Drinks about the Clusterwink.

Anderson Lawfer, Artistic Director at Fever Originals USA — a clearly enthusiastic and warm character, and the man who oversaw the implementation of creator Cinereal's vision for the Acey Deucey Club — says that he and his team were hoping to capture a certain feeling: “a nostalgia for a time that none of us actually remember,” but one that is still summoned by this immersive cocktail of tropical, maritime, jazzy, and clubby ingredients. Lawfer says that “really, what we’re trying to do at the end of the day is create a good environment for people to go on a date or go out with their friends and escape from the world a little bit.” He hopes that it’s “exciting to leave problems and the world behind and be in the submarine with people and listen to great music and have drinks.”

Lawfer, who came to Fever after being an artistic director of a small company in Chicago and then starting his own immersive company, says that there is also a social component that is important to these events. It’s not just escape, it’s escaping into something imaginative together with other people, in person. He wants to encourage face-to-face conversation, and says it’s gratifying to be able to do these events after a long period of covid isolation. He remembers seeing people come into the Acey Deucey club for the first time: “For most of us, it’s been years trapped inside,” and now, “you’re in there, and you get this cocktail in some crazy glass and you hear the jazz band play.” He says it was “just awesome.”

An engineer takes orders after you board.

Though they worked long days to get the project together — hiring a local team for nearly all the elements of the Acey Deucey Club, dealing with permits and regulations, rehearsing and designing — I was told that the Fever team also had a pleasant time in San Diego. They stayed at the Horton Grand Hotel for a month, and were able to venture out into the city to explore at least a little bit. Lawfer enjoyed the Safari Park, and says that one of his favorite memories is an Ocean Beach crowd at Wonderland Ocean Pub, clapping and cheering for the sunset. A different sort of immersion, but similarly sociable.