Free cherry dipped ice cream from Masquerade was only the start of this particular adventure…
It’s the second night of Previews for Masquerade, and I’ve just finished seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s newest immersive musical take on Phantom of the Opera. While comparing notes with a friend from the NYC immersive community, a man dressed in black approaches. Leaning in conspiratorially, he quietly tells me: “You see? Everything I told you was true.”
The man who approached me was a ghost hunter named Sean Hunter, who was at the center of a months-long alternate reality game teasing the release of Masquerade. The musical just finished Previews with a gala event, last night. To celebrate, here’s an overview of how we got to the Masquerade.
Vignettes from the many Masquerade ARG popups that took over the city this past summer
The Masquerade ARG: A Popup Homage to New York City At its core, Masquerade teased the show’s existence with a series of popup experiences, celebrating New York City. As ARGNet previously reported, it started with the immersive show’s historic venue itself: to prepare for the show’s transformation, the windows of Lee’s Art Shop were liberally covered with newspapers. Upon closer inspection, however, many of these papers were referencing the history of Phantom of the Opera in New York City. And scattered in between the real papers from the city were a few in-universe papers about L’Opera Populaire.
Shortly after fans noticed this detail, a series of masks started popping up at locations across the city, with luggage tags bearing MasqueradeNYC.com on one side, and the message “if found please call 212-505-5666”. Calling the number (now Masquerade‘s business line) would trigger a voicemail message featuring a music box playing the song Masquerade, slowly winding down before an ominous voice states “he’s back”. The following day, a series of mirrors with the Masquerade logo appeared across the city. Each time, the MasqueradeNYC Instagram would post a story with a picture of where to go, for those curious enough (and quick enough) to find it. A full accounting of these events is listed below.
The Paradox Bar: Doors of Divergence’s in-universe lobby (that also doubles as a functioning bar)
On my first visit to the Paradox Bar I received a free drink ticket from myself, welcoming me back to the timeless venue. A handful of colorful characters slipped out of time, and found themselves at an old bar from the 1950’s. As another version of me explained in a letter, “it’s kind of a watering hole for those of us trying to repair reality – a place to meet, talk about our efforts, and compare notes while we try to find the right set of choices that will fix this rift once and for all.”
A free drink ticket, from myself – not your typical pub experience
The Paradox Bar acts as in-universe lobby for a trilogy of escape rooms collectively referred to as The Paradox Cycle, although players often referred to the games by the company’s name: Doors of Divergence. The rooms had a relatively short run in New York City: the game’s first chapter, Heresy 1897 opened in June 2022. This was quickly followed by the release of its second chapter, Madness 1917, in September. Just over a year later, Doors of Divergence closed its doors with an in-universe farewell party in October 2023.
During those 16 months, I took seven trips through the rifts at the Paradox Bar, because the team designed an experience that meant every single visit was a completely different one, leading me through different puzzles and even rooms, despite nominally playing the same game multiple times. Luckily, an online alternate reality game seems to be implying that Doors of Divergence has found a new home, giving me an excuse to talk about what remains my favorite escape room due to the depth of its experience and the vaguely terrifying scope of its ambition.
The stage at the Paradox Bar.
Into the Rift: Beyond Choose Your Own Adventure The Doors of Divergence experience starts at the Paradox Bar, where a welcoming bartender introduces teams to the space between times they have fallen into, and introduces a few of the colorful characters who have fallen into the rift with them. One might come across an engineer, an astronaut, or even a scout leader milling about the bar. Idle conversation might even trigger a special request for the pending journey through time: bring back a couple of gears to help fix a clock, perhaps.
My first night, the Paradox Bar even had some special programming planned, and the surprisingly spacious room’s stage was used for a variety show, complete with aerialist performance. Once it’s your group’s time to proceed into the rift, a member of the staff would pull you and your group to the side, and introduce the mission. But instead of dryly reading off a list of rules and regulations, players would be encouraged to pull a series of tarot cards, offering divinations of events to come (and the corresponding rules to help navigate those situations).
