Stardust is a two-hour (three with VIP or if you get there early) immersive experience by Alterea Inc and directed by Alexander Whitover. Ambitious in fit and form, Stardust introduces participants to over twenty different characters, all of which have distinct and unique tracks that navigate throughout the two floors of the hotel as well as a workshop of the Architect, existing between the two. Anahita Dalmia, Executive Producer of the experience and CEO of Alterea Inc, informed us that all tracks differ in tone and content, offering vastly different experiences, including singing and dancing on one, puzzles and clues on others, and a strong narrative of autonomy and control on another. Depending on your cup of tea, follow the character that aligns with what you want out of this experience—and you will find that Stardust is a rich, rewarding experience that evokes a powerful response from its audience.

Narrative of Stardust

Stardust is a fantasy tale of a hotel that exists in an in-between. Here, the Architect and her child, Iris, ensure that those who pass through its doors become stars—their souls literally becoming the celestial bodies humans see in the sky. Yet, to achieve stardom and receive your desires, you must give up your mortal self and what you have now. The narrative follows the guests of Hotel Dion as they—and you as a participant—examine deeply what you would give up to chase your dreams—and if it is worth it.

The narrative takes a minute to get used to, but as it unfolds, it offers a deep exploration of human wants and desires. It does not shy away from complex and resonant themes of life: exploring betrayals, gender dysphoria, grief after the death of a loved one, and expectations placed upon you from family. As the hazy pasts of the residents are revealed, they must make grey choices. But everything isn’t always dark; mixed among the depth are moments of levity and fun, which take the form of dancing, musical numbers, and clever puzzles. Not all can be explored in a single go through, so follow a path and help one of the many residents inside as you unravel their story.

Alterea Inc’s Logistics

Alterea’s Stardust is a track-based, sandbox experience, meaning that guests have the freedom to go anywhere in the Hotel they wish, following any character, and even leave a track if it does not align well with their interests. Yet, it is recommended at the start of the show—and by us—to stick to one character. That doesn’t mean the first character you find, but it does mean try to find a character that aligns with your desires and follow them through to the end. Each track is designed as one complete storyline that intertwines and weaves together with the other narratives to form a gorgeous tapestry that is the world of Stardust. Thus, jumping from story to story will feel incomplete and often times confusing, while one storyline will feel like an appropriate and fulfilling character arc.

So, how do you find out which character to follow and feel fulfilled with? Well, Alterea Inc and Stardust has created two elements to assist with this. First, they have a quiz at the start of the experience (so arrive a bit early) that starts by asking you whether you want to watch a musical, a play, a dance show, a film, or an audio drama. Ten questions later, you’ll have the names of a few characters that your temperaments will play well with. Our only concern is how do you find the name of said character? Say you are recommended to follow Carrie—only to find that you have not met a Carrie? Well, this may take some work on your part—and on Alterea Inc’s part—but the second mechanism works to help with this.

The second method to put audiences on the right path is what Alterea Inc calls Sweepers. These characters—and there are multiple of them—do not have specific tracks of their own. The function of these characters is to engage with audiences not yet on a track, or with players who look or seem unfulfilled on their track and orient them to a track that would better suit their wants. The impetus is not just on the Sweepers though, as Alterea assures us that all actors are instructed to engage with their groups, ensuring that they get to know their followers and make recommendations, especially if their track would not be a good fit for them.

In our time at Stardust, we saw some people leave our group, and others join our group. It all happened naturally and organically, never feeling as if it broke the narrative or we had to spend valuable time helping new audiences orient themselves to the current events. Further, there’s numerous points in which two characters come together at a critical juncture, allowing for some crossing of audiences at these points. Ultimately, we recommend finding one character that fits your play style (whether it be dance, song, mystery, or drama), and following it to its conclusion.

In our experience with Alterea Inc, group sizes remained at four to six people, with some people coming and others going at various times. The largest it ever became was around ten when another character joined us for a short while. We never felt like we were fighting for attention or rushing to keep up with the actors. However, some of the spaces are tight—like the workshop and the stairway to the second floor—and some scenes had around twenty to thirty people in it, resulting in some crowding. For this reason, Stardust and Alterea Inc asks audiences to wear a face mask and provide proof of vaccination to keep each other safe.

