We recently visited Force of Nature Productions’ newest spooky season programming, Fallen Saints: Tales of Blaze City. This year, Force of Nature created an immersive, dark noir theater production that transports guests into the corrupt, comic-book-inspired world of Blaze City. We’d been waiting to visit for ourselves since their sneak peek at this summer’s Midsummer Scream.
A Dark Comic Book Brought to Life
One (of a handful) of our favorite things was their use of space. They took a basic black box theater and completely warped it into a surprisingly versatile dark comic book setting. The shifting design and punchy sets reminded us of something out of Sin City (2005). We also loved the inclusion of guests’ art from their MSS booth!
The History of Blaze City
From the event description – Blaze City can be a nasty place to live, even in the best of times. “Glow-Face” Lombardi, leader of the city’s seedy underbelly, will do anything–and step on anyone–to make a buck. Faded screen legend Augustina hides her dark side from the world, while Bruno the Fantasical and Doctor Redmond have fewer qualms about leaning into their darkest impulses.
But something is corrupting even the most innocent citizens of Blaze City. The city’s vitality, lifeblood, indeed, its very essence, is slowly being drained away. Its mysterious creator, The Illustrator, infected by the same affliction, is no longer in control of his characters and desperately clings to what little sanity he has left. With the help of the hardboiled Lt. Markowski, vigilante Black Jay, and pure of heart Sketch, can you discover the force behind Blaze City’s descent into madness before it drains our world next?
Depth and Difference: The Three Guides
This is where we came in! We teamed up with the hardboiled Lt. Markowski to uncover the force behind all Blaze City’s recent madness. The stakes felt high because if we didn’t stop it, the corruption might just drain our world next.
What makes this show so great is the smart setup. It’s built for going back for seconds (and thirds), thanks to the three different guide characters: our own Lt. Markowski, the vigilante Black Jay, and the pure-of-heart Sketch. Each nightly performance weaves a unique story between your guide’s interactions with their fellow citizens and a different ending, which gives you completely fresh takes on the city’s drama and lore.
The Force of Nature Cast
As always, the core magic is Force of Nature’s cast. That fantastic, emotive acting is exactly what we’ve come to expect from them, and a standard we can’t help but hold other immersive events to. Their dedication to these complex, broken Blaze City residents is the pulsing, dark heart of the show. They don’t just memorize the lines, they make you believe you are there with them on their harrowing journey.
Spooky, Not Scary
Finally, there’s good news for anyone dragging a perpetually scaredy-cat friend along: while Tales of Blaze City certainly sets the tone for Halloween season, it’s not scary. It’s full of suspense, tension, and a sense of urgency, but it focuses on excellent story and performance over any jump scares or extreme gore. It’s gripping and totally accessible for people who love the spooky stuff but hate being startled. Plus, we always love getting involved—the bits of audience participation are super fun and make you feel like you’re part of the city’s unfolding drama.
Fallen Saints: Tales of Blaze City is another brilliantly creative, super immersive, and easy-to-love show from a company that never fails to deliver. Go get your tickets now! You’ll definitely want to come back to see how your story changes.
