Summary
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musicalis a 2023 interactive choices-matter story where Grace, a stagnant 20-something looking for her purpose, stumbles her way into godhood. Calliope, the Last Muse of the Greek pantheon, has died, and now, you’ve got to help Grace prove she’s not the killer to a Chorus of four very different major gods.
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With 16 characters in Stray Gods and some big names in the game lending their spoken and singing voices to the Idols of legend, we wanted to take a moment to give credit where credit is due for the wonderful voices behind Stray Gods.
Grace: Laura Bailey
The main character of Stray Gods, Grace, does a hell of a lot of singing in this game, as the Last Muse might. Featured in each song, Grace’s is the voice we hear the most, and that’s all thanks to Laura Bailey.
Bailey’s credits are both extensive and varied, from voicing iconic video game characters like Mary Jane inSpider-Manand Abby inThe Last of Us: Part Two, to anime characters like Kurotsuchi in Naruto: Shippuden or Tohru Honda in the English version of Fruits Basket. You can also catch her as multiple characters on the hitDungeons and Dragonsshow, Critical Role.
Calliope: Ashley Johnson
Calliope is the original Last Muse when the story of Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical begins, auditioning for Grace’s band before showing up to Grace’s apartment, bleeding to death in her arms. It’s because of Calliope that the game’s story unfolds at all, as Grace spends the next week proving to the Pantheon that she didn’t kill Calliope.
Johnson’s best-known video game role to date, though, is as Ellie in both parts ofThe Last of Us. She also voiced Gwen Tennyson in each iteration of Ben 10, and herself acted in the crime drama series, Blindspot.
Athena: Felicia Day
Warrior Princess and Goddess of War, Athena is the leader of The Chorus, the ruling body for all the Idols in Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical. It’s Athena who demands that Grace prove her innocence, and subsequently serves as the judge at Grace’s trial in the game’s final act.
Felicia Day’s credits span mediums of all kind, from games to television to web shows. Supernatural fans will recall her recurring role as Charlie Bradbury, she has 33 credits from Mystery Science Theater 3000, and her web series, The Guild, ran from 2007 until 2013.
Apollo: Troy Baker
Apollo is both the God of Sun and the God of Prophecy, and while future sight may seem like a blessing to some, Apollo finds it to be a curse. He’s the one who objects to executing Grace outright for Calliope’s murder, and spends the game offering advice, even if he’s a tough nut to crack.
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Troy Baker’s credits list in both gaming and anime can’t be understated! Gamers know him as Joel inThe Last of Us, Booker fromBioShockInfinite, or Samuel Drake in theUnchartedseries. Anime fans, meanwhile, recognize his work as Yashiro Uchiha from Naruto: Shippuden or Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Persephone: Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of the Dead, former wife of Hades who stands strictly in opposition to Grace at the beginning of Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical. Throughout the course of the game, she can become an ally, an adversary, or even a romantic interest.
And speaking of women with range, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn is no stranger to singing in video games, providing music for several of the Silent Hill games. McGlynn also has directorial and/or crew credits for over 100 games and anime series, including but not limited to her work on Naruto.
Aphrodite: Merle Dandridge
Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love, but for someone who oversees such a pleasant subject, the goddess herself is a tortured soul. During the war that brought the Idols to Earth, Aphrodite was kidnapped and tortured by the mortals, agony she can’t stop reliving every time her Eidolon is passed between successors.
Merle Dandridge once again works with her Last of Us costars on Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, having played Marlene inThe Last of Usin both video gamesandthe television adaptation. She also played Grace Greenleaf on the 2016 drama series, Greenleaf, produced by Oprah Winfrey.
Freddie: Janina Gavankar
Freddie is Grace’s best friend, bandmate, and roommate in Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical, the friend who’s way too eager about Grace’s situation, given her deep-running love for Greek mythology. Freddie tags along on several of Grace’s investigations, providing helpful info on the Pantheon anytime Grace has questions.
A trained musician and multi-instrumentalist who majored in theater, Janina Gavankar has plenty of credits in gaming and television spheres as well, appearing roles ranging from Luna Garza in True Blood to Iden Verso inStar Wars Battlefront 2.
Pan: Khary Payton
The debonair, smooth-talking Pan is the God of the Wild, appearing in Grace’s Apartment unannounced immediately after she became the Last Muse, offering unsolicited help in getting to the bottom of who murdered Calliope. Don’t mind that he’s back-handed and suspicious, though – that’s just his devilish nature.
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The man behind the smooth voice, Khary Payton, has hundreds of acting credits in gaming, animated shows,andlive-action. He played Ezekiel onThe Walking Deadfrom 2016 until the show’s finale in 2022, Cyborg in Teen Titans Go!, Wasabi in Big Hero 6: The Series.
Hermes: Erika Ishii
The first god that Grace meets after Calliope dies, Hermes, the “Messenger of the Gods” appears moments after Grace receives the Eidolon to bring the confused girl to Olympus to meet with The Chorus about her fate. Throughout the story, Hermes serves not only as an errand-person, but as a friend to Grace almost every time they’re on-screen.
And Erika Ishii is no stranger to lending her voice to video games, having voiced Valkyrie inApex Legends. She also played May Wong in Dimension 20, and Annabelle in Vampire: The Masquerade: L.A. By Night.
Oracle: Kimberly Brooks
Apollo tells Grace he’s got an Oracle in every incarnation of himself, and this time, that Oracle is his hacker roommate. Oracle never tells you her real name, but she spends the game helpfully finding background information online for “Paul,” which is what she calls Apollo, refusing to believe he’sactuallya deity.
Kimberly Brooks’ acting credits number in the hundreds and span across genres, with credits in everything fromMass Effect, toBioShock Infinite, to Steven Universe, to name a few. She’s been offering voices to assorted games and shows since the late 1990s.
