Delaware Theatre Company presents Hunter Bell’s Other World

And now Other World the game faces an IRL threat—its parent company has decided it will be shut down in a matter of days. It’s a bitter pill for the crew to swallow: so many hours, so much life has been invested in this magical, digital world. Sri (Jamen Nanthakumar) is determined to save the group’s world, but in the process he gets himself and his childhood acquaintance, Lorraine (Bonnie Milligan), sucked into the virtual reality of Other World. Suddenly, the game’s survival becomes less important than that of Sri and Lorraine, who must escape the virtual reality before the game is erased forever.

Cosplay, Comicon, and choreography

The set and staging of Other World boast the richness of both digital and physical worlds. Video game graphics hover and rotate in the background, while Tilly Grimes’s costume designs celebrate the wardrobes of cosplay and Comicon. It’s exhilarating to behold, and costuming for the Marauders and the Coryphee gain dimension when paired with Karla Puno Garcia’s excellent choreography.

The cast—like the rest of our world—includes actors and dancers of varied mobility, and Garcia’s choreography seamlessly incorporates these differences. In a show about connection and togetherness, friendship and community, Garcia manages to capture the whole from the very first number.

High-quality cast

Occasionally the show’s conviction in the power of friendship is laid on too thick, but a few overly sentimental moments are rescued by the quality of the cast. Co-lyricists and composers Ann McNamee and Jeff Bowen’s delightful numbers convey frenzied video game soundtrack excitement (“Dance Inside the Lightning”) as well as emotional depth and longing (“Best Team Ever”). Milligan, in her performance as Lorraine, gives a stunning rendition of “Reaching for the Sky” that suspends the song in time, sparkling.

A few characters and portrayals fall short: Myra (Adinah Alexander) falls into cliché as a “hip” older professor, and Nanthakumar’s performance seems to get uncharacteristically weepy to explain why Sri would detour from the mission to sing “That’s Why We Play.”

A brightening future

Other World is a celebratory new offering with a cast that easily channels the enthusiasm, conviction, and ingenuousness of its characters. Milligan gives dry humor, openness, and a spectacular voice to Lorraine, and Melissa Salguero is almost too convincing in her role as Jamie, an aspiring live-streaming icon. Weta Workshop, the special-effects and prop company behind Lord of the Rings and Avatar, brings a big name and high-quality graphics to the musical’s digital elements.

The show premiered to a full house on March 5, and rightfully so (cosplay for audience members is optional). It flexes the advantages of digital and physical worlds and isn’t afraid to revel in the pageantry. This is the kind of musical that makes the future seem brighter in any world.