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popculturebuffet · 2 years ago

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Hatchetfield Retrospective Part 2: Black Friday

Ahoy there boys and girls (and others). All aboard the SS Wiggle and set sail for giggles as my Hatchetfield retrospective rolls on just after the crimbule on your Turkey Day that requires a bottle of Pepper Spray, it's time for Black Friday!

For those friendywends just joining us, I covered The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. If your new to starkid, I covered the troupes extensive history there along with most of the actors involved, which thankfully means with the ground work laid out I can jump right into this one.

And that was kind of the feeling here. As I covered last time the Guy Who Didn't LIke Musicals was the third idea the Lang Brothers had for this, and was chosen because it was more accesible. With Hatchetfield set up and just enough in place, Black Friday does what most horror sequels (or in this case spirtual sequels), do and kicking it up a notch: there's a much larger cast of characters, a global scope that comes about at the end of act 1, the introduction of one of the settings big bads, everything is bigger, badder and brutaler. So the question is did it pay off? Well come with me under the cut and find out. But hurry, suplies are limited.

Crawl and Brawl for A Doll

As with last time a bit of a refesher before we dive into the analysis: Black Friday follows the citzens of Hatchefield on the titular friday as a good chunk of them gather at Lakeside Mall to get their hands on the hottest toy of the season: Tickle Me Wiggly. Like Chucky you can tell just by looking at this guy…

That something is VERY wrong. The fact he usually appears surronded by an eerie green glow of stage lights dosen't help. But rather than running away from the thing as any sane person would, the adults of hatchefield are running toward it. And the Musical does expertly handwave the obvious problem of online retailers: Their already sold out so if anyone in our tiny town wants one, they gotta get in line.

IT's here we get to one of the things that sets this musical apart from TGWDLM: The previous show was pretty much Lazer focused on Paul with emma coming second, with every main cast member barring hidgens having some connection to paul. Even Emma, the plays deutratgonist, was still partly defined by being pauls love intrest.

In contrast, Black Friday is more of an ensemble, focusing on the various people at Lakeside Mall, and switching between groups with characters intersecting as the plot demands before most of them come back together for the finale, and that' snot even getting into the largely disconnected PEIP subplot. We meet our first Tom Houston via our previous protaganists Paul and Emma, a nice way to both set up the multiverse nature of things and connect back to the prevoius musical. Tom is played by Starkid Legend Dylan Saunders, who started as Dumbledoore and was a stalwart of Starkid up until twisted. Getting his SAG card meant he couldn't work with them for a while, and thus left the troupe. Thankfully this marked his grand return and he's been back ever since, even playing Ebeneezer Scrooge in A VHS Christmas Carol.

Tom is the husband of Emma's sister Jane, a nice bit of setup from last time, and naturally isn't doing well, being pantsless mid day, having left his job due to his PTSD both from his time as a vet and the car crash, and slowly drifting from his son Tim, not helped by him faking needing a drill press when he's really getting a wiggly. Emma is pissed but once she finds out why he needs her, she forgives him.

Tom has his work cut out for him though as the line is massive and if that weren't enough also features his Ex, Becky Barnes, played by Kim Whalen. Kim's a fresh addition to StarKid, but has been acting for some time and is the wife of Curt Mega, a close friend of star kid and part of their sister troop TinCan Bros, most famously headlniing spies are forever, a show I both need to see and cannot stop listenting to the soundtrack to. We'll be seeing him too as both joined up and both are invaluable additons to the team.

Becky is a kind, patient nurse who just wants to get a doll for the kids… and who is gossiped about by the town both because her and Tom were the big couple on campus.. and because she ended up in an abusive marriage that no one bothered to try helping her out of until stan just disappeared one day. Rubbing this in is Linda Monroe, every karen in the world baked into one insufferable but gloriously hammy person, the bitch of bitches who wants a wiggly for her kids and is constantly on the phone with her husband Gerald, who apparently can't be within 10 feet of a cinabon, which turned what was suppposed to be a cruel dig at his weight.. into everyone in the fandom to this day just asuming, probably correctingly, that Gerald once fucked a cinnamon roll. I mean they haven't proved he didn't.

Off to the side we have Lex Foster, a high school dropout with an abusive mother whose hoping to escape to california. Lex is played by yet another new face, Angela Giratnia, a great addition who plays Lex excelently. Mariah Rose Faith was supposed to play the roll.. but instead went to do Mean Girls. Ironically though the two have become very close friends, shooting the video for Yellow Jacket from Nightmare Time together and even more ironically, will be starring in the next full on musical, Nerdy Prudes Must Die, together as the leads.

Lex plans to sell a doll on the black market thanks to her Boyfriend Ethan, a nice dude in a leather jacket who despite being a punk is not low down nor cheap. Hannah however is less than receptive having stephen king style doom prophicies of death today and while Ethan calms her down with the power of grey skull, it's clear given we're in a horror property she's right and our heroes are in for some shit.

And shit does indeed hit the fan thanks to two people once their doors are open to you: The first is Frank Pricely. Frank is easily one of the best parts of the musical, with Corrrey Dorris absolutely devouring the scenery and having some truly great comedic moments..

Frank makes Flintheart Glomgold look both reserved and morally upstanding, and his greed ends up being a problem when our second domino tips him over: Sherman Young, a creepy toy collector who outright admits he's going to fuck at least two of the dolls and wants to buy them all. Linda has to sue to get frank to back off with her attonrey gary goldstien.. only for that to fall apart since he's also sherman's attorney> A man in a hurry plunges the final nail into the coffin by offering money, a bidding war starts and CHAOS REIGNS as everyone but Frank and Lex plunge into a full on retail riot, in song of course, and it quickly becomes apparent that while part of this is just human greed and bloodlust, the doll does something to people as it quickly escalates from simple riot to full blown cult.

Helping this escalation is Uncle WIley, the creator of Tickle Me Wiggly.. who naturally given this is a child's play and stephen king style horror show, turns out to ALSO be a delviery man played by the same actor, as well as a Randall Flag style corrupter, seducing Linda into leading a cult for Wiggly and finding the last dolls in the store.. one of which Lex smuggled into Hannah's backpack.

Things quickly go to shit for our heroes: Ian , after a really touching moment showing what a good guy he is.. gets curbstomped to death by the raving shoppers, wtih Hannah barely escaping, and Tom and Becky find his corpse… and Tom gets stabbed right after. And if that wasn't enough main character murder for you Frank goes soon after while Lex is held prisoner.

So naturally while all this drama nd tension is going on we cut to Washington DC

Yeah this is the subplot I mentoined; turns out riots like this are happening nation wide and the President, played by Curt Mega, is trying to solve it… only for him to succumb to wiggly too. Thankfully John Macnamara returns, shooting the doll and coming in to fetch President Goodman while belting out a badass underated song.

So our party splits into a few diffrent groups for a bit: Tom and Becky reunite while watching Santa Claus Goes to High School, and trust me we will unpack that one in a moment, and reveal their baggage, tom talking about how hard thigns have been … and Becky revealing she KILLED Stanley, as he refused to let her go to Jane's funeral, she tried going anyway, and the resulting confrontation lead to his death.

Hannah meanwhile is in a bad place as Wiggly himself harasses her, first posing as Ethan in a truly unerving scene with some excellent and horrifying acting form Robert Manion.. before speaking to Hannah herself and despite the doll not being able to move like Chucky, I applaud Jon Mattenson for being every bit as terrifying in his own way. Excellent job dude.

So we go back to the Washington Cul De Sac and get a bunch of exposition: Wiggly is an outer god from the place known as the black and white. Their plan amounts to tellign Wiggly

I wish I was kidding: They whnat goodman to come ot bargin with him. The thing is unlike say one Stephen Strange.. their just assumign the authority of ONE head of a country is enough to make an Elder God who clearly intricatley planned out his apocalypse go away.

SHOCKINGLY this goes bad immeditely: Wiggly instead mocks goodman, refuses to help and we get a truly haunting and AMAZING shot: naturally given when this play takes place, the set was decked with garland and two stage lights… which turn INTO wiggly, revealing he was there the whole time. The fact they pulled off the phsyical form of an elder god in a fucking stage show and did so in a way that had it there the whole time without making it obvious is fucking incredible.

Wiley lays out that it was mankinds own need to fill the voids in their soul with stuff that made their plan so easy and Goodman almost dies only for Macnamary to sacrife himself to the black and white to save him and urges the president to nuke him. NATURALLY this also goes bad and the nuke gets instead sent to BOMB THE RUSSIANS

World War III were declared. John does help one last time though: As sherman tries to murder lex, he appears to her awakening her own psychic powers and allowing her to get a gun

And just in time too as tom and becky found hannah and went on full posseison mode, tom running off with the doll while the other two were taken by the cult. So it's up to Lex to wake Tom from the possesion and go save her sister before it's too late.

How she does it reveals an EXTREMLEY clever twist: as Lex points out… none of the kids actually want the doll. The fact it's out of date and dosen't seem like something a kid would want.. is the point. It was all marketing and elder god brainwashing. Tim never ACTUALLY asked for it and it simply prayed on Tom and other's need to fill the void inside. Tom breaks free.

The two confront Linda, and almost loose as she gets the doll.. only for Becky to get the gun and Linda to be too busy mocking Becky and assuming she wouldn't get shot… to try and duck. Linda dies..

The rest of the cultists burn as Lex burns the mall, and our heroes meet up with Paul and Emma and sing one last song and the day, and possibly the world.. ends with an ominous noise and a smash to black. What happened?

Big Fat Buts

As I said before the summary, Black Friday feels like a lot of horror sequels or followups, a clear escalation that tries to be bigger than what came before: With the All-New All Diffrent team starkid having proven themselves by defeating an island that walks like a man.. er putting on a musical about a guy who dosen't quite care for them, it's clear Nick Lang had a lot of confidence both in his team and in hatchetfield. He knew he had fans and thus he could go as big as he wanted and even if it didn't quite land, there would still likely be fans left.

As such the cast is an ensemble, our heroes troubles are even darker with our abuse victimt his go round having to KILL her husband just to escape, a ptsd laden war vet in the darkest remake of jingle all the way ever and a teenager who genuinely thinks she's worth nothing and sings a song as she's choked out. TGDLM went dark but Black Friday goes pitch black

IT's not to say we don't have our usual starkid hilarity: from the whole drillpress argument ("How would it fit in the sedan?" killed me JUST as much the second time around) to the glorious ham of Gary Goldstien, to Lauren just.. devouring the scneery as linda, who alternates between horrifyingly awful to hilariously awful with expert timing. The show dosen't lack humor.. but it's less frequent and thus there's less refuge from the pretty bleak subject matter. While both musicals go darker in their second half, after the santa claus goes to high school bit, act 2 of Black Friday just has a bleak tone, with our heroes barely winning.. and even then it being implied nothing good came of it. The ending is not a rousing if dark number decnsturctoing final acts.. but a very chilling song asking if tommorow will come and hoping it'll be better.

And I.. like it. I'm fine with The Lang Bros having the tones be whatever fits the worth with the Hatchetfield Series. It set in a bit more with Nightmare Time, but it's fine for horror to have a range, to shake things up. It's why John Carpenter is so immortal in the genre and why Jordan Peele is his clear succesor: both have a knack for cranking out masterpieces.. while also not being afraid to experiment or throw something new in wether it works or not and i'm glad the Langs are willing to take risks. It paid off in this regard, as the darker tone fits the story better: TGWDLM had such a silly premise that while ti got far darker than expected, you had to camp it up. While this likewise has a rediculous premise it's grounded enough in our own flaws, that it needs a bit more grounded characters and tone to really sell the horror and cosmic dread, really making our heroes feel outmatched by the elder god their basically playing a game of keep away with.

Another big change.. is that this works message is far less subtle. TGWDLM had a subtle message about the dangers of escapism, using the hive as a metaphor for people ignoring the world's shittyness by whatever coping mechanism they have. It's a fairly well done metaphor ,even if I forgot to tackle it last time. We all turn to something. And it gave no easy answers.

Black Friday.. is about as subtle as a bunch of kicks to a pooor innocent teens head. It's VERY upfront about how people use consuramism as a way to escape their issues, how the goverment has failed us so badly that people turn to stuff to fill the void, that we buy more and more things to help escape how awful the world is. Uncle Wiley spells it out in his speech and the ensuing song after said speech just in case anyone missed it. I can't deny it's just a tad overbearing, even having the President repeadtely go "i'm a status quo democrat" which is funny.. but kinda wears out over time. The musical could only be less subtle about those parts of it's message if the lyrics to made in america were just "THE GOVERMENT TOTALLY SUCKS YOU MOTHERFUCKER'.

That said, while this musical lacks subtley the message.. isn't a bad one and is one worth exploring. While it's not the first horror work to explore consumrisim by a long mile (Child's Play, They Live and the Stuff were all way ahead of it), it does so in a way that really does hit me, by tackling shopping and getting more things to try and cope. I've done that quite a bit. It's easy to fall into the trap of buying shit just to get that small rush you get from getting a thing. I've grappled with shopping addictiona dn I still haven't fully tamed it

The fact of the matter is the system is broken. You can se eit for yoruself most sundays are on "British Man Explains why the System is broken on a slowly collapsing platform with John Oliver". Most people lack the power to change it and ther'es only so much protest and speech can do. It's easy to drown yourself in whatever you can to make the constant pain of how fucked we are stop. To just say "hey this thing will help me not feel bad and tha'ts not bad". And while ti's fine in small doses it's a powerful drug and one that can be abused easy. It's why fuckers like Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk have power and why despite hating a lot of disneys practices I struggle to break away: as Uncle Wiley says "your thirst for stuff.. is never slaked". The message isn't subtle.. but in a time when women have had their rights yanked from them, the threat of facisim via trumpisim still looms and coprations keep getting away with shit while we impotently yell for them to stop and we just keep buying more and more crap to help cope… it's one we needed. And the end message as shown by Lex saving Tom with memoreis of his son, that it's people not things that can help us get through is a powerful one.. and that even if tommorow may not come… it might and break the dawn. The message is fine… it just didn't need to be delievered with a kick to the head is all.