As players’ first interaction with the Rift, Heresy 1897 leads players into the past as they enter Edmond Cavanaugh’s study, where they encounter the game’s Proctor. Teams are challenged with a question that determines which of two completely different escape rooms to play, within that space.
One of the puzzles from Heresy 1897, that is only seen by half the teams navigating the escape room
That means that Heresy 1897 is technically two completely different escape rooms, that just so happens to occupy the same space. There’s an entire room of Heresy that is unique to that initial binary choice, and there’s nothing about the in-game experience that would even hint at that secret. Teams are also presented with a moral quandary at the end of every room, meaning Heresy 1897 has four different endings, even if teams complete the room.
To help players track these choices, post-game debriefs include handing out a series of cards to commemorate key decisions and actions from the escape room. Entering those codes into an online portal tracks your progress and choices through the game – not just for those key moments at the beginning and end of the experience, but for some of the smaller choices, rewarding players who push the edges of the experience. Did you get sticky fingers at an opportune time, or linger for a moment longer than you should have?
Madness 1917 is where you start to really see the impact of those choices, with at least four different narrative and puzzle experiences: every escape room team enters an insane asylum during the Great War, but the reason for being there is changed, and interactions with the sequel experience’s two actors starts taking a much more theatrical turn, although it is still an escape room experience at its core.
The unassuming building that will soon serve as home for Masquerade NYC
If you took a trip out to the corner of 57th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan today, you’d probably walk past without looking twice. The former home of Lee’s Art Shop still bears its prior signage despite closing down in 2016, and the windows are papered over with old newspapers. But on the off chance you did stop to peer at the articles obscuring the view through the building’s large glass windows, you might notice that a couple of those newspapers aren’t just old, they’re practically ancient – dating back to Paris in the 1880s.
This starts to make sense once you realize that Lee’s Art Shop is in the process of transforming into the Paris Opera House, to play host to the upcoming immersive production of Phantom of the Opera, Masquerade NYC. And enough curious events are happening, that I’m beginning to suspect they’re running an alternate reality game to welcome the show into the world.
Act I: Letters from the Opera Ghost Rumors have been circulating across Broadway for the past few months that Phantom of the Opera would be returning to New York City in the form of an immersive show of some sort. But last year, those rumors started solidifying into something real when Broadway World flagged the casting notice for “UNTITLED IMMERSIVE MUSICAL ATTRACTION”, posted by POTO LLC.
Those rumors further solidified when ardent fans tracked down documents filed with New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Committee outlining the team’s plans to respect the building’s 130 year history as they transform it into a 140 year old Parisian theater. And starting in late 2024 a minimalist version of the MasqueradeNYC.com website went live, asking devoted fans to register for updates – what their Instagram account would later take to referring to as “submitting to the Ledger”.
An early version of the now-red signup page at MasqueradeNYC.com
In March, people who signed up for the list received an email from the Opera Ghost containing a red letter, and a link to the MasqueradeNYC Instagram account reading:
Fondest Greetings.
You submitted your name to my ledger, and for that you shall be among the first to glimpse the strange new world beyond the mirror.
Though the veil is drawn, the stage is being set and the Masquerade will soon begin.
Your Host
A month later, fan and Phantom-inspired romance author Jessica Mason received a physical letter from the Opera Ghost in the mail. She had previously made a TikTok video about the virtual letter, but its physical counterpart was significantly more personal. It wasn’t written to a generic Phantom fan. It was written with her in mind.
Dearest Jessica,
Your keen attention to my Masquerade has not gone unnoticed. The devotion you pour into your tales of the Opera Ghost makes you no stranger to the shadows – and soon, you will be able to step into them yourself.
A Masquerade awaits – when the moment comes, be prepared to cross the veil from fiction into reality. Until then, let your pen wander freely.
Your obedient servant,
O.G.
Over the next few days, a host of these deeply personalized letters from the Phantom started going out to other Phantom, Broadway, and immersive theater fans.