Characters & Actors

With over 20 different characters inhabiting the Hotel Dion, it’s impossible to meet, converse with, and learn about even a fourth of them. Yet, that’s one aspect that works in Stardust’s favor. It creates a repeatability and one that many other immersive theater experiences can only dream of. Depending on the character you follow, you will have an almost entirely different experience.

In our experience at Alterea Inc’s Stardust, we found our way to Iris, a child created by the Architect to be the embodiment of the Hotel. While we won’t spoil any of her experience or the choices she makes, we can comment to the incredible performance by Naomi Melville.  She imbues Iris with a childlike sense of wonder layered amongst an anxious fear of disappointing those around her. But as she comes into her own and is emboldened by her group, she finds inner strength born from shadow that burns brighter than any light inside Hotel Dion, and leads to an exciting conclusion.

As the audience is given the ability to fully interact and influence the characters, Melville does an exceptional job at hearing all participants, yet keeping them on track. There were numerous moments where we would offer solutions to problems that she would consider, and then find a way to subtly shift the conversation back to the solution that the story necessitates. And as we influenced her, as a child would be influenced by those empowering her, we watched as her personality and curiosity grew until the decisions she made were logical. We thought this was the only way the experience could have ended—until we learned there were five other endings, if we had helped Iris develop differently.

While it would be impossible to mention most the actors in this review — as we simply didn’t get a chance to interact with most of them — this performance was imbued with a certain sense of sonder, as characters came and went from Iris’s life. We saw glimpses of their problems and their paths, but we were unable to do more to help them. Yet, there was even more that we simply saw— but never crossed paths with: such as a musical performance with keyboardist and dual singers that we ran by on the way to our next mission. There were also dance numbers that we watched, involving participants and actors alike, but were never involved in ourselves.

Our path did cross paths with Nicodemus (MC Smitherman) who played his role with such devious charm, that like Loki, we were never sure if we could quite trust him. He was one of our favorites to banter with, and as his arc unfolded, it was clear he was a master of his shadow and utilized darkness to his advantage. We are curious as to who he would be without it.

During our pre-show, we interacted with Malachite (Socks Whitmore) who played their role with such unassuming joy that we only feared that their path would end in our heartbreak. They were exceptional in probing us to understand our desires—and to share theirs: to be seen. A deep conversation ensued where we discussed who we needed to see us, and what that meant to us. It was a vulnerable way to begin the experience—and one that some of our table needed.

Finally, Attica (Areeta Asgharzadeh) played a morally grey villain to us—while we assume to her track, we (and Iris) were the villain. The interplay between mother and daughter revealed a truth that some people really need to hear: we are the villains of other people’s stories and differences of viewpoints can create such a divide that it takes catastrophe to bridge that gap.

We wish we could comment to more, but again, sticking to one track only offers small glimpses into other actor’s lives, but all we can do is live our own, help when asked, and focus on solving our own issues.

Sets

Utilizing the historic (and haunted) Sassafras Saloon, the location was selected before Alterea’s Stardust was ever even written. Thus, the location is utilized to its maximum, ensuring that scenes play out across all areas of the first floor, second floor, and the workshop that exists in between.

Beyond tealights, candles, clues hidden throughout, and mood lighting, the majority of Stardust relies on the existing décor of the Sassafras Saloon to provide the backdrop to the experience. The Sassafras is gorgeous—and one of the most eye-appealing bars I have ever been to—and is worth the trip alone just to live in this space for three hours of the experience.

While you will have to suspend some belief that this otherworldly hotel looks like 1930’s Western Saloon with a Savannah Townhouse inside of it and no hints of actual hotel rooms, the space works wonders for the performance and offers plenty of areas for intimate conversation. Audiences will be moving up and down stairs (there are some tracks that circumvent this for mobility impaired patrons), moving from room to room, and seeking out other characters for information and items. This keeps audiences always on the move, never staying in one area for too long.

The only area that is fully decorated to fit Stardust is the Architect’s Workshop. This space is meticulously designed to showcase the Architect’s careful work, from her illustrations and diagrams, to walls covered in book pages detailing architecture and hotel construction. Various starlight globes cast celestial bodies across the ceiling and with drawings of stars and masks, the workshop feels as if it was ripped from a science fiction show, contrasting against the rest of the décor. This ensures it feels special—and when a character leads audiences here, they know there will be important lore revealed.