Another mixed bag is the scope. The incrreased number of main characters isn't terrible: Lex and Hannah are great and Becky and Tom are passable, we'll get to that more in the character breakdown, and we get a lot of great side characters like the rise of Man in a Hurry, Gary Goldstien and Sherman Young. So it ballances out a tad. The increased cast size helps sell the packedness of the mall as much as you can with a moderate sized troupe and the size of Linda's cult.

The issue isn't at the mall.. but beyond it. I'm probably not breaking any hearts saying the PEIP subplot feels tacked on. A large part of this is part of what makes this new franchise special… is Hatchetfield itself. Each new work expands on another part of the island and adds more locations to revisit. It's very clear, especially from Nightmare Time, that the Langs put a LOT of work into making Hatchefield feel like a real town with clear locations like Pizza Petes and the Lakeside Mall and landmarks like the Witchwood. So leaving that for Washington DC feels a bit jarring.

And look i'm glad to have McNamara back, i'm always for more jeff and he's great as always and the SONGS in this subplot are amazing and we'll get to them shortly. But the actually plot of it is…

Yeah the plan makes NO sense and make MacNamara, a trained vetran of dealing with weird shit who clearly knows the lords in black decently well and can take down their servitors with his knife of truth thinking one world leader whose not all that imposing, charasmatic or intresting coudl talk down wiggly seems a stretch. "He's never had a phsyical form so maybe he'll know fear" makes no sense.. especiallys ince while it's not a body the dolls GIVE HIM A PRESENCE ON THIS PLAIN. The fact your not going yourself to use the knife of truth on his physical form and you don't even try John shows you know Wiggly's mostly invicible. Don't get me wrong the idea of simply barganing with a god instead of fighting them is cool, it's why the climax of Dr. Strange is one of it's best parts. But Stephen had an infinite time loop of his own deaths to pull that shit off. All John has is a status quo democrat. It would've worked better if John himself went or went with the president. Again the subplot has some good stuff, the whole meltdown with the presidents cabinet is great, but it takes away from the core of things and pads out the runtime for something that ultimately dosen't really pay off. It's like the Canto Blight bit of Last Jedi: it's neat to look at and I can't say it has no merit whatsover, but I also can't say you coudln't of rewritten it to feel more integral to the story.

It just contributes to the musical being strentched a bit thin: with no real main focus character to zero in on the musical just kind of ambles on. It doesn't do so badly, but without zeroing in on lex or tom or hannah or anyone, it feels the most aimless of the hatchefield works i've seen thus far. Black Friday isn't bad but it coudl've been far better and it seems from Nightmare Time and Nerdy Prudes smaller focuses and clearer main character selections, sticking to one or two a story, that the Langs learned this lesson well. Wiggly Jingles

The songs for Black Friday are their greatest strength. While the performances are mildly strained as the performers aren't in their best shape, the songs still slap both on stage and soundtrack and i'll stand by that. Jeff took his already great satrical work from his previous two musicals and, now able ot use a regular musical format again, let loose. This musical may be a mixed bag but it's soundtrack.. really isn't and Nightmare Time and the Nerdy Prudes Demos show he's only getting better with each show. Jeff is the heart and soul of hatchefield and this soundtrack cemented that

First up we have the Nibbly Ditty, a fun catchy jingle with some nice belting and some nice foreshadowing for the nature of the dolls "he's all that you wanted, he's all that you needed" indeed. Having seen my share of children's stage shows, Jeff and co nailed the sound of one beautifully while melding it perfectly with a commerical. Angela trying to just.. straight up eat Wiggly after just adds to it.

Then we get What Tim Wants which is one of the weaker tracks.. yet it also shows just how good the soundtrack is that it's still an utterly soulcrushing heartfelt ballad from Dylan. He came back guns a blazing with this one, with the flash bang parts especially killing me. It's only real weakness is whle the soundtrack has a nice variety and style its own elsewhere this feels like a very stock musical theater number, which works for what it is, it just dosen't stand out nearly as much. It does sum up Tom VERY well thougH: a man desperatley trying to fix things with his kids but his trauma and desperation to get back what he head instead of fixing what he has are holding him back.

Case in point to What Tim Wants not standing back, we next get an Avril Lavengin style rock anthem, California MIA. Angela comes in hot with her first number, and I feel her rougher vocals fit lex like a glove, with this fun pop punk number that perfectly sums up both Lex's edge, and desperation to escape in a cool rebellion number.

What Do You Say is one of my faviorites, and really helps show off new member James Tolbert, the longtime coreographer for the group turned actor this time around, who gets some fun bits as scarf guy. It's a hlariously catty and well done song as everyone gossips, everyone in the troupe gets a fun bit, and the line coreogrpahey is fucking amazing. That must've been a bitch to pull off but my god they did it well. And I don't mean in delivery I mean the entire dance is coregraphed while still having the people wait in line mostly. It's incredible. It also has the immortal bit of MIAH holding up his camera, creepily smerking and saying "Just skip to the fucking". God bless you Jeff

We then get what is easily my faviorte number: Our Doors Are Open. This made me fall in love with Corey because holy shit does he own this one. I still hear this one in my head on occasoin, to the point I even ordered Creme Brule on my turkey day. I did not require a bottle of pepper spray thankfully. EVERY. SINGLE. LINE. is quotable and perfectly satiresing the comercialsim of Black Friday gloriously. As also proven by "Pays to Be an Animal" before this and "Axeman" after, Correy really makes a meal out of it any time he gets a number, and this is his greatest feast.

It's hilarious, biting and has a grew du wop sound

That said Jeff didn't rest because we get another bit that really sums up the holiday well right after… and it's far less glossy side, the side where people fight or trample: Feast or Famine, a great number showing off the greed, madness and violence of the "holiday", perfectly summed up with the chorus of "Take what you want, return what you get". Highlights include Corey's drunk sounding response to the riot and Jeff's glorious CHAOS REIGGGNNNNSSSS.

We end act 1 with Monsters and Men. And having watched a few videos ranking either this musicals songs or Starkid soundtracks in general, I gotta say this one is HIGHLY underated. A lot of people seem to hate this one because it's in that stupid PEIP subplot, but it's a really good rousing song about standing up against great evil. Jeff really sells the hell out of it, and it really gives one hope before Act 2 cruelly yanks it all away. It likely only ranks so low because there's so much else good, but it's still one of my faviorites.

We open act 2 with a hilaroiusly jarring break from everything. See this was supposed to just be dialouge on the screen.. but the whole insane concept of Santa Claus Goes to High School was too fun and it's clear after all this time the Langs STILL love High School Musical, so doing a Disney Channel style number as well as a parody of those sort of movies for tweens was too tempting. And i'm glad we did as we got the holiday classic deck the halls of northville high. It's an energetic number that deserves it's own mini musical, hilarious, over the top, and greatly belted by Robert. The escalting insanity from the elves to "mr humbuger" just adds to it. It's so perfectly Disney Channel. Seriously make this a movie and have Calum Worthy in it despite being about 30 at this point. Do it. Do it now. if you've seen reboot you'l know why.

For those of you wondering what Santa Claus Goes to High School is it's exactly that: Santa becomes a teenager to get down with the kids, makes out with a teen.. it's pretty nuts.

Spekaing of santnta making out with a teen we get the excellent Take Me Back next, as Kim Whalen really gets to show off her pipes, and Dylan gets to show back. A nice sorrowful number about what could've been and what still might be as two old loves firmly reconnect. The interlude from Santa Claus Goes to High School and Jamies delivery of santa before she jumps robert.. fucking amazing.

We then get our first in a string of awesome villian songs and it's Lauren's turn to shine as she gets what seems to be her first full on Villian Song in the Starkid Catalogue and it was about damn time as holy shit does she nail it. Linda gets to show off her incredible ego as she demands your love and worship too… or she will end you. An all timer of a villian song, helped of course by "unless I get what I shit".

Next is "Do You Want To Play?". I admit it's not the most musically ambitious or clever of these.. but that's the point. It's simply a very creepy song sung by a wiggy possed Becky and Tom as they hunt poor Hannah. It's just supposed to be lightly enchanting and DEEPLY unsettling. It's easily one of the creepiest parts of the play.

Capping off this trilogy is Made In America. This is one that's grown on me at times as this is where things are at their most

But over time i've come to figure it's a REALLY good song, with Wiley mocking humanity for making it SO easy for them. Honestly though it wouldn't work half as well without one man. Joey Fucking Richter. While this isn't HIS first villian song and Wagon On Fire is amazing and showed he could pull this off, it shows he shoudl've been given more because hot damn this one is good. It's his vocals that really bring it to life and make me love this one. There's really not a bad one among this soundtrack.

And then.. we get our title track, which is a VERY close second for my faviorite. Honestly it's hard to tell if I like this or doors are open better in part because their so very diffrent; Doors are Open is a goofy, brutal satire of Black Friday itself.. while Black Friday is a very dark rock solo about Lex comtemplating her life and how much she feels it's a waste, her relationship with hannah, and her oncoming death. It's throughly tragic, watching this teenager think so little of herself as she slowly fades away, and pointing out just how much hope Hannah gave her .. and how she'll have to be fine without her because "I'm leaving". It just.. destroys me every time and I let it EVERY TIME. Angela got to show off nicely with CalfiorniaMIA but this made me marvel at how amazing a singer she is. Goddamn.

The Monsters and Men Reprise is decent. Not much else to say, it's just a nice short song of hope after Lex hit her rock bottom.

If I Fail You is.. fine. It's another very typical ballad. And look being standard is fine, there have been some really great broadway numbers and will be. it's just that other ones like "Take Me Back' and "Monsters and Men on this same album are SO much better and so much more resonant. This is just kinda there and to me is the weakest of the tracks. While I feel Monsters and Men gets

Thankfully we cap off Linda before Becky caps her with "Wiggle" right after. Another amazing villian song this one darker and more cultish to show just how CLOSE she is to winning. Is it entirley necessary? Probably not. Would I cut it

This song is another great showcase for Lauren and a banger of a villian song.

Then of course we have our finale, a truly awesome and haunting some from Kendall Nicole, a child actress whose a student of Kurts.. who fucking nails it as Hannah. It's a shame she coudln't come back for BLack friday 2 but she was awesome while we had her as this is a nicely haunting song that fits the darker town and bleakness of the ending: we wont' know if our heroes survivie or not… we just have to have hope. Did tommorow turn the night off? With a song this beautiful and hautning it dosen't matter. Shoppy Shop People

So finishing things we have our group of surviviors trapped in a mall, our cultists and of course our characters stranded ove rin subplot land to break down.

Starting off we have who I consider to be the best of the main cast, Lex Foster. The musical REALLY coudl've been served better focusing on her as the center, with Hannah or Tom serving as a secondary ala Emma, as she's easily the most engaging of the main cast. Lex easily could've been an edgy snarky teen sterotype as many teen dramas tend to have.. but instead is a character who while snarky and prone to doing crimes.. is throughly sympathetic and realistic. She's not jaded because she won't be a part of your system man, she's jaded because everything has failed her: her mother is implied here and confirmed in later works to be abusive, the school barely tried to help her , and the one teacher she DID like left and you can see both sides when she lashes out at Tom: Tom is coming to her for a favor after essnetially abandoning her.. but he had his own trauma to deal with he hasn't. You can't blame Lex for feeling abandoned but you can't blame tom for doing it when he was in no shape to help anyone most of all himself. It's just a tragedy of time, crucmstances and a system that dosen't give a damn about the kids it teaches some of the time. The teachers care and can try, but they can only do so much. It's no wonder Lex's plan is a desperate, shaky gamble, and one that may not even work if Pam bothers to call the police.

Yet despite the lashing out she genuinely loves her sister. Hannah is not just a tool to make lex feel better: Lex does muse "did I need her more than she needed me".. but her plan to run away would have NO risks other than the usual of trying to flee to LA using sketchy doll money if she left Hannah behind. It shows that while Lex may doubt herself.. she's a genuinely great caretaker to her sister and the one major scene they have togehter shows it: she chastises Ethan for calling her crazy, tries to calm hannah's panic attack down gently without snapping at or judging her, and clearly is only trying to calm Hannah's worries about the mall because she sees them as regular anxiety and not that mixed with end of the world doom visions. She loves her sis and wants her to have the best. Usually that wouldnt' include a kidnapping and I wouldn't condone this sort of thing but again, and it's left ambitious here if it's really that bad.. but trust me it is. Sometimes a terrible solution with clear consequences is better than no solution.

Much like Paul her self hatred only becomes apparent via song: It's not until black friday we get a full sense of how much this poor young woman hates herself and feels her death. Black Friday the song is brilliant in just having it stripped away: she feels there was "nothing to subtract" that she did and acomplished nothing and wonders if she even shoudl've wanted. It's a powerful give in to despair that makes MacNamara unlocking her powres and saving her so damn cathartic. Lex finally gets agency in her life nad kicks it's ass and it's beautiful to see, saving Tom form himself and wiggly.

Tom himself.. is a mixed bag. The idea is a good, a down to earth man trying to grapple with ptsd and raising his son and loosing his wife. The problem is in execution, Tom is just whatever the plot needs him to be or focus on, either being stuck in Jingle All The Way 3: Wow This Series Got Dark, or focused on becky. He gets some beauitufl numbers from Dylan but no real shape or form. He's a bit bumbling and tha'ts all we really get. Tom could be more and to the langs credit he's ab it more of a character in his next starring role Jane's A Car.. .and he also got to full on fuck a car so that helped. I just wish he was here. Dylan feels wasted in the roll, only elevating it because he's that good.

Becky also suffers from feeling underwrittne. She's mostly just

For most of the procediings. She does get a few standout moments. Her face when Linda just straight up tells her everyone knew stan abused her and no one cared

Is devistating.. and Kim utterly sells the reveal that she killed stan and the whole monologue is sad and chilling. She's a tragic character, a woman who had her agency ripped from her by a monster, lost her chance with the preson she actually liked and even freedom has just left more people laughing at her and Becky likely terrified Stanely will find out again. There's a lot to her but again the musical just.. dosen't really focus on it outside of two scenes and her arc is just solved with.. shooting her arch enemy in the head

It dosen't help her problems along, it just… is really badass. Which is nice but it'd be nicer if there was some sort of closure beyond bang bitch went down

Hannah again suffers from the same problme as the others: not enough focus, being more of a plot device. Like all these characters Kendalls performance elevates it and the poor child goes through hell, and KNOWS something like it is coming but everyone's convinced it's her possible disablity and not her psychic powers that ecaservate a possible disablity. She does get the great scene dealing with Wiggly and thankfully Hannah gets two nightmare time stories in the center to make up for this btu once again it's a great description for a character.. that gets to do nothing because this musical has like 20 stories to get to.