The SFX makeup artist @Ash.Paints.Faces received a note saying, “I have seen your artistry – how you wield paint like a mask, transforming faces into visions both haunting and divine. Such talent does not go unnoticed, least of all by one who knows the power of a well-crafted illusion.” Museum of Broadway brand ambassador Malcolm Hollis’ letter reads, “a theater aficionado like you knows the magic isn’t just in the spotlight – it’s in the shadows too. How eager you seem to be to unveil the details of my Masquerade. Where would be the fun in that?” Letter after letter from the Opera Ghost, wooing individual patrons with flattery and kind words. Like he knows them. Like he sees them. Like he hears them.
Ginger Lamarr (Elise Roth) performs on stage at Club Drosselmeyer, backed by the house band
The year is 1939. The United States of America has yet to officially enter World War II, but those who are in the know suspect that it’s only a matter of time. Particularly enterprising corners of the private sector recognize the military-industrial complex is likely to pay top dollar for technological innovations that can deliver an edge in the coming conflict. In Cambridge, two companies are leading the charge: Drosselmeyer Industries seeks to push the boundaries of science with its research in artificial intelligence, while Rattibus Labs is exploring more paranormal lines of inquiry, attempting to use mind control on Earth’s smartest creature: the noble rat.
Of course, none of this should matter at Club Drosselmeyer: the local nightclub planned a big night of music, dancing, spirited performances, and even more spirited libations to provide a needed distraction from the increasingly dire state of the world. To be sure, there’s rumors of an escaped test subject from Rattibus Labs on the loose…and a curiously strong yet naïve man known only as “our cousin Alan” says the most curious things while wandering the nightclub floor…but none of that should be important. Not at Club Drosselmeyer.
“Cousin Alan” (Devon Courtney) performing a series of lifts with his handler Carla (Madeline Song)
Club Drosselmeyer is an annual immersive show by Green Door Labs that transforms the holiday classic tale of TheNutcracker into an evening at a World War II era nightclub. And while it’s possible to treat Club Drosselmeyer as a fancy night on the town with live performances and swing dance lessons, the show can go in a surprising number of directions. Fans of puzzles can help the night’s adventures unfold by solving a series of puzzles, while attendees more interested in live action role-playing can adopt a persona to interact with over a dozen character actors scheming their way through the night. Club Drosselmeyer offers up a buffet of immersive possibilities, and it’s up to each attendee to decide what balance of dancing, puzzling, and character interactions they want to chase to fill their plates for the night.
The Main Course: Picking Sides Through Puzzles with a Side of Roleplay The events of Club Drosselmeyer open as Herr Drosselmeyer receives an encoded telegram from his mentor. The message is encoded in what should be an unbreakable cipher…luckily, the artificial intelligence his company has been working on, “Project Nutcracker”, should be capable of translating the message after assembling a module from five component parts, and installing it in the Nutcracker. At the same time, Erasmus King is looking for help with his mind control experiments…some of his experiments escaped from their cages, and he needs help tracking them down.
Players interested in helping with either of these challenges were directed to check in with characters at opposite ends of the ballroom floor to receive puzzle packets to assist in the respective investigations. For instance, the Drosselmeyer puzzle track revolved around solving pen-and-paper variety puzzles to determine the names of the five components.
Project Nutcracker’s fully assembled translation module, ready for installation
Just knowing the name of the component, of course, was not enough to help out. Armed with that knowledge, players could start chatting with the characters scattered throughout the event to find where those components could be found. For instance, Club Drosselmeyer host Fritz Stahlbaum was sitting on a suitcase full of one particular component. The only problem? He had a bit of a gambling problem, and owed Erasmus’ son Rhett King a sizeable chunk of money. Players would have to find a way to help him out in order to get the MacGuffin. And while some of these tasks involved the accumulation of in-game currency, others challenged players to join a character for a short dance, or collect signatures for a birthday card a character neglected to prepare for his mother.
