There’s no business like show business, even in the magical world of Final Fantasy 14. Macro dance troupe Esprit’s Way Off Broadway show treated us to numbers from all of our favourite musicals — and seriously, how much further can you get from Broadway than the digital world of Eorzea?
The team opened with The Other Side from The Greatest Showman, with the cast suited and booted in finery to portray PT Barnum and Phillip Carlyle, with a more dressed down bartender in the background. As always, the troupe uses a wide range of emotes and job skill actions to perfectly time their routine to the music, which plays via Cytube. It’s a unique experience that you can only find in an MMO with this much customisation.
They paired the mime emote with the lyrics “Ain't in a cage, so I don't need to take the key”, the sweeping emote when singing “we don't pick up peanut shells”, and utilised the drinking emote to set the scene of a bar. Of course, Esprit always adds its own flavour of comedy too, so there was a point where the bartender started playing the harp and Barnum slaps him to make him stop.
It’s all too easy to forget at times that the troupe has to deal with difficult limitations. They can’t just source whatever they want in terms of props, costumes, or dance routines, as they have to work with whatever is available within the confines of the game. That makes it all the more impressive when they pull off perfect routines with immediately familiar costumes and well-timed dance moves.
It’s no surprise to see the troupe squeeze a little SpongeBob SquarePants comedy into their routines. Though we tend to see them in costumes modelled after the cartoon characters, their rendition of When the Going Gets Tough from The SpongeBob Musical pulled out all the stops to recreate the stage show costuming. Plankton and Karen were wearing metallic, shiny outfits, and SpongeBob was wearing his signature yellow top and plaid trousers, and this attention to detail really makes a difference.
I also love the humour that the team brings to the stage. For their version of That’s How You Know from Enchanted, the Prince was knocked down on the side of the stage. It’s a small detail you could miss if you’re only focusing on the main performers, but it’s a quirky little nod to the events during the song in the film, made all the more funnywhen the song came to an end and the cast swept him away with brooms.
My favourite numbers of the evening were Learn to Do It from Anastasia, as I’ve never heard the longer musical version, Candy Store from Heathers, as I practically squealed with joy when I spotted the costumes before the music even started, and Purple Rain because I love Prince. The troupe also performed songs from Something Rotten, Chicago, Wicked, Beetlejuice The Musical, and Moulin Rouge.
For many of the numbers, you only get a few of the troupe on stage at a time, and the lineup naturally changes depending on the song and the characters singing. However, I do love when a number gets quite a few of the team on stage, so they can show off their skills in performing together in sync. For That Beautiful Sound from Beetlejuice The Musical, much like the stage equivalent, Esprit flooded the stage with Beetlejuices all dancing together.
The show ended with The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman, a fitting conclusion not only in terms of the lyrics but wrapping the evening up with the same musical as it began with.
Esprit regularly performs, not only hosting their own themed shows but also attending other community events and taking to the stage. You can stay up to date with the troupe on Twitter, their official website, or via their Discord.