That said while the musical underwites most of it's characters to it's detriment… there are exceptoins. For all the heroes potetial being squandered our villians are fucking fantastic. And starting off we have Linda Fucking Monroe. She starts out broad, hilariously catty.. then horribly cruel, mocking becky over her ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP and calling her WEAK for it.

What makes Linda work so well is that she's so evocative of the Karens we see all the time: the kind of asshole who asks to see a manager in the rudest way possible, will call the cops on a child with a sword because she dosen't like his skin, and will throw a hissy fit the second things go slightly wrong. We've all seen videos of Linda Monroes.. but at the core Linda shows wha thappens when your average asshole, if well connected and rich, is simply nudged in the wrong direction to being an absolute monster. The potetial was there, again this woman mocked someone for being an abuse victim.. but she dosen't quite seize it right away. It takes Uncle Wiley prodding her, pointing out the need to be loved and admired and her skill at manipulation to blossom her from cruel bitch to full on monster. It dosen't take a far push for someone to go from simply being a very, very cruel asshole to being capable of great evil.

It helps Lauren Lopez really hams it up. She's utterly horrifing when need be, wether it's when calling Becky weak or killing Frank, but she's also just hilariously over the top the rest of the time, but in a way that works: she's every entitled shithead roleld into one and Lauren just owns it. The fact she spends the whole play talking to her hsuband who waits out there for her for hours, and the payoff to that with Gary talking to gerald about the will is gold by the by just adds to it. Linda is both over the top but also compitent and ruthless. She knwos how to play the wigglyites, with the frenzy having helped.. but ont heir own they just woudl've been madened assholes, dangerous as seen with poor Ethan, but under her their an army, their her children.. and they almost win. She's not a super mastermind or anything, it stillt akes the lucky break of Lex coming right ot them for them to actually get the doll and had Lex not talked Tom down, the doll woudl've left the mall, but Linda still manages to turn a disorganized mob into a cult in a manner of hours with only a slight push and a promise of power. It's not a sign anyone can become bad with the right push.. tis' a sign a bad person can become life destroyingly awful with the right push and it is great.

Next is Uncle Wiley, aka MacNamara's friend Wilbur Cross, a former PEIP agent who upon meeting wigly was turned into his right hand, his mouth of sauron his number. one. guy. Since it takes some effort for Wiggly and his brothers to take form on earth, as we'll see as we get into nightmare time, he needed someone and for whatever reason Uncle Wiley took up the roll. Is he brainwashed? did Wiggly simply turn any evil in wilbur up? or was Wilbur Cross always just one push away from the dark side and Wiggly simply pushed him far enough. We still don't know and it's part of what akes WIley awesome: we don't know WHY he's like this, why he's so respected by an elder god that Wiggly fully trusts him with the plan and never talks down to Wiley or orders him around, treating him almost as an equal. It's clear whose in charge.. it's also clear Wiggly has so much faith in his frendy wend that he trust shim to carry out th eplan to the letter without going into his own agenda. To say his words for him before his big reval in the black and white. To trust his servants the sniggles to him as minons. Wiley is just as much a threat as his boss without nearly as much power and his mystery, while one I'd be curoius to se esolve, just adds to it.

It help's he's just charasmatic. At first seen as a goofy host and seemingly just a dleivery guy , the second he reveals himself as Wiley and shows up to Linda the switch flips> He goes from just another guy or a succesful toymaker.. to the devil himself. A manveloent tempter who simply takes what was in a person and gives it purpose and focus toward his dark lords ends. Joey Richter just projects this sense of unease to the audience, simply by being utterly calm. He takes everything easily and only really starts to project at his most when he sings, poitning out how huamntiy's own flaws and america's abandonment of it's own people gave Wiggly the weapon he needed. All they needed was the right package and a slight amplifciation from the magic. After all they needed to actually be AROUND the wiggly to become frenzied like most of the shoppers did. But it's human nature, greed and longing that let Wiggly in and all Wiley did was give them a solution to their problem. A need to fill a hole. And osmetimes that's all it takes. He's one of the most fascneating and haunting characters this franchise has put otu and I'm eager to see him again.

Finally we have Wiggly himself and Jon Mattenson, really tears it up as the friendy wend in chief. And yet he spends a good chunk of the play passive and not really talking, only getting two bits of dialouge, one in a commerical and the other failing to convert lex, and with people's own self destruction guiding thigns. It's not until Wiley shows up again and recurits Linda we get the idea Wiggly is the god he is.

And it works brilliantly: it reminds me of the first child's play: it's fairly obvious the doll is really behind this, especailly now said doll is a horror icon, yet the suspense of what's up with it, why is he not moving, and his true motives keep you hooked.. and thus makes when theyf inally do speak as themselves allt he more impactful

Case in point the bit with Hannah> Wiggly first appears as an illusion of Ethan, which Manion sells horrifingly well: while you know this really isn't ethan from minute one ti's not because well no doy, but because something's.. off about Evil Ethan. He acts like an unsettling evil jim carrey and not the ethan we knew: he's not laid back he's manic and just wants Hannah to split. it's truly unerving.. nad yet somehow and inanmiate (due to budget sadly) doll is even more terrifying. Jon delivering Wiggly's threat that "Your a rotten banana, i'm going to peel you hanana and SPLIT, YOU TO BITS", is so perfect, having that cutesy tone of a childeren's toy.. while being utterly terrifying. Wiggly is like if Chucky didn't drop the good guy voice and got his sweet jersey accent and it's unerveing as hell. A truly masterful new villian…. and the dawn of a whole new bunch of freindy wends to come and play. But we'll get to his brothers soon enough.. just not this time.

Frank Pricely is a fucking masterpiece. He dosen't last long, but Corey eats up every bit of screen time as this throughly unlikeable dick who gets his rightful commupance.. but not before again a giant gala musical number where he comes off as manager frank n furter, gives the fans all the pelvic thrusts they could want, brags about how greedy and horrible he is like mr krabs cloned himself but it came out human, and just utterly devours the scene. One of Corey's greatest parts and i'm Psyched to see him again in Daddy.. and they had to know what they were doing titling a frank centric story that.

So we've come to MacNamara and Goodman

Yeah as I said the Peip stuff is fairly week. Mac himself is fine as always, hammy, a source of hope an da decen tbig good. You still come out thinking

But I give Jeff Credit for being awesome as always. Sadly Curt Mega can't say the same. He tried his best, I don't place any of the blame on him and just from HEARING him from the soundtrack for Spies are Forever I knew he had a ton of talent going into this muiscal. President Goodman is just given nothing to work with. His only jokes are he's terribly qulaified for this crisis and he's a status quo democrat. He's.. nothing.

Thankfully we also get some great side characters. We get Ethan a mildly insetive but ultimately emapthetic and sweet boyfriend. Robert really does a good job making him charming: he and angela had great chemistry and you can see why Lex likes and trusts him, and despite being a tad insentive to hannah at first, helps calm her down and sacrifices himself so she gets away. His death is one of the most horrific and tragic moments in the hatchetfield universe, a teenager cut down in the prime of his life in a bloody and brutal way. Unlike the violence for the previous musical, we see the blood and see the poor guy slowly fade out. Truly chillling.

We aslo get the glory that is Gary Goldstien Attorney at Law. He was cleary created because while jon's main role was mickey he needed something else to do, it dosen't make him any less comedically brillant and it's puzzling that, as far as I can tell, he hasn't returned since so far. He's true comedy gold, from the goofy voice, to him gladly rerespenting two clients with conflicting intrests, to putting his tie aroun dhis head like a neckband to my faviorite thing his response to a groin attack being "ohhh right in the supoenas!" like this happens every day. He's a national treasure. The fact Jon used the SAME VOICE for one of his own characters, his BEST character, and says the two are brothers both makes this better, introduced me to the wonder that is venus please, and makes me hope Elmo gets backported into the hatchetverse. Behold his glory bellow

youtube

True. Art. Finally for new characters we have sherman young. While i'm still sore Jamie Lynn Beatty STILL hasn't gotten a starring role, I mean what the fuck, she does get to fill Lauren and Jeff's usual slot of cast weirdo. I mean she shares it with jeff here but still, she gets to really ham it up as this creep and while he's not a great character, having a creepy manchild toy collector (note collecting toys dose not make you a manchild or a creep, wanting to fuck them and hoard them all for yourself makes you a creek) does make sense and him being the one to nearly kill lex assuming as a worker she's there just to serve him was still perfectly horrifying. Not Jamie's best, but as usual for this one not her fault.

We get a few happy returns. Besides Ted, Charlotte and BIll all showing up in the final number, we get MAN IN A HURRY. Because he didn't get to say i'm in a hurry last time… Nick just decided to make that one big joke so his entire personality is now I'M IN A HURRY, and if you think him being in a hurry at black friday is a bit of a stretch.. you haven't seen anything yet. And they coudl've coasted on this one joke and i'd be fine, but adding other bits for him from being a bit of a creep (again JUST SKIP TO THE FUCKING), and loudly shouting CHAOS REIGNS. It's a great showcase for Jeff.

We also get Paul and Emma back as mentiond and while their scenes are great we see both growth in emma and some peak awkward paul "We ar eintimate". It' snot much but it was fun to see them again. Not so much the NEXT time we see them again.. but. we'll. get. to. that. Our Doors Are Closed

Black Friday is a decent musical but it's a mess. The characters can be underwritten, the tone goes a bit too dark for it's own good, and the PEIP subplot needed vast reworking they didn't get or want to do. It's an ambitious work, but one that's kicked in the head by an overused running gag with it's ambition. I can't fault the Langs for going hard on this one, I just wish it'd came togethe rbetter. The bright side is.. furture projects did. While Nightmare Time keeps narrow character focus again, we still get big stories involving a whole ass theme park, time travel to a dystopian future, and an entire dreamlike finale. Sure it's all done over camera because pandemic and all that, but it still shows how they learned to expand in scope while knowing when to ease back and hopefully that stays now their back on stage. Black Friday is still VERY much worth watching though with great music, set pieces and coreography and the performers do thier best, it's just one of the more uneven works in this fairly new franchise is all. It's not even my least faviorite or anything, we'll get to that in feburary.

SO with that we close up the mall for the season, shutter the doors and prepare for the month ahead. I probably wont' be doing any starkid material in December, it's pretty packed and this works well as a christmas edition. I"ll be back hopefully monthly in january, as the nightmare time is gonna get you as we dive back into the first two episodes. Thanks for reading, consider joining my patreon, and have a good day.

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ramblingsofamuskrat · 1 year ago

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Consider two players: Alice and Bob. Alice moves first. At the start of the game, Alice has two piles of coins in front of her: one pile contains 4 coins and the other pile contains 1 coin. Each player has two moves available: either "take" the larger pile of coins and give the smaller pile to the other player or "push" both piles across the table to the other player. Each time the piles of coins pass across the table, the quantity of coins in each pile doubles. For example, assume that Alice chooses to "push" the piles on her first move, handing the piles of 1 and 4 coins over to Bob, doubling them to 2 and 8. Bob could now use his first move to either "take" the pile of 8 coins and give 2 coins to Alice, or he can "push" the two piles back across the table again to Alice, again increasing the size of the piles to 4 and 16 coins. The game continues for a fixed number of rounds or until a player decides to end the game by pocketing a pile of coins.

That's all very interesting at all, but you are clearly referring to Alice Woodward from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Bob from Stranger Things, played by Sean Astin, right? And Sean Astin was in Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye and pretended to be Dylan Saunders once. It's all connected. Everything is connected, as a wise man named Dirk Gently said. Yes, I know there is an actual Nightmare Time character named Bob but idc. I love taking the convoluted ways. I'd argue it's the best way to make stupid connections that are 100% true. I'm telling you, we can't escape Starkid because it controls everything... EVERYTHING!!!!!! Damn. I really don't know if I can call myself a productive procrastinator if this is what I'm doing with my time but also idc, I'll still claim this title.

