Cocktails and a Tiki-themed submarine? Sign me up! Fever’s latest foray into immersive entertainment is the Acey Deucey Club, part “underwater” submarine bar and part immersive experience.
As fellow board members Nick and Jacob along with long-time collaborator Alex and I ventured down into the depths of the submarine, I found myself wondering just how “immersive” this experience would actually be. I’d never been to a Fever event myself and wondered how it would compare to other immersive experiences and if “immersive” for Fever meant interactive as well.
Proceeding down a metallic hallway, we were checked in and assigned seats based on order of arrival (with VIPs having been allowed entrance first) before getting a brief intro from a sailor. We were told we would receive three cocktails throughout the experience: the first two would be the same for everyone, but for the third cocktail we could choose between a coconut-based rum drink or a coffee-based rum drink. (With this being a tiki bar, the drinks were rum all around). After the intro, we headed down towards the submarine and received our first drink, which was a tasty shot in a little parrot shot glass (all the cups and more that the drinks were served in were also available for purchase to take home).
Upon entering the submarine, I was a little underwhelmed by the decor and design elements. The space felt very contained with little to discover and explore (though there ended up being a bit more to explore later than I previously assumed). Though the elements established a clear, immersive setting, there was untapped interactive potential. The center was occupied by a full band and the sides of the submarine had small “windows,” which digitally displayed the waters outside the submarine (the screens did show us diving under the water when the submarine submerged).
We received our second drink as the Captain came up on stage and gave us our first bit of narrative info: we were now onboard the U.S.S. Clusterwink, which hosted the Acey Deucey Club, a secret club typically reserved for the highest ranks of the Navy in the 1940s. We were on the maiden voyage of the fictional submarine, and the year was 1949. We also met their second-in-command, the engineer, who assured us that nothing could go wrong on the sub. Suspicious? I was.
The band started up with the Captain as the lead singer, who had a fantastic voice, as we all vibed and enjoyed our second drink.
Aside from a couple red herrings of the submarine maybe malfunctioning, the main “plot” of the night was not introduced until the Captain stopped the band and announced that we had a stowaway, *gasp*. She selected the four most suspicious-looking individuals to take to the interrogation room, while her engineer interviewed the other passengers.
Lucky me, I was selected as one of the four most suspicious passengers! The four of us were taken to a side room, which brought me right into a spy movie with its dark interrogation room setup with four metal chairs against a wall and the classic singular large light hanging overhead. Thus began the interrogation, with the Captain asking us questions such as who we were and who we came with. I (and my fellow passengers) thought my answers were the most suspicious (through truly no fault of my own, I swear), but myself and another passenger were told that we were released and could return to the main lounge.
Upon returning to my seat, I was told that Jacob and Nick had been pulled away briefly by the engineer to the engine room to investigate some problems with the vessel. My third drink had also arrived in my absence (I was with a group, so the drink being dropped off when I wasn’t there was fine, but this could have been a concern if I had been a solo guest).
A few minutes later, the Captain returned, having not identified the stowaway. At this point, the engineer took Jacob away again, in need of his help. Alex then noticed a well-dressed woman in furs, clearly a character we hadn’t seen before, hiding in a corner of the submarine.
Jacob quickly returned with the engineer who stopped the band, pointing out the women in the furs as the stowaway. Apparently, she was a famous singer and had snuck on board the USS Clusterwink. I personally was a little disappointed by this reveal, as the Captain had been talking about her wife at multiple times throughout the experience, and I had been certain that the stowaway was going to be her wife, having snuck in to see her.
The experience ended with this mysterious famous singer performing onstage with the band.
Overall, the Acey Deucey Club’s plot and interactive theatre elements left something to be desired. While I was glad that myself and several of my companions had been picked for individual interactive moments, most passengers, like Alex, were not interacted with at all.
The Acey Deucey Club wavered between being just a cool themed bar and an actual immersive and interactive experience, and it would’ve benefitted by committing fully to one or the other. If you’re looking mainly for fun and tasty cocktails, a live band, and cool tiki bar decor the Acey Deucey Club is worth checking out. However, temper your expectations when it comes to any sort of individual interactive moments because that is not a guarantee for every passenger.
-Ashley Busenlener, Marketing Lead
Editor’s Note: This was written in regards to our experience in December 2022 with myself, Last Call Board Members Nick & Jacob, and long-time collaborator Alex. The Acey Deucey Club announced an extension and is still booking through February 18, 2023. More information can be found on their website: https://submarinetikibar.com/los-angeles/
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