By Front Row Reviewers Staff
The Lord of Misrule is an irreverent work of interactive theater being produced at The Alliance Theater. The play itself is a fundraiser for The Road Home Homeless Shelter. It is written and directed by RJ Walker and starring Ammar Al Saffar, Breanna Alonzo, Zay Alvarez, Connor Bond, and Alton Phonepraseuth.
The Lord of Misrule brings energy into 2021 by giving the audience interactive power over the actors. At the top of each act, Audience members donate money to The Road Home Shelter to make the actors perform in strange and ridiculous ways. The demands with the highest donations are given special priority. It’s a play with micro-transactions that benefit Utah’s Homeless.
Televangelist Lucas Karol, heals the “sick,” performs “exorcisms,” but most importantly, collects donations from his followers for these miracles on his daytime TV show, Scriptures Unscripted. His biggest fundraiser of the year is his Christmas Special, Pastor Karol Presents: A Christmas Carol. Then, a rowdy mob (the audience) hijacks the show and the Pastor, his wife, and his special guests are forced to obey the orders of the Lord of Misrule who is leading the mob while performing their Christmas pageant.
The Audience can interact in the play in various ways by making donations to The Road Home. Audience members will receive a list of demands that inform how they can change what the actors are doing on stage. As more and more of these challenges are piled onto the Televangelist and his sycophants, more of their real personalities rise to the surface.
Live-streaming attendance vs In Person Attendance: The Alliance Theater is equipped with professional grade live streaming cameras and microphones, allowing people to attend anywhere there is an internet connection. Livestream attendees will still be able to donate to affect the show from their screens.
For those attending in person, cash donations will be accepted. Tickets are still free, though we ask that live attendees bring In-Kind donations for the shelter to the theater. Here is the list of things that are accepted for in-kind donations. This isn’t a food drive, so don’t bring canned foods. If attendees are unable to carry or find these items, they can be purchased from the shelter’s Amazon Wishlist.
Urgent Needs:
Pillows (new)
Towels
Coats & Jackets (all sizes)
Jeans & Warm clothing (all sizes)
Boots & Shoes (all sizes)
Socks (all sizes)
Underwear (new, all sizes)
Blankets (twin, full, & queen)
Diapers (sizes 5-6, and pull-ups)
Baby Bottles & Formula
You can also give directly to The Road Home through their website.
This is the third production of Lord of Misrule, making it the third play ever that features this experimental donation model. The first production of Lord of Misrule was produced at The Box theatre and raised money to help transport the homeless from the old Road Home shelter. The second production of Lord of Misrule was produced at The Box during the 2021 Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Front Row Reviewers review here. This 2021 production helped raise money for the shelter to help ease the strain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the end of the rent moratorium, and the state government’s decision to end pandemic assistance early. This production of Lord of Misrule continues the show’s tradition of driving real social change through direct calls to action. Every year in Utah, unhoused people die from winter conditions and resources are pushed to their breaking point. The Lord of Misrule isn’t just a play to raise awareness, it’s a play that creates direct, measurable action.
Tickets and Showtimes
The play is free to attend over livestream, in-person attendees should bring In Kind donations to the Alliance Theatre.
December 15-16, 2021, 8:00 PM MST
Facebook Event Link: https://fb.me/e/1m1a0WYl3
Tickets: http://tiny.cc/4tpluz
The play will be held at the Alliance Theater, 602 E 500 S Suite E101, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Or when you purchase tickets, you’ll get a high quality stream through showclix: https://www.showclix.com/event/lord-of-misrule
Video trailer: https://youtu.be/0SaKkVJaECM
The Road Home Homeless Shelter Facebook Page
Contact: RJ Walker, rjwalker.scia@gmail.com, 801-809-9939
Note: Lord of Misrule is recommended for audiences 18+
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