#starkid #sean astin #wayward guide #alice woodward #tgwdlm #i'm procrastinating #i should really stop

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caesarclowningaround · 2 years ago

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Top 5 Jafar portrayal 😜

Dylan Saunders in Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier. no notes A+ best Jafar (or Ja'far, rather)

Marwan Kenzari in the live action Aladdin. This is MY BOY. im gonna PUT HIM in my pocket and CARRY HIM AROUND. FAVORITE. Interesting with an admittedly underdeveloped if not fascinating backstory. There's a nice thin slice of ham below the surface, too, which i love. Please give Marwan something to chew on in Aladdin 2, you absolute cowards d*sney. Let my boy shine. It's what he deserves. I'd watch a whole movie about this fucker

Naveen Andrews in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Probably the most developed Jafar ever and he's really the best part of OUATIW imo but every time he's on screen, it's really good stuff

Jonathan Freeman in the animated Aladdin. I mean, it's a classic performance! that voice~

Oded Fehr in Once Upon a Time. The writing for his episodes was absolutely atrocious but you can tell Oded is just having a fucking ball, you can't help but love what he's doing

#thatpratdragonlady #controversial ranking? maybe but it's mine and you're more than welcome to disagree #but you can't change my mind

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forthehonorofraeskull · 5 years ago

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Starkid moments in songs that are nice to listen to :)

"but I looooove, I loOoove, I lOOoOoooOOOoVE!! being at your side!!" (Joey Richter, Sidekick)

"We've got to figure it out! We've got to find! Ourselves! Some answers!" (Cast of Firebringer, We Are People Now)

"What I see right theeere, is a prisonER, who's sittin' on top of the kEY!! SO, kick it up a notch, if you ever wanna be,,, frEeEeEeeeee..." (Dylan Saunders, Kick it Up a Notch)

"Ja'far! That ugly old viZIIIIIEEEEEER!!" (Robert Manion, Dream a Little Harder)

"I'm so sad that we are, dooooOoooooOOoONE!" (Joey Richter/Jaime Lyn Beatty, Heaven on Earth {Finale})

"I will try, not to cry, but no one needs to say goodbYEEEE!" (Cast of A Very Potter Sequel, Days of Summer)

"Baby, you're not alone! 'Cause you're here with me! And nothin's gonna TAKE. US. DOWN. . . . . cAuUuUuUuUse NOTHIN' CAN KEEP ME FROM LOVIN' YOU-" (Darren Criss/Joey Richter/Bonnie Grueson/Jaime Lyn Beatty, Not Alone)

"If I can see past, tHe, sur/face, finding the worth that is hiding beneath your life, aNd, pur/pose, and all of a sUDDEn, I feel like I've run into something that no one has seen!" (Meredith Stepien/Dylan Saunders, The Way I Do)

"I have falLEN, from up hIGH, the world has sAid goodbyYe! I'm not an anGEL, not the aNSWER, I'm just going nowhere faster.." (Darren Criss/Joe Walker, I Was)

"Hey, Mr. Business, how d'ya, how d'ya, how d'ya dOOOOOOO?" (Jaime Lyn Beatty/Mariah Rose Faith, Cup of Poisoned Coffee)

"An aria to rule them aAAAAAlLl! They'll throw us their money, ((at full price admissionnnn)), THE WORLD will come tumblin' DOOOOOOwn!" (Robert Manion, Show Stopping Number)

"(Holy Musical Batman!) WOAAAAAAAAAAAH!" (Cast of Holy Musical B@man/Dylan Saunders specifically, Holy Musical B@man)

"Long agOOOO, and fAAAAr, awaaaaay,, I used to knOOOOW how to plAy the gAAAame...I was someone I am not today." (Clark Baxtresser, Long Ago and Far Away)

*these are only some but it's a solid list*

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sidekickajustim · 3 years ago

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I can't describe how much I love twisted from twisted. The instrumental, the vocals, the wordplay from Ursula's part, the way Gaston speaks so poetically, and the change in instrumental during the the parts where they switch between Ja'far to Ursula to scar to Gaston. GASTONS INSTRUMENTAL.The ending and the emotions I feel are just too much. Sometimes during class, I'll just repeatedly listen to the karaoke version of it. It's such a beautiful song and I just... love it.

So beautiful it is.

#ijask #idk if you can tell but i love the song twisted from twisted #twisted #twisted: the untold story of a royal vizier #ja'far #dylan saunders #starkid #aladdin #jeff blim #rachel soglin #jim povolo #lauren lopez #twisted starkid #starkid twisted

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saharzahids · 4 years ago

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Starkid Rewatch: Black Friday 🎁

Let me just preface by saying the intro is absolutely chilling

curt's sniggle is so fucking adorable

They all are actually look at them

I don't know how to feel about the fact that I know the fucking wiggly jingle by heart

There they are - my emotional support paulkins

You're cutting into a heat of lettuce and oH shit a baby

I wanted a salad, but now I have a child

He will never invite "us" over again no labels my ass paul is her family

Can we talk about the way she looks at him here though, it's so fucking soft 🥰

The crowd goes wild as a wild dylan saunders appears

BuT wE aRe InTiMaTe

Thank you for your service. I didn't do it for you.

Okay

OKAY

Soulmate behavior

I still can't get over the fact that we got the softest version of paulkins in black friday

dylan's microexpressions in 'what tim wants' i'm going to cry

Also can we talk about how pretty the set looks

dylan just radiates dad energy

You can try telling me tom didn't adopt lex and hannah after all this i just won't believe you

HE HAS ARRIVED

Lexthan has my heart

They could have made ethan one of those cliche assholes whose only using lex and putting up with hannah but instead they made him soft and caring and the closest thing hannah has to an older brother/father figure to the point where he was ready to give his life to save them

So if ethan got the greyskull hat from a "powerful warrior" this technically means ethan has met or knows miss holloway

lex blowing kisses when ethan sings his part and ethan just bopping along/pretending to be paparazzi when lex does hers

We love a supportive couple

You're either in the smoke club or you're OUT

That better be fucking floss

linda monroe is a complete bitch BUT she can step on me please and thank you

That's called a bribe sir, and it's illegal...or it should be

I hope you don't get a wiggly, I hope you fucking die

'What do you say' is basically just a summary of shipping

curt is me watching my ship interact

sherman and gary are just holding hands and skipping in the background

corey you dropped this king 👑

'Our doors are open' is honestly the best song in black friday

It is to black friday what show stopping number is to tgwdlm

The grandeur, the drama, THE HIPS

So gary and linda have definitely fucked right

Get ready for audits! Audits up your ears! Audits in your yinyang! Audits in your wazoo!

Higarygoldsteinattorneyatlaw

RIGHT IN THE SUBPEONA

Feast or famine is a fucking masterpiece

The chorus part is visually stunning

The music to show me your hands playing when james' cop enters

The first thing ethan asks curt's shopper is if he's okay, pure soul

They kicked his head

His last act was to protect hannah and his last thought was of lex im crying

GIVE ME THAT FUCKING DOLL I'M IN A HURRY

I don't know if you wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna fuck with me miss monroe

The lighting here is incredible

And they both look very hot

Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him?

YES I FUCKING SEE HIM!

jaime in a suit is making me gayer

morris rocking the wiggly like a baby

They all went completely fucking feral in this scene its incredible

curt REALLY went for it

Hope you don't mind that I let myself in. Into the oval office?

The audience clapping after everything mcnamara says is honestly a mood

The positioning of the people in the background in monsters and men is amazing. cross and linda - evil; frank, becky and roberts shopper - people who have both light and dark in them; and lex and hannah - good

jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle RING A LING DING

Is it just me or does jon's character look like he's there to fucking murder a child

I mean jeff has a full on beard and even he looks more like a teenager than jon does here

Santa claus is going to highschool: a hallmark-esque Christmas movie starring a bunch of teenagers

Jon's "highschooler":

'Take me back' makes me cry every time its so beautiful

This is such a soft moment

a ReD tRiCyClE

So john and lee are definitely husbands im not taking no for an answer

I've met God, he had nothing nice to say about you

She likes to be tall

'Do you want to play' is honestly such a creepy song

It gives me chills every time

[casually eats an apple in the middle of an evil speech]

Actually its not even an evil speech, cross may be evil but every word of his speech is fucking true

I can't be evil, I'm a status quo democrat

No john don't leave your husband

I'm honestly loving starkid's trend of calling america out on its bullshit

The fact that only the female sniggles have worn the antennae till now and then robert's sniggle is wearing one in 'made in america'

I'm thinking

This was the most creative thing ever and I gasped when I saw it

owen and curt walked so cross and howie could run

lex singing "should I never have wanted" during black friday and paul saying "it doesn't matter what I want" in let it out

Two crucial songs that are character defining points

I don't want your half baked sympathy, when did it save those in need?

Angela's performance of black friday honestly makes me cry every time

[eagle screeching]

They're all into fortnight dude!

An update in songs that make me cry every time - if I fail you

Especially the part where the music switches to 'what tim wants' and he starts singing about jane

Is this some kind of a jOooke?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - he will wiggle has THE horniest choreography in the history of starkid, and that is including all of mamd

Specifically whatever gary and curt's shopper are doing

becky barnes is a fucking badass

I know gary leaves with linda because jon and lauren needed to be in the next scene as paul and emma, but this technically means that gary escaped

tom and becky immediately hugging the girls once they're out of danger i'm soft for them

Can we talk about how paul and emma were basically ready to adopt tim

Wear a watch

Everyone else is looking at their hands during what if tomorrow comes, but paulkins are looking at each other 🥺

Yes I am back on my paulkins bullshit

I never left

Also paul, despite his deep hate for musicals, sings in 'what if tomorrow comes'. Do with this information what you will

I know the most probable scenario is that they all died in the end but I refuse to believe it

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darealsaltysam · 4 years ago

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dream smp but as a starkid muscial cast

Going off my last post, I decided to put together a dream Starkid cast for a DreamSMP musical if there ever were to be one. Let's say the musical is based on Arc 1, since back then the characters were a lot more one-dimensional and it's a lot easier to match into a standard length Starkid musical. Without any wafflin, here's the best cast and no you can't disagree with me /j;

Dream – Curt Mega – I have no explanation for this, I just think he could pull him off pretty well? Curt is really good if you give him a lead, I mean look at SAF. Let my boy have a lead, Starkid. I'm gonna riot if you don't.

Tommy – Kendall Nicole Yakshe – Kendall is the only actor around Tommy's age in Starkid, so she could probably pull off the “childish but mature at the same time” look the best? Her acting for Hannah was brilliant during all the emotional scenes, so I'm sure she could handle it.

Tubbo – Lauren Lopez – I know someone replied to my Joey Richter post with this as a joke but like.... IT WORKS. Craphole and Tubbo have parallel energies. Let Lauren play a little boy again. That's where her true potential comes out. /j

Fundy – Angela Giarratana – Angela already has the experience of playing teenagers with issues with their parents by playing Lex, so she is perfect for Fundy. That is all. My entire logic. Don't @me, some of these were harder to pick out than others-

Wilbur Soot – Robert Manion – Robert + Insane characters brings out the best in him, let him go bat shit insane as the British JD kinnie.

Jschlatt – Joey Richter – Parallel vibes. That's it. Joey plays the best villains and we need a good actor for the best villain of the server (don't even @me about this I'm a schlannie)

Nihachu – Mariah Rose Faith – If Niki were in a musical she would 100% get a cool, low-key sad girl-power type solo. Mariah is your girl for that. My references? 1. mean girls and 2. “not your seed”. No further comments necessary.

Quackity – Denise Donovan – Need a dumb love interest that slowly develops as a character? Denise is your girl for that. I'm thinking a sort of character like Febuary from Starship, but a bit more serious as the plot progresses.

Technoblade – Joe Walker – It was either this of Jeff Blim. Just let me have this one-

Philza – Dylan Saunders – DAD VIBES DAD VIBES DAD VIBES. Dylan is like... The perfect Phil. Literally ideal. Give him a sad solo about having to kill his son because of the government and my man will SLAY that shit.

GeorgeNotFound – Jon Matteson - “ best at playing local confused man” award went to Jon after Paul in TGWDLM, now he's coming back as Gogy. He would be perfect for this role.

Sapnap – Corey Dorris – Y'all remember Me and My Dick? Yes, it wasn't a serious musical, but if you tell me Corey can't pull off a menacing low-key insane villain based on that and his thing in the very potter musicals, you are wrong. Corey needs to play villains more, that is that.

BadBoyHalo – Jaime Lyn Beatty – Just... Wholesome. Jaime can get across the “he a little confused but he got the spirit” energy of Bad perfectly.

Punz – Brian Holden – If there's one man who's a professional at playing side-kicks/secondary villains, Brian is your man. Think Junior from Starship but with a lot more obedience and a whole lot less daddy issues.

Skeppy – Meredith Stepien – If there's anyone who can match Jaime's energy as an equally chaotic, a bit more crazy and wholesome friend, that's Meredith. I'm not super sure why, I just get the feeling these two would pull of Skeppy's and Bad's friendship perfectly.

Eret – Brian Rosenthal – I'm not really sure about this one either, but if there was one person I'd have to nominate who could pull of the energy of the bicon that is Eret, it's this guy. Like... have you seen A Very Potter Musical.... Just... Quirrell. But a bit less timid and more low-key intimidating.

Everyone else not mentioned would be ensemble/back-up dancers played by anyone who isn't on stage, since we all know how much Starkids love having 10 roles at once for every musical they put on.

And trust me, I REALLY wanted to give Jeff Blim a role but even with how bat shit crazy this minecraft roleplay gets sometimes NO ONE can match that man's energy. He's just gonna have to stick to back up vocals I guess-

#mcyt #dream smp #dreamwastaken #georgenotfound #sapnap #jschlatt #wilbur soot #tommyinnit #tubbo #philza #technoblade #quackity #nihachu #starkid

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coletteuwu · 4 years ago

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helllo hello hellooooooo~

today i have decided to rank my favourite starkid+tbc musicals :)

now please keep in mind that these are based on my opinions & you have every right to agree/disagree, just don't be a dick to anyone and enjoy

(i havent seen ani, starship nor mamd, so these wont be included here)

#10 The Trail To Oregon!

nothing wrong with it, just not my cup of tea

good idea tho

your wagon is on fiREEE is iconic

humour was inconsistent and overall a bit too childish for my taste

boring

#9 Twisted

this is really controversial, but i practically fell asleep while watching it (maybe because i didnt grow up as a disney fan in a post-communist country)

dylan saunders did an amazing job and i love his singing and he kinda was carrying the whole show (yikes)

costume design was on point tho

also "no one remembers achmed" is one of my fave starkid songs

#8 Holy Musical B@man!

i actually dont have any criticism for hmb, because i think its very well executed and jokes are... good... i guess...

a pretty neutral one, bc the songs were kinda mediocre and so was the humour but i really liked joe walker as batman and nick lang as robin

batman has a cool plane

#7 Black Friday

the new style of the lang brothers is very cool and exciting

the plot was very well written, but it felt a bit,,, rushed?

like they were trying to cram tons of information into one play and for that reason i dont really come back to watch it

and at the same time the pace was a little too slow for my liking?

idk it felt a little off

but characters were iconic, acting was 12/10 (especially joey, lauren and dylan)

#6 Solve It Squad

ACTING ON POINT

comedy was well timed and relevant

brosenthal's scene where he plays all the hotel staff just left me like this -> :o

one of joey's best roles

lauren too

#5 AVPSY

the thing is, initially i wanted to put all the avp parts together but that would have been hard to catch so i guess we're doing this

t h e s o n g s (❤️❤️❤️❤️)

AJ delivers such a good lockhart

joey's sidekick is just mwah

the songs are just so fcking good ahh

they got the real luna!

really emotional

the best ending to the trilogy

in the middle i kinda skipped some scenes bc i got a little carried away

but the ending is just so GOOD

everything has an end.... (i cried a lot guys)

jeff's spider was i m m a c u l a t e

both brians & joe walker 😳❤️

i didnt like the scripts for the first 10 seconds but then after that i didnt even notice them