The largely pen-and-paper puzzles would have felt right at home at a Puzzled Pint event in both variety and difficulty, and were particularly good at blending the flavor of the challenge with the puzzle’s structure and design. The puzzle that led to Fritz Stahlbaum’s first component, for instance, involved reviewing research notes from a scientist who inadvertently took faulty readings: correcting the mistake and tracking the real results would spell out the component’s name.
After assembling all five pieces of the module through a combination of puzzle-solving and character interaction, Herr Drosselmeyer guided players into a back room to confirm it was in working order. After that, players were instructed to head up to Drosselmeyer Industries’ safe to recover Project Nutcracker’s blueprints so the module could be installed properly.
Missing blueprints in the Drosselmeyer safe leads to a mind-controlled Erasmus King
Once players entered the safe, they discovered that Erasmus King arranged for the theft of Project Nutcracker’s blueprints: luckily, the rats’ irradiated paws meant that a trail of blue prints could be seen under UV light, leading players to Erasmus King…or rather, an experimental rat who mesmered Erasmus King’s body into reenacting Ratatouille. The blueprints would help the rat take control of an even more powerful body: Project Nutcracker, who was “cousin Alan” all along. Realizing what he’d done, Erasmus briefly regained control of his senses and handed off the blueprints and told the group to flee.
Note: ARGNet received a comped ticket for this show.
Fifteen people huddled together in the Bunker, arranged in a rough circle of couches and chairs. The room itself was a pastiche of Cold War era kitsch, just big enough to fit our group, but small enough to feel a little cramped. The Nostalgia Electrics refrigerator was fully stocked with beverages of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety, and the kitchenette was stocked with all the essential cooking implements, hanging from the wall. Near the couch, a chess set was prominently displayed near period magazines to help us while away the time in a makeshift living room space. On the other side of the room, a small crafting table was positioned to give the group space for tinkering with the odd bits and bobs we found. The only signs of real modernity in the room: a handful of tablets strewn around the room, and a laptop propped up in the corner, broadcasting security cam-style footage of the room to our Artificial Intelligence-based overseer, De-Bunk. The apocalypse arrived, and this would be our home for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, that foreseeable future was severely limited by dwindling food supplies and a malfunctioning life support system.
This is the scenario that Broken Ghost Immersive’s The Bunker thrusts its players into at Wildrence, a basement events space in lower Manhattan. A loose collective of individuals, met with the challenge of surviving in a post-apocalyptic hellscape with only their wits, a few rolls of duct tape, and a supply of Twinkies. The roughly 2 hour long show is a bit of a hybrid experience: while it combines elements of a number of immersive styles of play, at its core the experience feels like an intimate parlor LARP, where players’ decisions help them learn about the world they find themselves in as they struggle to survive. Routes to survival might involve using tablet devices to negotiate with residents of other nearby bunkers, donning hazmat suits to explore the wastelands to search for supplies and interact more directly with neighbors, and use those supplies to craft items useful for the bunker’s residents. While there is a set narrative underpinning the entire post-apocalyptic scenario, player choice dictates what elements of that story any given show (or player within that show) might encounter.
The Bunker: A Game of Resource Management
Bunker resources are represented through a series of cards that can either be found through exploratory missions into the wasteland, or created by playing a mini-game to combine items at the crafting station. And over The Bunker‘s seven “day” narrative, carefully managing those resources is essential to survival. Every day, players must “consume” one food card, or run the risk of dying right there, on the spot. Satisfying that need is a constant weight hanging over the bunker, with the very real threat of death looming at every turn. Additional cards can be spent at the crafting table to obtain items necessary for short-term and long-term survival, both for the expeditionary forces and the bunker at large. And along with limited resources comes challenges with distribution. Some resources might be pooled for group consumption, while others get held back to ensure individual survival.
