dragons universe being used to illustrate the characters’ various storylines.

The musical will see the characters exploring a fantasy world populated by people and monsters designed to represent the real-life feelings and issues they’re wrestling with, as they take a big step in growing up and moving forward. Described as a “musical quest”, Here There Be Dragons will cover topics such as friendship, connections and the journey of life, all through musical theatre inspired by the beloved fantasy roleplaying game.

Here There Be Dragons – A New Musical Quest will be directed by Austin Harleson, whose previous work includes assisting the American Shakespeare Centre and teaching at several US colleges. The book and lyrics for Here There Be Dragons – which means the musical’s lyrics and dialogue – were written by Dungeons & Dragons fan Chase O’Neill, with the author’s past credits are The Woods Listen, Schooled & Lettered and Fizg & Doi, as well as directing several productions such as Willa: A Folk-Rock Campfire Story. The music for the show was composed by Theo Teris – who has previously worked with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Killer Mike – with orchestrations from Scott Wasserman, whose past work includes Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

The new musical follows an official Dungeons & Dragons event that took place as part of the 2021 D&D Celebration last September, that saw several celebrities performing in a musical playthrough of the RPG that was streamed live. The event’s cast included Anthony Rapp – an actor who is best known for their role in the television series Star Trek: Discovery and for the Broadway production of Rent – Godhead lead vocalist Jason C Miller and Transparent actor Vico Ortiz, with the celebrities singing alongside the usual roleplay expected in a game of D&D 5E.

The first performance of Here There Be Dragons – A New Musical Quest will take place on June 16th 2022, with shows running through to July 17th at The Players Theatre in New York. Prices for tickets start at $47 (£41) and are available now.