#4 AVPS

one of the best intros in starkid (if we cannot move forward, why shouldn't we move back? gives me chills everytime)

lucius malfoy is so hot and terrifying at the same time idk if im scared or turned on

story was a little inconsistent and i missed quirrell and the lack of brian rosenthal, but thats okay i can settle for a seamus finnigan

JOE WALKER IN A DRESS. THATS IT THATS THE TWEET.

ron is canonically bicurious????

comedy on point

the best soundtracks in starkid, come @ me im not scared to fight

like for real who wrote the music i just wanna hug them and give them every penny i got to work with them

#3 The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals

lets get the criticism out of the way first

i see that they tried to write the music in the same theme, but some songs were repetitive and jeff's falsetto screaming kinda got boring

not your seed is not that good of a song

corey got me in the fEELS

joey's homeless man was iconic

first i didnt like paul's acting but it grew on me and now i love it

LET IT OUT IS THE BEST SONG OF THE PLAY. PERIODT.

the best written starkid show :)

comedy was, again, relevant and well timed

overall, i loved the simplicity of the design

prof. hidgens = hips™

#2 AVPM

i may be biased bc of nostalgia and bc it was the first starkid musical i ever saw but idc

not that well written, but its just so damn entertaining

QUIRRELMORT

different as can be is just chef's kiss

the chemistry between brian and joe is so good

I CAME HOME

*soft boi brian in a jail dress with a fist in his mouth*

everything just started from there

red vines

snape <3

STARKID POTTER, MOONSHOES POTTER

a gift that is lauren lopez as malfoy

the funniest starkid show idcidc

i was a huge potterhead growing up and hp is so important to my life -> thats why the avp trilogy means so much to me

#1 Spies Are Forever

i saw it recently and im mad i didnt watch it earlier

joey is so hot with a british accent

the history behind all of the show just makes it so good, 1950-60 was the scariest time to be gay and it portrays everything about living in the shadows of the cold war perfectly

choreo on point (thank you lauren)

mary kate as tatiana is very dangerous for my weak bi heart

good music

VERY WELL WRITTEN (PROPS TO BRIAN, COREY AND JOEY)

i really like spy movies so

the whole ordeal that is baron von nazi played by brian rosenthal, a jew

wizz waffle fries

glitter waka waka

i just really love brian rosenthal

the ending :'((((((

torture tango and one step ahead = thats some good shit

joe walker as deadliest man alive oh boy oh boy let me tell you about how much of a latte hottay he is in saf

i LOVE that tati and curt are in a platonic relationship, it just throws the stereotypes out of the window

the whole scene where joey and curt fight

#starkid #tbc #starkid unpopular opinion #starkids #avpm #avps #tgwdlm #black friday #musicals

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ms-rampage · 4 years ago

Text

Eden’s Gate: Left Behind Chapter 18 - Carry On

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Angels and Demons.

Word count: 3k

Summary: In the penultimate chapter Kate tells all of her friends that she has to leave Hope County due to a family emergency across the country. She has a hard time telling John because of how close they’ve gotten.

Guest OCs: Paige Winchester, Sarah Dunham, Alissa Connors, Layla Michaels, Becky Taylor, Ashley Saunders, Ivan and Isaiah Wren, Ryan Cho, Dylan Paulson and Kevin Baker.

Guest characters: Lilith, Archangel Gabriel, (Supernatural, in a dream), Sam, and Dean Winchester, Castiel [mentioned], Eli Palmer, Wheaty, Mary May, Nick Rye, Grace Armstrong, Pastor Jerome, Raphael, Michael and Lucifer [mentioned].

Note: This chapter is a clusterfuck. SMGDFH.

*************************************

Kate and Morgan are on their way to the Wolf’s Den. They’re planning on telling all of their friends, everyone they’ve come to know during their time living in Hope County.

They’re leaving, they don’t know for how long, not sure if they’ll ever come back especially with the Cult running around, and destroying shit.

They make it to the Wolf’s Den, parking the car by the grassy area, and they make their way up the small mountain.

“So what are you gonna tell Wheaty?!” Morgan asks, trying to keep herself from slipping down the grassy hill.

Kate sighs, “I don’t know. Probably “Hey I’m gonna be leaving Hope County, I’m not sure how long I’m gonna be gone, it’s a family emergency and they need me, and Morgan because she’s family as well”. I don’t know something like that, or along the lines”.

“Aww you see me as family?!?” Morgan says in a sarcastic but also heartful kind of way.

Kate rolls her eyes, “Well duh, I’ve known you for over 10 years. We’ve traveled together”.

They go down the stair of the Wolf’s Den, the Whitetails being the first on their list to say their goodbyes even though they still have two months to do so.

They get to the bottom of the steps, and Kate almost walks into Wheaty.

“Hey!!” he says loudly, startled by their unexpected visitors.

“Hey Wheaty” Kate greets him with a smile.

“Morgan, Kate. How are you two doing?” he asks, in an awkward tone.

“We're doing great, but we unfortunately have some bad news” Morgan says, walking past him, and sits down on a chair.

“What’s the bad news?” he asks, looking back and forth at them.

Morgan raises her eyebrows at Kate, telling her to explain to him why they have bad news.

Kate clears her throat, “We uh. Unfortunately, we have to leave Hope County”.

Eli walks in as she says this.

“Leave Hope County?!?!” the bearded man asks loudly.

“Yeah, I got a call from my uncle, and there’s a family emergency, and they need mine, and Morgan’s help” Kate explains to them.

“What kind of emergency?” Eli asks, “If you don’t mind me asking”.

“It’s just my great aunt, she got into some trouble with some sketchy people. She made a few deals, and we have to help her out of it” Kate further explains.

“We’re gonna be leaving in a few months. Because that’s when the “deadline” expires, and we have to help her hold off it” Morgan adds.

They’re both great liars. No one. Not a single soul can know of the evil monsters in this world.

Vampires, Demons, Werewolves, Ghosts, Ghouls. That shit will only freak people out, and only a small handful of people can know, and hunt these monsters.

The people in Hope County will never know, or understand what Kate and Morgan do for a living.

What their families have been doing for generations. Saving people, hunting things, the family business.

It was a close one with John getting possessed, Kate was glad Castiel worked his angel magic, and wiped his memory of the whole thing.

One of the perks on being besties with an Angel of the Lord.

Kate clears her throat again, “November 2nd. That’s when we’re leaving for Jackson, then we’re going to Pennsylvania because that’s where she lives”.

Eli, and Wheaty look back and forth at the two huntresses.

“As much as we don’t want to leave, especially with the Cult terrorizing everyone” Morgan says.

“A lot of shit going on” Kate adds.

They stayed at the Wolf’s Den for another half an hour, and they moved on to all their other friends.

Luckily Nick Rye, Grace, Pastor Jerome and Mary May were all at the Spread Eagle.

You can cut the tension with a knife, after what happened several months early with the whole atonement bullshit, and Saleos.

Mary pretty much glared at Kate the whole time, Nick and Grace didn’t even look back to look at her, and Pastor Jerome just looked like he didn’t want to talk about what happened that day.

“Hey” Kate says, greeting the Holland Valley business owners, and residents.

“Hey” Mary says with a hint of anger in her voice.

Morgan takes the lead with this since none of them want to hear Kate out on this.

“Listen” she starts off, “Kate and I are leaving Hope County in a few months. Family emergency, we’re telling you guys because we don’t want you guys to think we just, up and left Montana out of selfishness”.

As Mary cleans glasses, “So after everything that has happened. You’re just gonna leave like the fucking Cult is gonna let you?!”.

Morgan and Kate both look at each other, then back at Mary.

“Oh wait. That’s right you can because you’re fucking dating John Seed” she yells angrily towards Kate.

Kate snaps back, “Okay first of all I didn’t even fucking know he was involved with that shit!!”.

“Bullshit!!!” Mary snaps, almost breaking a glass “You seriously didn’t even know about the Cult, or the atonements?. Or any of that shit?”.

“What John did to me was un-fucking-forgiveable” Nick says, “I’m surpised you defended him, and was still dating him after all that. Hell I don’t know why you even got with him in the first place”.

Nick doesn’t even look back at them when he says this, not even turning his head in the slightest.

“I broke things off with John shortly after that. I never spoke to him after all of that” she defends herself but it wasn’t good enough.

“That still doesn’t make things any better Kate!!” Mary adds, “I don’t know if you’re blind, or just stupid for defending that man. After what him and his family have done to all of us, and you still justify his actions”.

“I’m starting to think you two leaving is for your own selfishness” Grace says, not looking back at them.

Pastor Jerome turns to them, and says “Some of us can forgive you, but we won’t forget. We won’t forget the pain the Seeds have done to us all. The wrath, pain and sorrow they put on all of us will be justified”.

Kate and Morgan turn around, and are about to leave the bar. Kate’s surprised Jeorme didn’t bring up her citing an exorcism during her atonement.

Mary mutters as she’s cleaning glasses, “I thought you would be like your mother when I first met her. But turns out you're both the same”.

Kate stops, and turns to her, “What did you say?!?. My mother?!?”.

She walks up to the counter, “What do you mean “I would be like my mother?”.”

“Mandy, or should I say Mother Amanda. She was a part of the Cult, she was The Mother, Joseph picked her. They were the Mother and Father of Eden’s Gate” Mary says, “That was 6-7 years ago”.

“Bullshit!!” Kate yells, Morgan tries to hold her back, “My mother would never be a part of a fucking Cult. Be a goddamn peggie?!. Fuck no!!”.

Mary scoffs, “She betrayed us, she betrayed the Cult, and look what happened to her. Joseph had some of his followers kill her”.

Kate's voice starts to tremble, and takes a deep breath “Lies. all fucking lies!!!. She wouldn’t let a bunch of inbred hillbilly motherfuckers kill her”.

Morgan practically drags Kate out of the bar, and back to their car.

“Kate, you have to calm down!!!” Morgan tells her.

Pacing, aggressively scratching her head, “That’s all bullshit. My mom would never join the fucking Cult. I know she’s not dead, I know it. My uncle Brent said he needed her help as well with the whole thing with Aunt Flora”.

“Okay. Kate you need to relax. Let’s go home, and you can sleep for a bit. Then we can tell the others later”.

Morgan puts Kate in the passenger side, and drives them home.

Kate goes into her room, and tries to sleep for a bit.

1:30 in the afternoon, and she still has a lot more people to tell about her departure in a few months.

Tossing and turning in her midday nap. She had a very eerie about an old enemy demon that at one time needed to harvest her soul because she was, or she still is the true vessel to this particular demon.

Lilith the first demon to be created by Lucifer himself.

That bitch demon that her cousin Sam had killed several years earlier, she was resurrected by Crowley, or Alister, or Asmodeus one of them demon fuckers brought her back, along with Abaddon.

-The dream-

Unable to sleep even her own dream, or should I say nightmare, Kate has a hard time sleeping.

“Hello Katella” a female voice says.

Kate wakes up, sitting up in her bed, and sees Lilith.

“What do you want?!?” she asks, angrily. Narrowing her eyes at the demon.

“You already know what I want” she says, walking towards her, and sitting at the edge of her bed.

“And you already know the answer” she replies, “It will always be no”.

“I will get you to say yes” she replies in a threatening tone.

Kate scoffs, rolling her eyes “I won’t let you harvest my soul, my body. I won’t let you. No matter what you do”.

Lilith stands up, walking in front of the bed, and says.

“I know how much you love your sister. Paige. Her and Abaddon are basically counterparts, just like how Sam and Lucifer, Dean and Michael. You and I”.

Kate stands up from her bed, “Paige will never let Abaddon harvest her soul, and I won’t let you. The whole thing with Sam, Dean, Lucifer and Michael was a different story”.

Lilith’s eyes turn white, “I will harvest your soul. No matter what. You’re my other half, my true vessel.”

“You need my consent to harvest my soul. You can stay in that meatsuit of yours”.

Lilith scoffs, walking towards her “I don’t need your consent. I can just harvest your soul. Just like any other demon”.

“Not while I’m around” a male voice says, “Stay away from my human”.

Lilith stops, and turns around. Sees Archangel Gabriel.

She groans in annoyance, rolling her eyes “Of course. One of Heaven’s feathery boys”.

Even though this is all a dream, Kate is relieved that her Trickster Archangel best friend is here.

He narrows his eyes at the demon, “As Kate’s guardian Angel. I won’t let you anywhere near her pure, good soul”.

Lilith laughs softly, “And what are you gonna do about it?!?. By the way how was being tortured by Asmodeus?”.

She smirks, and that was a huge mistake the first demon ever to be created has ever said.

“He fed off of my grace for years!!” he yells, his eyes turning purplish white.

He banishes Lilith away with a bright light. Kate covers her eyes from the blinding light of the Archangel.

Turning back to face the Archangel, he stares at her with those whiskey color eyes.

They stare at each other, “Gabriel?” she whispers.

He slowly approaches her, placing his hand on her cheek. Kate practically melts to his touch.

Sighing softly, closing her eyes. The heat radiating off this angel is very comforting.

Gabriel slowly pulls her closer to him, and-

-end of dream-

Kate wakes up from her very good dream, she’s been having it for a couple weeks now.

It always ends the same way. Gabriel banishing Lilith to Hell probably, caresses her cheek, and pulls her in closer to him.

Probably to kiss her, because Gabe is her guardian Angel, Michael being Paige’s and her mothers is unknown probably Raphael.

That dream is probably telling her something, a sign or some kind of foreshadowing.

Later that day, her and Morgan leave to hang out with their group of friends. 3:30pm.

They all go to the campsite they went to several months earlier when Kate first met Wheaty.

“You guys are leaving?!?” Sarah asks.

Kate and Morgan nod their heads, “Yeah, we are”.

“How are you guys gonna get out?!” Ivan asks.

“We’re not sure yet” Morgan answers.

“We’re driving out. Obviously” Kate says.

They all sit around an unlit bonfire, chatting. Going over their two friends that are leaving. As they're talking, a Cult truck stops near their campsite.

4 peggies come out, all male, rifles in hands. They approach the group of young adults.

“Kate Winchester!!” one of them calls out.

