Jacob Richmond’s dark satire Legoland isn’t about the theme park, but about two siblings on a “ross-country journey - financed by selling their ADHD medications - to bring pop-star-turned-hyper-misogynistic rapper JK-47 back to reality.”

A prequel to the musical Ride the Cyclone, the one act Legoland was first staged back in 2006 in Toronto a the Summerworks Festival, and had a notable production by Las Vegas’ Majestic Repertory Theatre last year.

This latest production, from new Western Massachusetts theater company Why’s It Gotta Be? Theater Group, whose focus is on “telling stories that are fresh, queer, and gender diverse,” aims for a site-responsive staging of the play. Director Devin Dumas says that the production is looking “to blur the boundaries between stage and audience without changing the context, energy, or material of the play.”

Check out our interview with Dumas below for more on the production which runs May 22-31 in Easthampton, Mass.

This is No Proscenium’s COMING SOON, a look at ongoing immersive experiences & events. To learn more about how your event could be considered for the feature check out How To Get Covered By NoPro.

NoPro is 100% reader & listener supported. Become a subscriber to secure & expand our coverage of Everything Immersive or drop a little something in our Tip Jar!

NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about the play! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?

Devin Dumas: In Legoland, the Lamb siblings - Penny and Ezra Lamb - tell the story of how they grew up on a marijuana commune that got busted, got sent off to Catholic school, then traveled across the country to try to bring pop-star-turned-mysoginistic-rapper JK-47 back to reality - all in the form of a probationary presentation.

The play is not often staged, let alone the way we’re doing it without the complete boundaries of a stage - we’re really utilizing CitySpace as an immersive setting for the production and considering the whole room the stage in which the audience are also clearly present. From the moment the doors open, both characters are “on” welcoming the audience into their presentation - Penny trying to keep things level while Ezra peddles his ADHD medications (just Tic Tacs in pill bottles, we promise) - all the way up to when the play begins.

Terrance Peters (left) and Julia Adamo (right) in Why’s It Gotta Be? Theater Group's production of Legoland (Photo Credit: Devin Dumas)

NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience? 


DD: I really like this idea not just of audiences existing within the world of the stories we tell, but the characters of these stories existing in our world as well. I think it’s important in theater settings like this to not only recognize that we’re in the same room as these characters, but that they’re in the same room with us as well from a creative standpoint. Penny and Ezra are bright and explosive characters: for them to not quite literally own their presentation from the moment the doors to the space open, up to the moment the play starts, and all the way up to the end of the play would be a disservice to them and audiences.

Julia Adamo (right) in Why’s It Gotta Be? Theater Group's production of Legoland (Photo Credit: Devin Dumas / Terrance Peters)

NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?

DD: I think what fans of immersive theater will find most interesting about this production is that we’ve taken a play that is traditionally presented only from a stage and added the room in which it is being presented to the production as well. We’ve worked to blur the boundaries between stage and audience without changing the context, energy, or material of the play and thus not only keeping it authentic but further heightening that authenticity to its characters.

Terrance Peters in Why’s It Gotta Be? Theater Group's production of Legoland (Photo Credit: Devin Dumas)

NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?


DD: Once we started rehearsing this production, something unexpected that we discovered was that our initial vision of “we will do x and y offstage” quickly turned into “the stage is actually just a part of the space as a whole,” and from there we developed a lot of moments that feel natural in and around the space and audience as a whole during the show.

Terrance Peters (left) and Julia Adamo (right) in Why’s It Gotta Be? Theater Group's production of Legoland (Photo Credit: Devin Dumas)

NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?


DD: Fans coming to Legoland can listen to its sequel musical, Ride the Cyclone, to understand a deeper appreciation for Jacob Richmond’s work and world, but can also just bring some friends and have a good, fun time together with the people you love. While a dark comedy, one of the core themes of the play is being very careful what you love - it’s so important to not only reflect on who we love right now, but to also cherish and share experiences with them to strengthen our bonds.

Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, home of NoPro’s show listings.

NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our backers. Join them today and get access to our Newsletter and Discord!

In addition to the No Proscenium website and our podcast, and you can find NoPro on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and in the Facebook community also named Everything Immersive.