The biggest resource for players to manage, however, is time. As with many megagames, how players choose to spend their time is a much more valuable resource than the cards themselves. This isn’t a game where players can get by focusing exclusively on one element of gameplay, as each element informs the others.  Players chatting with other bunkers might unlock new abilities for players tackling the crafting table, while players going out on expeditions might come across information that changes what players negotiating with other bunkers discuss. To encourage players towards a more well-rounded play experience, the game has “nudges” built in that require switching around tasks on a fairly frequent basis. Expedition members might become afflicted with wounds, ailments, and mutations as a result of their journeys, forcing them to be temporarily bunker-bound, while some bunkers may become so hostile that further communications become pointless. Other “nudges” were more direct, as an Achievement Book would dole out cards as rewards to players who helped the team reach set milestones of exploration, crafting, and experimentation.
Madame Daphne’s Tarot Reading Room and Séance Parlor is hard to find without assistance, hidden away in a Houston artist’s studio. An invitation from Madame Daphne herself provides instructions through the former rice packaging plant’s stark white interior to the medium’s lair, its lavish decor making it feel like a room out of place. Stepping over the threshold begins a 90 minute experience that tells a tale of deception, magic, and love spanning almost a century.
Strange Bird Immersive’s production The Man From Beyond thrusts 4-8 players into a supernatural adventure that combines a masterfully crafted escape room themed around Harry Houdini with an immersive theater performance to frame the experience, set within the walls of Madame Daphne’s parlor.
An Immersive Theater Sandwich The Man From Beyond‘s fictional narrative starts the minute players step into the room, as Madame Daphne greets her guests with a dramatic flourish. All the standard onboarding activities of an escape room are wrapped up into the context of the room, with a flair for the dramatic. The requisite waivers are still signed, but are done through the narrative conceit of the séance. Players are presented with the rules for the experience through a series of photographs in the hallway leading to the séance parlor, illuminated by candlelight. The seance itself sets the stage for the escape room portion, setting the narrative context for players when they take over the story’s agency.
Once the room’s clock starts ticking, the room transforms from séance parlor into a standard escape room. In a room surrounded by Houdini’s tools of the trade, players must tackle a century-old mystery on a deadline. At key milestones in the experience, micro-moments of theatrical exposition serve as narrative cut scenes, serving the dual purpose of rewarding player’s progress through the puzzle portion and reminding players of their broader purpose in the room. Solving a major puzzle might unlock information about Houdini’s wife Bess’ previous efforts to speak to her dead husband.
Most room escape games leave little room for telling a narrative that exists outside the room’s theming. A room based around an archaeological dig might hide some of its puzzles in a dig site and draw upon those themes to inform its puzzles, but a certain amount of suspension of disbelief is required to tackle the room’s challenges. Even rooms that try to adhere to their own internal narrative consistency stick to a bare-bones plot due to the realities of room design. Players must often split themselves up into continually shifting groups to divide and conquer in the most efficient way possible. While this tactic is highly effective at uncovering a room’s secrets, it forces players to experience the room’s narrative in a disjointed fashion. Players might all be aware they’re escaping from a jail cell, but the specifics of their escape route might only be known to a few participants, on a need-to-know basis. This challenge is exacerbated in the final minutes of a room, as teams scramble to put together the final pieces needed to escape. Often, escape room operators’ explanations at the end of the room are as necessary to explain the accomplishments of teammates as they are to highlight overlooked puzzles and clues.
The Man From Beyond addresses that problem by explicitly carving out time outside the escape room’s unforgiving countdown to allow players time to take in the story. Every player is aware of what they’re doing because they experienced the introduction together, before the clock started ticking. Every player knows the main narrative beats because the information is broadcast to the group at key moments. And the grand finale can be fully experienced since it takes place after escaping the room, removing any time pressures that might otherwise cause players to gloss over the story.
Because Strange Bird Immersive created space for players to breathe and take in the narrative, it stopped the puzzles from overwhelming the game’s powerful narrative themes. During my team’s playthrough, we made it through the puzzles at a steady clip, but were so moved by the bittersweet tale that few of us made it out through the full experience without shedding a few tears along the way. It wasn’t just that the story was pulling on our heartstrings. It was knowing everything that happened was because of our actions.
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