The group of friends turn to Kate, except Morgan her eyes are locked on the 4 peggies.

“What do you want?!?” she asks.

“John wants you to go by the church. Now” another peggie answers.

Kate and Morgan turn to each other.

She gets up, and they guide her to their truck, climbing into the backseat, and they drive out of the Whitetails, and back to Holland Valley.

Dropping her off in front of Falls End church.

Unsure what John wants, or what he wants to talk about.

She walks inside, and sees John with his back to her, standing in front of the panel.

Having flashbacks to 5 in half months ago, when all that shit happened.

“Hey John” she says, her voice echoing.

He turns around, a huge smile on his face.

“Hello Katie” he says, with enthusiasm, and excitement in his voice.

She walks towards him, swinging her hands at her sides, clapping them.

“Soo” she says, “Why did you call me here?”.

He sighs loudly, echoing throughout the church.

“It’s a surprise” he says with a hint of malice in his voice.

Kate raises her eyebrows at him, “Really?. Am I gonna like it?!?”.

John chuckles at her cuteness, the innocence in her voice. How cute, naive and innocent she sounds.

“You’re gonna love it” he says with emphasis on the word love.

“Well I look forward to seeing it” she replies, stepping closer to him.

He stares at her with a smirk, “Well to give you a few hints, it might ring a bell, and it’s gonna be very engaging”.

Kate awkwardly chuckles at him, and John notices something is off about her.

“Darlin’. What’s wrong?” he asks, moving her hair away from her face.

Stammering over her words, trying to hold back tears.

“Its-It’s nothing” she lies, John catches on.

“Don’t lie to me sweetheart. What’s wrong?” he places his hand on the back of her head.

She looks down at the ground, and before she could tell him. Her phone rings, she pulls it out, and sees her sister's name.

Her eyes widened at her phone screen, she looks up at John.

“I’m sorry I really need to take this” she tells him. He nods his head.

She steps away, standing near the front door of the Falls End church, and answers her phone.

“Hey!” she says into her phone.

Paige on the other end, sounding like she just woke up.

“You called, and gave me a very lecural voicemail” she says in a groggily voice, “What’s so important?”.

“Uncle Brent called me. Him, aunt Laura, our cousins, and Barbara need our help” she explains to her older sister.

“For what?!” she asks, voice still groggily.

“Our great aunt Flora made a deal with a demon, and she needs our help” she whispers, so that John can’t hear her.

“Okay. So we head back to Jackson, and leave when?” she asks.

“November 2nd. That’s when we leave to Philly” she whispers to her.

Paige sighs, “Okay. I’ll call Brent, and get more details. But we’re gonna talk out our issues, and you’re gonna have to leave school”.

“Well I graduated, and have my Master of Science degree in Psychology” she tells her, “So me leaving school won’t be necessary”.

They hang up, and Kate turns back to John who is leaning against the panel. His head tilted to the side. Smirk on his face.

“Sorry that was my sister” she tells him.

He can still see the sadness, and worried in her eyes.

“Katie, darlin’. Answer my questions, what’s wrong?.

She sighs, looking down at the floor, “I have to leave Hope County”.

The expression on his face changes from happy to sadness mixed with anger.

“No. No you can’t leave me” he tells her, his voice getting upset, “Why are you leaving me?!?”.

“I don’t want to. My family needs me” she further explains to him, “They need my help. A family member is in deep trouble with some sketchy people”.

John shakes his head, tears starting to form in his eyes, “You can’t leave. I love you, I need you” his voice going hoarse.

“You mean a lot to me. You changed me Kate. I love you, I need you here with me”.

Kate starts to cry, her eyes going red. “I love you too. I can’t leave my family hanging. I’ll come back when we return from Pennsylvania. I have never loved, or cared for anyone before. You’re my first real boyfriend, you took my virginity. Everything we’ve done and been through was all real”.

John tries to smile through his tears. He loves Kate, he really does love her.

He never wanted her to go through any pain. He wants her to stay in Hope County with him.

But he knows how family oriented she is, and that’s why he loves her. He wants to have a family with her. Grow old together in the ranch house, or maybe move to the West Coast, and start their family.

The possibilities are endless for them, but he unfortunately has to accept that she has to leave in a few months, and he wants to spend every moment with her.

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noobsomeexagerjunk · 4 years ago

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thoughts on starry after multiple listens

(dated July 8, 2020 because i might make another one)

Edit: I SHOULD FACT CHECK MORE

the Starry soundtrack is as impressionist as the painters it invokes by energy alone, which is impressive given the style of music used (of which i’m fine with, but not partial to)

the Prologue does this right off the bat

the people of Monmartre are very critical of the rest of France and I adore it

i can feel theo’s overwhelment in Impress Me

Impress Me does a wonderful job at introducing the setting of the show

that song is a ball of pulsating yearning—no wait that’s the whole show

Theo got so stressed he walked blindly into Madame Segatori’s cafe

learning that the Le Tambourin was named as such due to its tambourine aesthetic via Vincent’s portrait of Segatori is just incredible to me; the table is shaped like a tambourine

“If Paris is the world, Monmartre is Bethlehem; and art is our Amen” sounds so powerful

A New Horizon is so warm

i expect Theo and Vincent to be very cuddly with each other everytime they interact

“dream with me, dear brother” is the energy of this song

french wheat fields will forever haunt me because of this damn musical

*insert Do You Like the Color of the Sky? post here*

like, so much emphasis to the sky

Vincent’s dreaming leaking into Theo’s trading practice surely must be a sight to see

chain imagery hits hard after hearing Wheat Fields/Finale Ultimo

in this yellow house, we dream of freedom

“should I really take this giant risk?” “brother, I took a giant risk coming here—fuck yeah do it!”

United in Distaste reeks of Vincent’s intimidation—it has new kid in school energy and I am living for it

Vincent coming to Monmartre (and when he arrives in Arles) like “Hey, I’m new in town, and it gets worse,”

Bernard has apparently spent enough time with Theo to be able to identify Vincent by frowning alone

Rude of Gauguin to yoink Vincent’s painting like that; Segatori immediately hangs it tho—

Gauguin sounds like he’s going to corrupt anyone who approaches him—dude announces his horny nature during his introduction

Gauguin IS a savage and a whore and the best thing about that is that he knows it; even better knowing the vision of his costume

Segatori’s displeasure throughout the song implies that the artists that frequent her cafe also argue amongst themselves frequently

“keep in mind that we’re academic rejects, Vincent”

with the way Degas, Pissarro, and Morisot tease at Gauguin (noting that Gauguin, Bernard, and Toulouse-Lautrec are together in a later song), it sounds like they’re are hurling insults from a separate tambourine table

Toulouse-Lautrec sounds dramatic; Bernard sounds like he’s not sure where he is artistically—both are a mood

Of the post-impressionist table, the only one retaliating with genuine insults is Toulouse-Lautrec; Bernard and Gauguin only end up defending themselves while Toulouse was ready to tear down Degas and Morisot

Pissarro IS old (at this period in time in the musical) damn

Morisot is unyielding with her insults, “speaking of size—“ holy shit oh no

i reiterate—why is Toulouse-Lautrec the only one actually speaking in a French accent; almost everyone there is French

since I’m aggressively referring to him, I think Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec merits a musical of his own, and that’s based on what first learned about him when I first listened to Starry

by extension, also Berthe Morisot

Monmartre’s artists be like “We’re very critical of ourselves and each other, and while that’s worth being intimidated by, don’t be intimidated by us! What do you have to bring to the table, foreign painter?”

Something poetic about how what Vincent wants being what all the artists want hereby making him a member of their squad is so warm to me—galleries are gravity INDEED

“We will embrace the madness we design, or lose our mind,” IS THIS FORSHADOWING BECAUSE IT FUCKING SOUNDS LIKE IT

“i am loving this! YES, GET ANGRY!” if only i can identify who said this

Something After All is directed towards Vincent, right? It better be, I lack context

Theo’s yearning is so relatable and I fear not being able to fulfill it

bless Kelly and Matt for giving Jo so much depth in Enlightenment

apparently she deadass learned English for the purpose of translating the letters she had compiled??? yo i love that

poetic how Jo invokes making a legacy since she’s the one who actually preserves her brother-in-law’s legacy (and by extension, herself and her husband’s legacies)

at first listen, i immediately drew a comparison to Hamilton’s Eliza; Jo is better both musically and literally, given that Vincent van Gogh is far more relevant than Alexander Hamilton will ever be, even with LMM’s musical

not trying to start beef, just an observation

Jo’s yearning is also such a mood

fire, light, and road imagery being invoked huh

it is by this point i’ve to the realization that the reasons one goes to Monmartre that was cited in Impress Me tie in very well to the individual characters’ desires in this show

Where Are We Going? goes so hard ugh yes

“I need a stronger strategy to seize my immortality!” Gauguin’s incredible ambition is the root of his dissatisfaction; doesn’t help that he’s impulsive both in the musical and IRL

Toulouse prioritizes integrity and Bernard prioritizes progression—I wonder what this means for their characters in the show

Toulouse and Bernard calling Gauguin out on his known shitty behaviors feels like they’ll be problems Vincent will have to deal with in Act 2, when they live together

this is where Gauguin leaves for Martinique, right???

which one is the act 1 closer, really??? The Sower or The Road??? help me please

everyone in town is really concerned for Vincent

it wams me how much Segatori believes in him

Bernard’s right, Vincent van Gogh’s artstyle IS a melting pot

learning that Toulouse-Lautrec capitalized on his art during the peak of his career really adds weight to his concerns on Vincent’s inability to sell

i like to imagine the everyone’s in the gallery during The Sower

Theo and Jo’s relationship progressing as Vincent’s works don’t sell hits upon realization

Theo falling hard when he learns that he and Jo yearn for the same thing tho

recontextualizing the imagery that Vincent found beauty in into imagery that demonstrates his person is just mighty good of Kelly and Matt

then again, so much of his person is in the artwork to begin with

“and everyone knows your reap what you sow.” w o a h!!!

The Road starts like a dramatization of one of Vincent’s breakdowns and how he copes with them, or perhaps this starts after one??? The opening verses suggest a lot

also ties his road to his dream of freedom with what i believe is his travel to Arles

“North, South, East, West—navigate from inside you,” = “With conscience as my compass,”

“i am guided towards the night” this Vincent knows the answer but is so clearly far from its reach and is desperately trying to figure out how to

soul of fire, crystal heart and blizzard-like brain; the man is passionate and everyone knows it

“Fascinating, but maybe just a little too soon,” sounds like that at this point, Toulouse-Lautrec and Bernard genuinely recognize and admire Vincent’s talents, but also understand that the world is still against him and that they have the experience to prove it

the “sunlight and storms” imagery always concern Theo, Jo, and Vincent’s relationship with each other

Gauguin popping up in this song with the compass imagery implies the show’s going to make him a pretty interesting foil to Vincent; this sounds like him traveling back to Paris, or at least him attempting to vibe in Martinique

this hurts when you remember what happens to Vincent

“curse of the gifted” is a phrase i am too afraid to understand

DYLAN SAUNDERS CAN SLAY ME WITH HIS VOICE

The Yellow House sounds yellow somehow

who clears their throat before writing a letter???

Gauguin’s frustration’s against Vincent’s admiration of him is amusing

sounds like Gauguin hasn’t found his “freedom” yet

Theo is one generous fellow

this arrangement lasts for only 2 months; given the apparent span of this musical, The Yellow House is a very “calm before the storm” song

wait a minute—

apparently, Vincent REALLY admired Gauguin and was so excited for his arrival at the yellow house

i fear the dramatization of their disagreements

“Don’t tell Theo I said that,” it amuses me how the van Gogh brothers’ relationship is so well-known to these painters

based on the gifs lurking, the ear incident WILL be dramatized and I am terrified for my heart on how it will be depicted

Sunlight and Storms quotes the original letter from Jo to Vincent surprisingly well (i attempted to read some—there’s so many! this was one of the first ones i came across)

this song hurts when it hits how little time Jo and Theo had together as a married couple

I am convinced a lot happened between Sunlight and Storms and On the Threshold of Eternity

this definitely was after a breakdown

i skip this song just so i don’t think about the obvious implications, i must confess

the meaning of “sunlight and storms” hits the hardest here

“we will not let your illness keep you from finding your freedom”

The Red Vinyard is so full of a brother’s love

this hits me, and i speak as an only child

“You’ve carried me more than you’ll ever know,” AH—

when Theo finally sees the new horizon, Vincent is seeing it too

and what Vincent saw he put on a fucking canvas

“i can see it—a new horizon” = “the sight of the starry night”

they say that at the time, not much was thought of the iconic painting

i could only wonder what might’ve happened between The Starry Night and Wheat Fields

all the piano motifs coming together in Wheat Fields/Finale Ultimo, just like that

“I’m ready for harvest time” is melodically similar to “The road is bright”, particularly when it’s just Vincent singing the line alone

despite the obvious, I don’t think I’ll grasp the meaning of the final song; i also skip this one so i don’t think about it

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jackie-talks-about-starkid · 4 years ago

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A Very Potter Musical (Rewatch #1, 9/7/2020)

YouTube publish date: July 5, 2009 (re-upload date)

Number of views on date of rewatch: 16,939,210

Original ticket price: Free (I know, right!?)