Alcohol

Normal tickets come with one drink ticket and VIP offers two drink tickets, but drinks may be purchased from the bartender at Sassafras Saloon at any time during the performance. We recommend getting there a bit early (even if you aren’t VIP) as the doors open an hour before the performance and remain open after the performance. These are the best times to order a drink as they exist as calms before and after the storm that is Stardust.

Drinks are all named after the character’s themselves and reflect their personalities. From Arthur’s Usual which is their variant of a Mule to The Madam’s Hooch, which is Strawberry Vodka, St. Germain, Rose Water, Lime, and Muddled Strawberries, each drink is unique and wonderful. They range from $13 to $16—and our personal favorite was Attica’s Ambrosia, which combines whiskey with Salted Caramel, Peychaud’s, and Bitters.

Endings

Audiences are given agency to affect the ending—not just of the overall narrative, but of the individual character arcs. While the main overarching narrative is controlled via two main tracks—that of Iris and Attica—each character’s individual ending can be influenced by the actions their group helps them decide, offering importance and gravity to the interactions participants have with their respective character.

Yet, the overarching, big picture narrative ending is only dependent on those who follow Iris or Attica, and help them in their decisions. While the story does navigate down a certain current, understand that those who go against this flow can unlock different endings, some happy and others sad. While there are no specific decision points, the characters make a choice dependent on an accumulation of advice and smaller choices made throughout. Think of it more of a “moral system” than a “choice A vs B” decision.

There are six main endings in total, depending on two choices Iris makes, and one that Attica makes. If you care about the overarching narrative, then make sure you get one of their paths. Yet, that does not underplay the importance of other narratives, and the decisions they make are equally as important—just more personal and less global.

VIPs

Stardust does offer a VIP experience that elevates the $55 ticket price to $85 dollars. Instead of 1 drink ticket, the VIP offers 2 tickets, yielding a second drink to the VIP. It also offers a key to hang around the neck of the people—but we didn’t see this having any effect on the narrative. No one paid us more attention than others as our group was afforded equal attention.

The main draw for immersive crowds would be the promise of “an exclusive character interaction before or during the show.” For us, a group of ten or so VIP ticket holders were brought upstairs 45-minutes prior to the start of our show to interact with eight or so characters.

Yet, this pre-show experience exists distinct from the rest of the experience—and with an in-narrative explanation, the characters will lose their memories at the conclusion of this interaction, resetting the experience so all are on the same page when Stardust officially begins for all participants.

This provides a unique opportunity for audiences as they can meet characters, extend their showtime by 45 minutes (and another drink), and see just how big the world of Stardust is—because for us, we did not interact with any of the characters we engaged with during the pre-show. It was simple an aperitif before the meal.

So is the VIP worth it? That’s up to you to decide if extending your time at Alterea Inc’s Stardust is worth $15 dollars ($30 extra minus a $15 dollar drink). If money is tight, there are still plenty of characters in the Stardust first floor to engage with prior to the show, but if you want something a little more intimate, $15 is a small price to pay for someone’s attention.

Conclusions

Stardust by Alterea Inc is an exploration of human desire that explores not just the light, but the darkness—and the necessity of both to be whole. It creates not just a hotel, but a world, with a cast of characters so large that you’ll likely never see them all. The interplay of tracks makes the world feel real, with complex backstories and interactions that existed long before we as audiences walked through the doors of Hotel Dion. Further, it offers a variety of pathways and numerous mechanisms to get you on the right track if you don’t find one you resonate with. We recommend, if you aren’t enjoying the experience, speak up, and let the characters know what you want—Alterea Inc is doing everything it can to get you on the right path. We loved Iris’s path—and Attica’s looked equally as interesting—but we like big picture stories. If you want dance or music, ask for that. If you like puzzles, try for that. There’s something for everyone here, you just need to be willing to speak up and take it.

Stardust will give back what you give in—so don’t be afraid to engage with the actors, ask questions, and offer insight. This is the type of experience where you’ll create connection. There are not many immersive theater experiences like this lately, and it’s one of the better ones to do this. So, get a room key and step into Alterea Inc’s Hotel Dion. The stars are waiting.

For more information on Stardust and Alterea Inc, checkout their Facebook, Instagram and website. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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