Thoughts on Steve Carlsberg of 'Welcome to Night Vale'

Hal Lublin occupies a somewhat maligned position in the universe of popular podcast "Welcome to Night Vale."

The actor, a Philadelphia area native now based in Los Angeles, has a recurring role on the bi-monthly series as Steve Carlsberg, a woefully unpopular figure among the residents of the series' titular desert community, where something strange is almost always afoot.

"It just seems to me that he's not a guy who thinks he's a bad guy," Lublin said. "And some of the people who maybe annoy us or get under our skin aren't really bad people necessarily, there's just something about them or there's an event that's taken place that has sort of predisposed us to be annoyed with them."

Lublin made his debut as Carlsberg with "The Debate," a special live episode recorded in October 2013 in Brooklyn, New York, and released in May 2014.

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The actor returns to the role for live readings of the episode "The Librarian" at 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, at New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on LaGuardia Place in New York City.

"Hal is just a fantastic performer, and a really great guy who has brought this personality and warmth to Steve Carlsberg that has allowed us to play off that," said "Welcome to Night Vale" co-creator and Joseph Fink.

"A lot of the audience is like, 'Oh, we hate Steve,' " said actor Cecil Baldwin, who stars as the voice of community radio anchor Cecil Palmer. "But I think Joseph is really interested in taking some of these characters that seem one-dimensional and now that we have a little room to play and explain some backstory say, 'He's not a terrible guy. He's just very different than Cecil.' "

Fink described the character as "the classic underdog."

"The only things we're allowed to know about Steve Carlsberg are what Cecil tells us, and so in that sense he's an underdog because Cecil is not the most reliable narrator," Fink said. "He's definitely got opinions that he inserts into his narration. And so, I always felt that Steve Carlsberg was kind of a good guy that just maybe didn't get along with Cecil or that Cecil doesn't get along with him."

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Marking its second anniversary in June, "Welcome to Night Vale" is consistently one of the most popular podcasts in the world, guiding listeners through a world filled with entities such as an all-powerful glowing cloud, a mysterious man in a tan jacket, and a vague, yet menacing, government agency. And yet, the out-there story is emotionally grounded by character relationships, such as the often-tenuous one between Palmer and Carlsberg.

"You get the idea that Steve and Cecil are sort of like step-brothers and Steve is raising Cecil's niece, so it's a family thing," Baldwin said, "and you're allowed to love and hate your family at the same time."

The relationship and history between Lublin and Baldwin's characters was explored in the recent episode "The September Monologues."

While Lublin's previous appearances as the character have been as part of live shows, "The September Monologues" is more intimate and hushed, having been recorded in a studio setting.

"The live performances are a lot about putting out energy, and what I did in 'The September Monologues' was way more subdued," Lublin said. "You can do that, to a certain extent, in a live setting. But to perform that, I actually recorded that out here in my home. It was a fun opportunity to play with a completely different energy for that character. Not that when I come out to do it in the live show it's all huge energy, but still it's a completely different level when you go in to record something."

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Lublin is also one of the core cast members of the Los Angeles-based podcast "The Thrilling Adventure Hour," a serialized anthology inspired by old-time radio that staged a cross-over episode with "Welcome to Night Vale" at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con that was released in October.

"I think 'Night Vale' fans and 'Thrilling Adventure' fans, there are a lot of commonalities, a lot of people found one podcast through the other," Lublin said. "Going to perform for people live, in any city, they're really, really charged up. 'Thrilling Adventure' fans are really high-energy, there are a lot of sing-along portions to the show, so there's some audience participation as far as that goes. And, I love 'Thrilling Adventure Hour' fans, obviously.

"And then, 'Night Vale' fans also are just so passionate, it's incredible. The amount of energy they put out, even before anybody steps on stage, is crazy. I mean, it's kind of an actor's dream come true to get to perform in front of both audiences."

WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE

WHAT: Live performance and recording of "The Librarian"

WHEN: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16

WHERE: New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, LaGuardia Place and Washington Square South, New York City

TICKETS: Sold out

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