Director: Matt Lang

Assistant Director: Nick Lang

Music and Lyrics: Darren Criss and AJ Holmes

Writer: Brian Holden

Cast album price and availability: free to download on Starkid’s Bandcamp page (x)

Album release date: July 29, 2010

Parody or original: an original parody

Funding: $100 from Basement Arts (a student-run organization at the University of Michigan that provides space and relative funds for student-made theatre), $5000 from Nick Lang’s personal finances (x)

Main cast and characters

Harry - Darren Criss

Ron - Joey Richter

Hermione - Bonnie Grueson

Draco - Lauren Lopez

Snape - Joe Moses

Dumbledore - Dylan Saunders

Quirrell - Brian Rosenthal

Voldemort - Joe Walker

Ginny - Jamie Lyn Beatty

Musical numbers

Act I

“Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” by Darren Criss

Characters: all, excluding Quirrell and Voldemort

“As Different As Can Be” by AJ Holmes

Characters: Quirrell and Voldemort

“Cho’s Song (Ginny Version” by Darren Criss

Characters: Harry

“Harry” by Darren Criss

Characters: Ginny

“As Different As Can Be (Reprise)” by AJ Holmes

Characters: Quirrell and Voldemort

“The Dragon Song” by Darren Criss

Characters: Harry (and Dragon)

“Cho’s Song” by Darren Criss

Characters: Harry

“Granger Danger” by Darren Criss

Characters: Ron and Draco

“To Dance Again” by AJ Holmes

Characters: Voldemort and Death Eaters

Act II

“Missing You” by AJ Holmes

Characters: Harry and Quirrell (dramatic sighs provided by Voldemort)

“Not Alone” by Darren Criss

Characters: Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione

“Voldemort Is Goin’ Down) by AJ Holmes

Characters: Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Hogwarts Students

"Not Alone/Goin' Back To Hogwarts Reprise" - Darren Criss

Characters: Entire cast

Fun facts:

In a YouTube comment under the video “A Very Potter Musical Prologue”, user Kylene Corpus cites Joey Richter as saying, “”There is a whole section that they didn’t include in the YouTube video where Bonnie did this kind of voice over at the beginning telling the story of Harry Potter and Voldemort would like walk out on stage in his cloak and they told the story about how Harry died and with his parents and when he said Avada Kadavra, they shined this huge green light in the audience’s faces and they have the music playing in the background and it was so cool.”

(I just discovered this bit of information as I was writing this particular part of the post [9/7/2020] and when I say I got CHILLS when hearing this for the first time…imagine listening to this and thinking “wow I guess this musical is going to be pretty sophisticated and true to the HP universe” and then seeing the first number and realizing that what you thought would not be the case at all)

Cultural Context: 2009

AVPM is performed roughly a year and a half after the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince releases on July 15th, 2009 in the US

Barack Obama gets sworn in as president of the US

Glee airs its first episode (Darren auditions for Finn and doesn’t get the part)

Iowa become the 3rd state to legalize same-sex marriage (and becomes the first state in the Midwest to do so)

Vermont legalizes same-sex marriage

Michael Jackson dies on June 25th

Movie tickets averaged at around $7.50 (x)

Personal Thoughts:

As someone whose first and foremost loves are Harry Potter and musical theatre, I could not sing the praises of A Very Potter Musical enough. For a parody of Sorcerer’s Stone, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, and a hint of Half-Blood Prince, AVPM lovingly makes fun of the characters and plot points of Harry Potter while maintaining the cast and creative team’s overall love and respect for such an important fandom in their lives. Much of AVPM’s success is owed to the fact that it was made not only for, but also by, Harry Potter fans. If a group of college kids made a Harry Potter musical for the sake of taking the piss on the entirety of the Harry Potter franchise, it definitely would not have reached anywhere near the level of success it has today. As an audience member, you can tell that each individual participating in the creation of this performance did so purely out of love for the theatre and love for Harry Potter. Even during the first opening notes of “Going Back To Hogwarts’ before Harry Potter even begins to sing, you can see something in Darren Criss’ eyes that’s so bright it can only be described as him being in love with what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. This love can be seen in every person’s performance throughout this comedic parody and that just makes it all the more enjoyable as an audience member, but most importantly, as a fan.

Every single performance stands out for me because each actor is so original and just SO FUNNY! They get what the AVPM is about and they play on that perfectly. My personal favorite is Lauren Lopez’s iconic performance as Draco Malfoy, because, WOW, talk about perfect casting and perfect execution. Her comedic timing is impeccable and I’m personally offended that she hasn’t won a Tony yet. The characterization of Malfoy’s character, as well of the rest, are so obviously hyper-caricatures of their source characters that it just makes sense. Criss’ douchey, charming, ‘guy who brings a guitar to the party and only plays Wonderwall’ vibes take James Potter’s characteristics to the extreme and make it so obvious that Harry is James’ son and it’s done with no offense to either Harry Potter himself or his father. I don’t know how he’s managed to pull that off, but it just works. Joey Richter as Ron Weasely is absolutely hilarious-he takes Ron’s tendency to be defensive and arrogant and turns it into a trait that I want to see more of. Honestly, if I’m watching AVPM, there’s an 80% chance that I’m not paying attention to the main action and instead focusing on Richter’s background acting. I wouldn’t have that any other way...Bonnie Grueson as Hermione is, at least to me, incredibly relatable. The writing for her character in particular is very sophisticated when analyzing it through the lens of Potter parody. While justice to her character in the books is done well in the show, it’s obvious that her over-competent levels of know-it-all-ness are making fun of the Potter movie adaptation’s tendency to make Hermione the sole brain cell holder of the entire franchise. (Unfun Fact: Half of Ron’s incredible lines and skills of observation from the books are given to Hermione in the movies and some of Dumbledore’s iconic quotes are given to her as well.)

If you’re not a Harry Potter fan and you end up watching AVPM, you could definitely enjoy the performances themselves because the actors and the numbers are hilarious, and you could appreciate the non-Potter pop culture references, but in doing so, you would not be doing this material any justice. This show is for Potterheads only, sorry!

Starkid’s parody musicals, beginning with this one, are its own very special brand of performance in which the group of people performing and the group of people watching have collectively agreed to come together to celebrate the fandom they love and strengthen the bond they have with it, whereas with most theatrical productions (at least in their premiere stage) the cast, crew, and the audience are there to create a bond that was never initially there.

#@teamstarkid #for my independent study #a very potter musical #avpm #team starkid #starkid #starkid productions #starkid musicals #musical theatre #ok is wonderful

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be-more-chill-evan-hansen · 5 years ago

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BLACK FRIDAY SPOILERS

The following post contains spoilers for the new musical, Black Friday, by Team Starkid. Continue reading at your own risk.

MY FAVORITE PARTS FROM THE BLACK FRIDAY DIGITAL TICKET + OTHER COMMENTARY (IN ORDER OF HOW THEY APPEAR) WHILE WATCHING IT FOR THE 4TH OR 5TH TIME [contains very harsh and explicit language]

**These points will be brought up in another post (involving the Hatchetfield Universe theories)

The ENTIRETY of the Wiggly jingle at the beginning

Jaime saying “his belly’s so squishy!” while jumping up and down

The tights

“Uncle Wiley, where does Wiggly come from?”

James Tolbert (Team Starkid choreographer-turned-actor) STOLE the show

Curt Mega’s dancing in that song killed me

“DO THE WIGGLE!”

ROBERT AND JAMES DANCING WAS EVERYTHING

**Paul still doesn’t like musicals? (I have a theory of where this show takes place in the Hatchetfield Universe but that’s for another post)

The way Paul looks at Emma when she’s on her Cabbage Patch Kid rant!

“I’m Paul. I’m Emma’s...boyfriend.”//“Well, we haven’t put a label on it yet.”//“But we are intimate.” (Bonus: Emma’s glare)

Paul is still awkward I love him.

“I do not get flashbacks. I remember bad things vividly.”

“Thank you for your service.”//“I didn’t do it for you.”

“Ski-ball sucks.” (I wholeheartedly disagree but whatever)

Grace Chastity is Tom’s babysitter for Tim confirmed

Okay. Okay. Okay. OKAY.

TOM JUST WANTS TO MAKE IT UP TO HIS SON BECAUSE HE FEELS GUILTY ABOUT THE CRASH I’M SOFT

DYLAN SAUNDERS STILL STEALING HEARTS

WHY DO YOU GIVE DYLAN ALL OF THE HEART-WRENCHING SONGS????? I DON’T NEED TO CRY AT 4AM

THE LIGHTING

“Excuse me, miss. Do you think it’s okay for me to park here?”//“Yeah, it says ‘no parking at any time’ but I’m sure the loading trucks can just park across the street. Does that work for you?”

“If I won’t support my drinking habit, who will?”

“Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory to a newborn king. A fuckin’ furry little monster’s gonna make me a pile of cash.”

“Tell me, Lex. Do you know why they call it Black Friday?”//“Because it comes after Thursday?”

“Well, friend-o. I have a feeling that these little babies are going to take you so far into the black that you ain’t never comin’ back.” *long uncomfortable pause*

“Oh, you’re gonna make a killin’. That’s an Uncle Wiley’s Toys guarantee!”

FRANK HUGGING THE BOX OF WIGGLYS

“Hark, the herald angels sing. Glory to a newborn king. Peace on Earth, and lots of money. MONEYMONEYMONEYMONEY just for ME.”

JON’S VOICE AS WIGGLY I CAN’T

“mALL security we got a shoplifter. Drop that doll!” (His voice crack killed me oh my God)

HIS OUTFIT (The first time I saw him I went “Oh my God he’s emo”)

“Where’s my sister?”// “Oh no.” *stares dramatically* “Hannah?” *even more dramatic* “Is that what you’ve been telling me every day for the past four weeks? To pick up your kid sister?” *grabbing Lex* “Oh, I must’ve forgot because I’m so stupid.” Ethan needs to take up drama

“Do I gotta put a leash on you like a dog, or my cousin Oliver?”

“Don’t pull her.”//*voice crack* “I’m nOt.”

“Alright banana split.” i’m not crying

“You see this hat? This was gifted to me by a great warrior.” *Lex laughs*/*Ethan turns around slowly* “Don’t you fuckin’ laugh.”

“I’d make a great dad, I’m just sayin’.” (Ethan isn’t a horrible person he’s just misguided)

“My mom’s a bitch!”

Honestly the way Ethan looks at Lex

*in the middle of singing* “That’s not how cameras work, babe.”

Hannah’s dancing

ROBERT’S WIGGLES DURING “We’re missing in action.”

“Dear mom, it’s been real."

“I’d say you did your best, but I’m not a liar.”//“Oh, L-I-E-R, babe.”//“We get it Ethan, you’re a good speller.”

“PS: Get yourself a new trailer, because this one? Is BROKE AS SHIT!”

Robert in skinny jeans. Can Robert wear skinny jeans more often please?

Hannah doing the “smoking” thing with her hands.

“Hannah! What the fuck is this [imitating it]?That better be fucking FLOSS.”

UGH LAUREN AS LINDA MONROE IS LEGENDARY

“That’s called a bribe, sir, and it’s illegal...or it should be.”

“I have four boys. Four beautiful, blond, boys.”

“Do you really think your children are better than everyone else’s.”// “In so many words, YES.”

“I hope you don’t get a Wiggly. I hope you fucking die.”

“Well, my children were accidents.”

“Stop crying, Gerald. I wasn’t talking to you.”

The way Tom and Becky looked at each other when they met again ugh.

Whatever that song is called when the Hatchetfield citizens were gossiping about it like I think it’s called “What Do You Say?” or something?

“Tom’s put on some weight.”

“I heard Tom is seeing things.”

Jon is serving looks.

The dance they did when they said “all the years that had fun” killed me

Curt Mega is a treasure

“It’s cold out.”//“Nothing really.”//“How are things?”//“Haven’t seen it.”

“Oh my, God, it’s a train-wreck.”//“My favorite.”//“Give me my tub of popcorn.”//“Just skip to the fucking.”//“She’d never--.”//“Either way this is torture porn.”

“I think I’ll step in and save her.”// “You don’t have half of a chance, bitch.”

“THERE, she looked at his crotch.”//“He looked at her boobs.”

“I like dolls. I’m just kidding. I don’t like dolls. At least, not like that.”// “I missed you.” *everyone freaks out*

The dance that looks like a beating heart around them I love.

“Did you know if you spend money, your kids will love you maybe.”

COREY DORRIS NEEDS APPRECIATION BYE

“Give us your fucking money. Give us your fucking cash.”

SERIOUSLY I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS RECORDING

“Do we have any morality.”

“What’s a grown man going to do with 85 dolls?”// “Well, one will stay in the box for posterity. One will be used exclusively for bath time.”

“If you’re going to make with the hysterics, TAKE IT TO MACY’S.”// “How dare you. Are you hearing this, Gerald? Yes, call my attorney.”

“I’ll tickle one doll, and one doll will tickle me.”

The bidding war.

“Get your hands off her.”// “Fuck YOU.”

The lighting slowly gets red when they start bidding.

“$800.”//“$3.”//“Can I use these coupons?”

“Well, if you’re not going to sell me that doll, I guess I’ll just gonna have to take it.”

“If he gets one, I’m getting four.” *Linda climbs the counter like Draco*

So the lighting during “Feast or Famine” is just???? The green and red??? Like holiday colors but at the same time it’s representative of greed and rage????

Just all of “Feast or Famine”

“What’s shaking banana, you okay?” I’M HAVING FEELINGS UGH

“What’s up with that grammar. Even I know it’s ‘more badder’.” Ethan no

ETHAN NO

“Give me that fucking doll I’m in a hurry.” Okay, Jeff you freaking gremlin man

WHO BRINGS A KNIFE SHOPPING?? Unless he stole that, too.

“Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him?”//“YES, I fucking see him!”

James as “Obama” I’m crying

“I’ll hold onto the little...uh...whippersnapper.”

“While you three devise a strategy, I’ll hold on to the little friend.”// “Shut the fuck up!”

“You’re nothing more than a Harvard Law School community organizing prick!” I’M SCREAMING

“Take one step closer to my fwendy-wend and I’ll rip your fucking throat out with my own teeth.”

“No, he’s mine! Back off or I will send a laser-guided ballistic missile to your house in Denver. You’ll be scraping off what’s left of your kids off the FUCKING pavement.”

“MORRIS. Give me that COCK-SUCKING MOTHERFUCKING COCK-A-DOODLE-DOLL” CURT MEGA IS A TREASURE

“I’ll bite your dick off!”

THE AUDIENCE (AND MY) REACTION TO MCNAMARA

*Obama voice* “Oh, I’m gonna vomit.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I let myself in.”// “Into the oval office?”

“Monsters and Men” IS A BOP

*yeets the Wiggly off stage*

“DECK THE HALLS” IS A BOP

I would 100% watch “Santa Claus is Going to High School” unironically

“Jingle! Jangle! If anyone sees two elves in my locker, I’ll get expelled for sure.”

The dancing UGH

Lauren is the cutest elf ever

PART THREE OF LAUREN AND ROBERT DOING A CUTE DANCE TOGETHER

“What the fuck am I watching?”

