Stephanie Walsh
Lead Events Editor
To quote Joey Richter, “Things have been totally awesome for a long time now.” He was right, things have been, and still are “Totally Awesome.” It’s been almost four years since the first time I watched Team Starkid’s “A Very Potter Musical”, and I have been hooked ever since. I have been with them as they slowly evolved from calling themselves Starkidpotter to Team Starkid to the birth of Starkid Productions. What hooked me was that they came up with a creative way to show their love for the Harry Potter series in a comical and completely brilliant way. I am a huge fan of musical theater and Harry Potter. I love pop culture references in comedy. I clicked on the link to AVPM Act 1 Scene 1 with complete skepticism, but before I knew it was halfway through Act 1, laughing so hard that I was nearly in tears and kept going. It’s now 2013, and I’ve never looked back.
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(Spoilers Ahead)
The third and final installment of the Very Potter series (A Very Potter Senior Year) is set to be released on YouTube tonight, March 15, 2013 at 7pm central (check your world clocks to figure out what time that is for you). When it was performed live at LeakyCon 2012 this past August, you’d have been hard pressed to find a dry eye in the house. They had me pretty much from the first line, but the audience took the final journey with Harry in stride. We laughed and cried right along with the cast. Closing the final chapter of the Potter Musicals was incredible to witness live. It will be just the same to experience it once again, with the fans all over the world who were unable to be there in person.
Many of us feared that A Very Potter Senior Year was a pipe dream, and members of Team Starkid said it was near impossible, especially once our Harry Potter, Darren Criss, found fame on a little television show called Glee, maybe you’ve heard of it? But through his insane rise to fame, he stayed connected to his Starkid roots and turned out songs for Starship and managed to be a part of both SPACE and APOCALYPTOUR for a few dates on each. His tight schedule did not allow for much time to be given to Harry Potter. LeakyCon was the perfect place to stage it and thankfully they put the show together with Darren having less than 24 hours to rehearse with the group before showtime.
Since I have been following Team Starkid for as long as I have, I’ve had the opportunity to witness many performances and spend time with the members of the cast and crew. Each event is special, but none have made me feel the way I felt being able to be there for AVPSY. Almost every person who has ever been involved in a Starkid Production was on hand, with the exceptions of Julia Albain (Specs, Starship & Crabbe, AVPM/S), Ali Gordon (Vanessa, MAMD), Bonnie Gruesen (Hermione, AVPM/S) who each had prior engagements and could not make it. We even were surprised with a few new faces in the cast (Evanna Lynch, anyone?). In my opinion, the story flows effortlessly with the same vibe as the previous two. While in true Starkid fashion, the show was a bit lengthy, the songs were great, and it was wonderful to observe the individual growth both as actors and singers. The emotional scenes were heart-wrenching, the comedic parts and throwback references were spot on.
While a lot of the story has been given away- through the release of the script and soundtrack in mid- December, and the pictures that went along with it, die-hards that didn’t mind spoilers pretty much know who is playing whom, I guarantee people will still be surprised by performances. In my opinion standouts include Joey Richter’s solo and Joe Walker’s portrayal of young Tom Riddle. AJ Holmes blows it out of the water as Gilderoy Lockhart, and Tyler Brunsman as Professor McGonagall is side-splitting hilarious. Jeff Blim is also a show stealer, even though his part in the show is brief. My absolute favorite part was seeing past characters make a surprise cameo appearance, also known as the moment I completely lost all self control and became a blubbering, hysterical mess until the end of the show, which Nick Strauss told me later was exactly what they were hoping for.
“This is the end…” it sounds so final, many fans were worried this meant it was the end of Team Starkid, and while that’s definitely not true (they’re going strong with a LOT of upcoming plans this year alone), things have completely changed from 2009, at the Walgreens Drama Center at the University of Michigan. In the last four years, Starkid has brought us 6 original musicals, performed at two digitour stops in 2011, two nationwide tours, multiple conventions, albums, merchandise, dvds, the list goes on. That’s just their successes as a group, I could go on forever about their individual works: books, television appearances, sketch comedy shows, eps, and more.
So yes, today we say goodbye to our Harry Freakin’ Potter, and we close the book on the Very Potter Musicals, but the sky is the limit for Team Starkid and they are showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Though things are changing for them, we can always come back to YouTube and revisit their version of Hogwarts. We’ll always have those Days of Summer, and as JK Rowling has said, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home. She was referring to books and movies, but I think the same holds true for web-based musicals.
My friends, I think we’re going back. One last time.
We are SO interested in your thoughts and feelings on AVPSY. Please let us know what you think of the show and how you’re coping with the emotional roller coaster that is saying goodbye to Starkid’s Potter Musicals.
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