The StarKid summer season was certainly busy, but now we finally get to see the first of two musical projects Team StarKid performed over the summer, ANI: A Parody.

This musical is structured slightly different than their previous performances. Instead of the cast members singing the songs, there was a band singing, that featured Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers and Max Evrard. Also, there were only nine cast members in the entire show, but this was due to the Team StarKid members having such busy schedules. They were also working their other show, Trail To Oregon, at the same time!

The musical is based around Darth Vader aboard the Death Star. He insists that he should be called Ani, and spends his time thinking about the ‘good old  days’. But all of his crew does not truly appreciate him nor respect him. He is seen as a bit of a joke, who should not attend the important staff meetings and his abundance of Star Wars puns were not doing him any favors.

It was not until Ani met Mara, the potential replacement as the Emperor’s apprentice, that he realizes how much he missed pod racing. He goes on an adventure to pursue his dreams, along with Mara who longs of becoming a slave dancer for Jabba the Hutt.

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This is yet another great performance from Team StarKid. It is full of Star Wars puns and references, mostly from Ani. There were many friendly faces among both the cast members and the characters.

Chris Allen was great as Anakin; he managed to capture a whole range of emotions, and I cannot think of anyone playing it better. Joe Walker played Moff Tarkin, who showed his unrequited love for Stormtrooper Emily, played by Julia Albain. Although Tarkin eventually won her over with Ani’s speech, which got him his own wife.

Brian Holden managed to create a Jar Jar Binks that many fans loved, and was just as funny as Ani, especially when they were together. The rest of the cast was wonderful too, but Nick Lang really stood out in his portrayal of both Pappy, who cared deeply for Ani and had his best interests at heart, and the drunken Obi-Wan Kenobi, who could not wait to finish the job of killing Ani.

Overall, it was another success for Team StarKid, as well as Matt and Nick Lang (who showed us their incredible writing skills yet again).

You do not have to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this show! There was laughter, there was sadness, and it was all accompanied by some incredible music, written by TalkFine. If you have not seen Ani: A Parody yet, or wish to watch it again, you can do so here.

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