Faster Purple Worm Kill! Kill! - Live Show
In a land far far away, four adventurers must defeat an evil witch and her flying bat creatures. Will they survive the journey and escape with their lives? No. Because this is Faster Purple Worm Kill! Kill! Beadle and Grimms and The Comedy Store teamed up to host a live play show of the beloved TV series, Faster Purple Worm Kill! Kill! which originally aired on the Dungeons and Dragons Network. I had the amazing opportunity to attend the live show and I brought along my friend Noah to join me on this quest. The host for the night was Bill Rehor who was accompanied by the talented keyboard wizard Scott Passarella, Dungeon Master Jon Ciccolini, Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, Luis Carazo and Paula Deming.
When we arrived, I approached one of the employees at the front entrance to The Comedy Store and told them we were there for the show and they were like, “You’re here for what? A purple worm? What’s a purple worm?” I realized I should’ve been more specific so I asked where the Belly Room was and she led us back there. We checked in, lined up and not long after Matthew Lilard arrived. He came over to the line that was quickly forming. He shook our hands and thanked us for coming. Seth Green arrived around the same time and it was fun to see the two of them reunited. I had just rewatched Without a Paddle recently, so it was cool to see them still being best buds after all these years.
Inside the Belly Room it was very dark and moody. There had to have been less than 100 people in there. I liked how intimate the setting was. Every seat was a good seat to see the show. Then again, I’m biased because we got the front row. I was so excited. Bill Rehor introduced everyone and then did his introduction to set the scene. At this point, I had a cocktail (there was a 2 drink minimum) so if my memory is false in remembering the details I apologize. Matthew was playing an orc, Seth was playing some kind of cat bard, Luis was a paladin and Paula was a gnome. I realize I’m mixing race with class but you get the gist. Over the course of 2 hours, these adventurers encountered a pantsuit person, a tree, a scarecrow, flying bat creatures, a green faced witch, and a frozen man who was lying on the ground depressed because his father had injured his toe. There was audience participation so at two different points during the show they picked 2 people to play roles. They also asked the audience to name the characters. It was very immersive which I appreciated. I snort laughed when they tried to get the waitress involved and Seth went, “Doesn’t she have enough tasks?”
Some of the highlights for me included Seth Green’s performance as his character with a questionable royal/western accent. He started the show with one accent but then the players all had to draw from a cauldron to shake things up and he ended up having to speak with a completely different accent. He was like, “This could get confusing.” He also said “Meow” after every sentence so it went from a sophisticated “meow” to a “meow” with a southern twang. His sense of humor and quick wit had me dying laughing throughout. Matthew Lillard is my favorite kind of player because like me, he likes to take risks. He kept wanting to choose violence in an act of heroism but his party kept having to stop him from doing so. I could relate to that. I don’t know if this was considered a highlight, but the fact he gained a glowing left nipple was definitely not something I would’ve predicted. The audience helped pick that body part and it made me laugh because his family was in the audience. Him and Seth were tethered together at one point as well which made for a comedic bromance. Luis’s character was great because he was the most level headed out of the band of misfits. He kept everyone on track and was great at problem solving. I think he was the only one who could do magic but he never used the corn on the cob of healing or the boinks flowers that were props given to the group. Paula’s opera singing character was adorable and I’m sad she never got to fulfill her dream of finishing her nature themed outfit.
At the end of it all, everyone died by way of bat bird death which if you think about it is kind of horrific. I think I would’ve preferred the witch to kill me at that point, but all of the players rolled really well in battle and took her out. Unfortunately, they were outnumbered by these creatures and met their demise. The main characters in this story were not the only casualties. There was a mouse that got smashed in a door frame. I still think about that mouse.
When the show ended, Bill did his outro and had all of us shout the name of the show “Faster Purple Worm Kill! Kill!” which gave me the feels because I had seen all the episodes so being a part of that intro and outro was really cool. Everyone did a fantastic job. I could’ve easily watched them play for 4 more hours. The time flew by fast. I hope more people help spread the word about this show so that they can do more live shows in the future. My friend and I had a great time and he said to me on the drive home, “This makes me want to play D&D again.” For me, this show was part of the reason why I got super into learning about D&D and RPG. That and meeting people at conventions who play. Even if you’re not into gaming and just want to sit back and have some laughs, go check out Faster Purple Worm Kill! Kill! Their next event will be at San Diego Comic Con.
