The complete Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical cast

Originally titled Chorus: An Adventure Musical, Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a roleplaying whodunnit where you can tap into your inner theater nerd. The choose-your-own-adventure murder mystery promises to offer the player a unique experience based on which trait they choose to give the main character, Grace. The options are “charming,” “kickass,” or “clever,” and putting Grace in one of these mindsets affects the storyline and narrative, as well as the music.

The idea for Stray Gods was said to be inspired by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode “Once More, with Feeling,” and that inspiration rings true when you play Stray Gods. Composer Austin Wintory claims that there is a plethora of “easter egg” content in this game, so much so that he’s certain there’s only about a 5% chance of a player ever finding it.

They got the absolute cream of the crop for this crowd-funded 2D Humble Games venture. So, let me introduce you to the characters and the actors lending their voices to the roles.

Grace – Laura Bailey

Grace is a victim of circumstance. Bestowed with the power of song she never asked for by the “last muse” — Calliope — Grace is tasked with proving she did not murder her — even though she literally has Calliope’s blood on her hands — and she has only one week to do so. Grace will be played by veteran voice actor Laura Bailey. Bailey’s credits include Serana in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dawnguard,  Abby Anderson in the video game The Last of Us Part II, and Tohru Honda in Fruits Basket, among others.

Persephone – Mary Elizabeth McGlynn

The brooding god of the underworld is portrayed by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn. Known for the Tekkin and Silent Hill series, she was also a guest star for a Dungeons and Dragons web series called Critical Role and has voiced multiple characters for English-dubbed anime and animation.

Apollo – Troy Baker

The god of prophecy is portrayed by (show and video game) Last of Us alum Troy Baker. He also played  Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, Samuel “Sam” Drake in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, and Rhys Strongfork in Tales from the Borderlands.

Freddie – Janina Gavankar

Grace’s best friend and roommate, Freddie, seems to be in Grace’s band but also acts as a protector, the voice of reason. Freddie is portrayed by prolific musician Janina Gavankar, known for such roles as Eva “Papi” Torres on Showtime’s The L Word, Shiva on The League, Leigh Turner on The Gates, Luna Garza on HBO’s True Blood, McKenna Hall on The CW’s Arrow, and Diana Thomas on FOX’s Sleepy Hollow.

Pan – Khary Payton

Pan serves as sort of a guide to a dubious Grace, trying to help her understand her new powers and what, if any, control she has over her own fate. He is voiced by Khary Payton – known for his roles as King Ezekiel on The Walking Dead and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera General Hospital, Payton has also done voice work for the animated series Young Justice.

Eros – Abubakar Salim

Not much is known about the character of Eros at this time — he doesn’t show up in the demo — but surely, he will be there to manipulate the characters into falling in love. Eros is played by Kenyan actor Abubakar Salim. Known for his roles in the series Jamestown and Raised by Wolves, Salim’s voice work includes the video game Assassin’s Creed Origins.

Athena – Felicia Day

Athena — the “goddess of wisdom” — seems to be the top dog of the chorus, and the most wise, as she sits at the desk and they all sort of stand around her. Athena is voiced by actress, writer, and content creator Felicia Day. Day was cast as Vi in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Holly Marten in Eureka, and Charlie Bradbury on Supernatural. She has also acted in movies such as Bring It On Again, as well as multiple bit roles on shows like Undeclared and Maybe it’s Me.

Minotaur – Rahul Kohli

The Minotaur — whose lair Grace stumbles into — will be portrayed by English actor Rahul Kohli. A favorite of filmmaker Mike Flanagan, you may recognize Kohli from such roles as Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti in iZombie, Owen Sharma in The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Sheriff Hassan in Midnight Mass. His voice work includes the animated series, Harley Quinn.

Just in case you weren’t already enough of a fan of Kohli, he has long been an ally of transgender people and uses gender-fluid pronouns.

Hecate – Allegra Clark

Hecate also did not appear in the demo, but presumably, she will appear when Grace is at a crossroads. Hecate is played by Northwestern University Magna cum laude graduate Allegra Clark, who has multiple voice acting credits, including The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburg, the TV series Wake Up, Carlo!, Harry Potter: Magic Awakened, and Street Fighter 6.

Aphrodite – Merle Dandridge

Yet another The Last of Us alum, the Goddess of Love is played by actress and singer Merle Dandridge, who has starred in Broadway musicals such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Spamalot, Rent, and Once on This Island, and her voice credits include the video game Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, and Marlene in The Last of Us video game and TV series. An actress with such a vast and diverse resume, I can’t possibly list all of her accomplishments here.

Hermes – Erika Ishii

Seemingly also a muse, Hermes arrives on the scene of Calliope’s death, to advise Grace on the next steps. Hermes is played by Erika Ishii. Ishii got her start with a bit role on Full House. Since then, she has narrated the audiobook Walk Among Us, hosted the 2018 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and voiced the video game character Valkyrie in Apex Legends.

Ishii told Bungie that she decided while playing The Last of Us that she wanted to go into voice acting.

Calliope – Ashley Johnson

I wish Calliope didn’t die so soon, I want to know more about the siren who wandered in off the street to reluctantly audition for Grace’s band and share a duet with her. I used to have a scorpion named Calliope. Calliope will be voiced by veteran actress and California native Ashley Johnson. With a resume longer than both of your arms, I will try to just list a few here: Johnson played Anna in the TV adaptation of The Last of Us, Ellie in the video game version, Chrissy Seaver on the TV series Growing Pains, and her unique voice has landed her voice work on video games such as Teen Titans, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion – to name a very few. She even plays and sings Ellie’s acoustic guitar covers of hit alternative songs in The Last of Us Part II.

Venus – Lauren ‘Lolo’ Spencer

The Roman goddess of love and sexuality is portrayed by Oklahoma native Lauren Spencer. Her acting credits include Jane Bennet in the web series The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Jessica Warren on Bones, and Emily Sweeney on The Big Bang Theory.

Medusa – Anjali Bhimani

Anjali Bhimani portrays the doomed Medusa. Bhimani has appeared in multiple TV series, including All My Children, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Sopranos, Journeyman, Shark, Flight of the Conchords, and Modern Family. Her voice work includes playing Symmetra in the video game Overwatch.

Oracle – Kimberly Brooks

Kimberly Brooks will play the prophet Oracle. Brooks’ voice roles are way too many to list here, but some highlights include Mee Mee in Dexter’s Laboratory, Barbara Gordon in the video game Batman: Arkham, Shinobu Jacobs in No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, and Princess Allura in Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Orpheus – Anthony Rapp

The charmer Orpheus is played by Anthony Rapp, known for such roles as Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent, Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Lucas in the musical If/Then, and Paul Stamets on Star Trek: Discovery.

Rapp is also one of the principal accusers of actor Kevin Spacey in his sexual misconduct suit, bringing allegations against him stemming from an event that allegedly took place in 1986 when he was just 14 years old.

Stray Gods is the most unique thing to come out of gaming in quite a while, some say ever. Summerfall Studios held a live show for Stray Gods on April 12, 2023, called “Myth and Music.” In it, you can tangibly feel the excitement of the creators of the game and the actors. The presentation consisted of demos of the songs and their variations based on choices the player makes for Grace performed live, interviews by and of the actors – all to illustrate the interactive nature and magic of the game.

Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical releases on Aug.10, 2023, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

Get ready for your next obsession.

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