Becky talking about her ex-husband breaks my heart. I would die for her.

“You say you killed your family. I hope I killed mine.” My heart is breaking help me

Becky and Tom are freaking CUTE

“Take Me Back” is the cutest song ever

All of the times the characters mention other dimensions and stuff??? Each has a different context, but Joey’s character did say that Hatchetfield was a special town earlier in the show so????

All of the making out I’m done

Becky’s leg

“I knew you weren’t Santa.”//“A red tricycle.”//“SANTA!” *starts making out*

“This is the best movie ever!”

Robert has to make out with two people every day.

**PEIP deals with Paranormal, Extraterrestrial, and Interdimensional stuff, so if TGWDLM was Extraterrestrial, and BF is Interdemensional, will Nerdy Prudes Must Die be Paranormal? Will we see PEIP again? [I’M GOING TO MAKE A SEPARATE POST ABOUT THE THEORIES WITHIN THE UNIVERSE]

**“There are many dimensions, sir.”

“You want to send me into the fucking Twilight Zone to have a sit-down with the devil?”

“They will build him his birth canal.” Ew

Sherman Young is so freaking creepy

“Wiggly is good. Wiggly is just.”

“Bring forth the infidels.”

*as Linda walks onto the stage* “MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER”

“I dislike that word, Gerald. Cult. No, it’s a new, exciting religion that I started.”

“I’ve met God, He had nothing nice to say about you.”

“Adore Me” is a BOP

“You’ll kneel before me. Kiss my toe.”

“I will destroy everything, and then I will destroy everything. I guarantee I’ll destroy everything in my path. Unless I get what I--shit, Gerald.”

The followers repeating “I get what I shit.”

THE TIE AROUND JON’S HEAD KILLS ME

“I want you to know what I mean when I say my evil shit, ‘kay?”

TEAM STARKID PLEASE MAKE LAUREN A VILLAIN MORE OFTEN

“What’s shaking banana?” DON’T DO THIS TO ME

Evil Ethan hurts me

Hannah doesn’t deserve this

“I’m in the Black and White now. It’s just like California. It never ends.”

“I swear on my own grave.” I’M

Hannah calling Wiggly out on his bullshit

“Well, Webby is a stupid bitch.” JON UGH

“I’m going to eat you riiiight the fuuuuck nowwwww.” This scene just makes me want to give Hannah a hug

“We don’t get tricked. We’re grown-ups.” GROWN-UPS ARE THE ONLY ONES BEING TRICKED I CAN’T WITH THIS MUSICAL

“Tom, how could you? You let her get away!”

Dylan jumping at an audience member

I know people think that Ethan’s magic hat thing was bullshit but like the syringe missed Hannah so like??

“You think that in the Netherlands they care about some toy? Hah! Nah, they’re too busy enjoying their free vacations and free health care.”

Made In America is A BOP

THE SNIGGLES

BIG WIGGLY

I feel like Made in America won’t have the same punch on the soundtrack.

Joey’s falsetto

R.I.P. General John McNamara

“MERRY CHRISTMAS MOTHERFUCKER!”

“Uh, oh, Mr. Prezy-wez. It seems you’ve misplaced your bomby-womb. Don’t worry. I’m sure it will turn up somewhere.”

“We’ve lost Moscow, sir.”

“He baited us into World War Three.”//*Wiggly giggles* “That tickles.”

“Is this what I live for? To be choked in a toy store?”

“Black Friday” is such a beautiful song though

“Did I need her more than she needed me?” I’m crying please stop

“I’m authorizing you to use my firearm.”

“Monsters and Men” reprise is PERFECT

“Kids don’t want that piece of shit.”//“What?”//“They’re all into Fortnight, dude!”

“I mean, you’re like 40! You probably think your life is over!”

“Everyone is dying, and that includes me, too.” Jeff is a lyrical genius but he needs to back off of whatever angsty juice he’s drinking.

“If I fail you one more time, the punishment won’t match the crime, cause there’s no pain that could ever explain how I let you down.”

“I failed you once, and I will fail again.” I cried when I watched this the first time

“If I Fail You” is such an emotional song

“Alright, let’s go.”//“Fuck, yeah! Should I move these boxes first?”//“Fuck, yeah.”

Charlotte? Where did you come from???

“The only man that’ll have her now is Jack Daniels.”

“And you, you little shit.” Says Draco, the little shit.

“A magic hat? That’s ridiculous. Only dolls are magic.”

“Is this some kind of a joOoOoOoke?”

“Answer me, or I’ll cut your mouth open with my FUCKING KNIFE.”

“You’re a fucking moron.”// “Then you’ve been out-fucked by a fucking moron.”

Lauren’s wiggles during “He will wigglewigglewigglewigglewiggle his way into life.”

“Wiggle” is such a silly song but the harmonies and choreography????? Iconic.

ROBERT’S TWIRL???

JAMES’ DEATH DROP????

EVERYONE’S SEPARATE WIGGLES????

The crying when Becky shot Linda.

“Gerald? It’s Gary. Yep, we need to talk about the will. Goldstein!”

The red light that symbolized Wiggly being on fire.

The followers deciding to burn with Wiggly.

“I have this cooky, reclusive Biology professor.” *audience loses their shit*

“What am I supposed to do without my iPhone?”//“Wear a watch?”

“What If Tomorrow Comes” is such a haunting song

Kendall’s voice is so GOOD!

HOT CHOCOLATE BOY?

MR. DAVIDSON?

BILL?

The dabbing

Hannah and Lex hugging

Paul hugging Emma and Bill

The Hot Chocolate Boy and the Cinema Kid holding hands honestly adorable and I lowkey ship

A little bit of instrumentals from “Not Your Seed” in the end-credit music?? (From the lyric “Look what happened, nightmare time.”)

That’s it. It’s very long, but those were either my favorite parts or small things I noticed. Mostly just my thoughts.

#team starkid #black friday musical #black friday spoilers #jon matteson #lauren lopez #robert manion #curt mega #joey richter #dylan saunders #kim whalen #jeff blim #corey dorris #jaime lyn beatty #angela giarratana #james tolbert #kendall nicole yakshe #hatchetfield #hatchetfield universe

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secondstar-acorn · 5 years ago

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My favourite parts of Black Friday (spoilers!!!)

• Emma and Paul onstage together and happy-when I tell you I SCREAMED

• Dylan Saunders and his voice!!! Impeccable

• Corey going absolutely apeshit over the money

• Ethan and Hannah’s dynamic

• Linda yelling at Gerald throughout the entire show

• Everybody in line losing their minds over Tom and Becky

• “skip to the fucking” thank you Jeff

• Curt Mega and his mall character just being absolutely feral

• Whatever Joey’s face was during that entire sequence

• “what the fuck is that?????? That better be fuckin floss!!!!! I need a cigarette”

• Joey using his Scrags voice as the movie guy

• just Linda in general

• Becky killing her husband!!!! You go girl

• MCNAMARA IS BACK BITCHESSSSSS

• the bald eagle cry

• Lex talking about the ponies

• bruh when Becky took off Tom’s shirt I was like holy shit we’re really going there okay

• Santa Claus is Comin’ to High School!!!! Why is a centuries old man kissing a teenage girl

• The Obama voice

• Curt Mega in the Black and White

• honestly that whole sequence was really cool

• can I get a wahoo for Linda leading the cult and doing a fabulous job

• I would die for Hannah foster

• the fucking apple

• Jon Matteson as Wiggly!!!!!!!!! Go off

• Lauren really went from Draco to Craphole to Taz to Linda....nobody has this range

• Becky’s creepy song

• all the tgwdlm characters back at the end

• “I’m authorising you to use my firearm”

• Emma going “okay! Okay. Okay!”

• “wear a watch”

• Tomorrow.....better than Annie honestly

• “I have this kooky biology professor” I thought we were gonna see Hidgens and I went WILD

• Emma and Paul are happy together and I love that

• HOT CHOCOLATE BOY

#black friday #black friday spoilers #starkid #team starkid

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inhale-fandoms-exhale-asdfghjkl · 5 years ago

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Starkid Musicals Ranked

So I know I've done this before but it was quite a while ago and Black Friday has come out now so naturally I've had some changes in opinion. Also I've got nothing else better to do in self-isolation and I had plenty of time so i thought why the hell not.

I’m sorry for the fact that this post drags on a bit. I just really love Starkid if that’s not already obvious. Please keep in mind I wrote this at 3am so if it’s riddled with spelling errors or doesn't make sense, please bear with me.

This time I wanted to be really thorough in how i ranked the shows so i went through a few processes.

First I ranked each of the shows based on the writing, music, production, humour, costumes and the cast’s performances (which is really just criteria that makes a show great for me personally). For each category i gave them a score out of 10 which I then added up and each show what given a score out of 60.

The results of this were:

Hmb (53/60)

AVPS, Starship, Twisted (52/60)

AVPM & Black Friday (47/60)

The Trail to Oregon (46/60)

TGWDLM (45/60)

AVPSY & ANI (44/60)

MAMD (37/60)

Firebringer (35/60)

To be honest, i was quite surprised by some of these scores. Some shows were way higher or lower than i though they’d be but some were pretty accurate. However, i didn’t think these scores alone really reflected my actual personal opinions of these shows as a whole. There were a few shows with the same scores so I tried to figure out a way to kind of rank them by personal taste while still using the scores. Really all I did was I ranked the ones with tied scores.

HMB

Twisted

Starship

AVPS

AVPM

Black Friday

The Trail to Oregon

TGWDLM

AVPSY

ANI

MAMD

Firebringer

Now I definitely thought this list was much more accurate but I still felt a few shows were out of place. In particular, HMB. A good portion of the reason of why it got such a high score is purely for my love of the costumes. Therefore, I pretty much abandoned all the previous work I did and then just listed them based on my personal enjoyment of each show which actually isn’t too different. Because at the end of the day, no matter how high I score a specific criteria for a show, that doesn’t necessarily mean I enjoy other aspects of the show equally.

For each show, I go into a pretty lengthy description of things I love about the show, commenting on the writing, music, production, humour, costumes and the cast’s performances. I also give provide an MVP for each show which is just a specific cast member or two’s performances that I particularly like to or stood out to me. I also give my favourite song and scene of each show.

Also this is just MY personal ranking of each show based on things that I do or don’t enjoy about them. I absolutely love every single one of these shows, don’t confuse me being a little critical with some of them as hate or disrespect. Please understand that these are my opinions, which I am allowed to have just like you and I ask you to respect them even if you disagree just like I would respect yours.

So without further ado, this is my final ranking of Starkid’s musicals:

1. Twisted

In my eyes, this show is quite possibly the closest thing you will ever get to perfection. Whether it’s the soundtrack (BLESS YOU AJ HOLMES AND YOUR RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING SONGWRITING SKILLS) or the acting (DAMN YOU DYLAN SAUNDERS FOR MAKING ME CRY SO MUCH, IT’S REALLY NOT FAIR) or just Nick and Matt’s writing which let’s be honest is always amazing. This show perfectly balances both the comedy and dramatic elements of the story, which if I’m being truly critical, not every Starkid show does. It’s a ridiculously beautiful, heart-warming show but it never takes itself too seriously. It has this amazing ability to have you both laughing and crying at the same time. Aladdin is one of my favourite Disney movies and I have to say it’s an amazing adaptation, it’s legitimately better than Disney’s live action remake in my opinion. Like all of their adaptation/parody shows, Starkid is able to stay true to the original text while also making it their own which I think is what make their shows so unique and refreshing.

MVP: I mean I gotta go with Dylan Saunders. I know it’s an obvious choice but how can I not. I mean I can’t believe it took them five years before they have Dylan a lead role because let’s be honest he’s amazing and he absolutely nailed this fucking role. Not only does he perfect every single one of those heart wrenching monologues/scenes but like his comedic timing is perfect. But Jeff, Joe and Rachael are definitely honourable mentions.

Favourite Song: IF I BELIEVED. If you don’t believe this is the best song on the soundtrack then you can bloody fight me, alright. I’m getting emotional just thinking about this song, just imagine when I listen to it or worse, when I watch the scene.

Favourite scene: I really love the entirety of Twisted with all the other Disney villains but literally any scene with Achmed is very fun to watch.

2. Starship

So I explained this in my original ranking post but I’m going to say it again. This show holds an extremely special place in my heart. It was the first Starkid show I watched after initially joining the fandom through AVPM and AVPS. I honestly couldn’t tell you what my favourite thing about this show is or why I love it so much, I just do. This show was my favourite show (until Twisted was released) and I would literally watch it over and over again. I love the music, I love the writing, and I love every single one of the cast’s performances. I legit have almost close to zero critiques on this show. It’s one of Starkid’s best written and produced productions (I mean the set, the puppets, everything was on point). This is such a hilarious show with some of Starkid’s best and most iconic jokes and yet it still manages to be such a beautiful and inspiring show.

With all this being said, this show is so criminally underrated and I really do not understand why but I guess everyone’s got their own tastes and all but okay. You do you.

Also, just gonna go off on a tangent for a bit. This musical is what made me fall in love with the beautiful, amazing, talented Dylan Saunders. I could not believe that the same man could play the adorable and very loveable cutie pie that is Tootsie Noodles/Mega-Girl and the hauntingly charismatic Pincer who is by the way one of Starkid’s best villains. Yes I said it. Nonetheless 12 –year-old me was absolutely flabbergasted by this man’s talented and really had no choice but to fall in love with him. Apart from Twisted, this is most definitely Dylan’s best performance (Not that he has any bad ones. Let’s be honest, that man is perfect). Legit, I challenge anyone to try watch this musical and not fall in love with him. It’s literally impossible.

MVP: I don’t think I could pick just one, I mean they’re all so amazing. I’d probably have to go with Joey. I think Bug was a great character for him and really showcased his abilities, which have just grown exponentially over the years. It was great seeing him play a more serious role rather than his previously more comedic roles (Ron and Joey) while also getting to goof off a little bit. It’s so fun to watch him in this and I really don’t think he gets enough appreciation for this role. Oh and also Meredith is amazing in Starship. I absolutely love her as Mega-Girl and it’s my favourite role of hers.

Favourite song: The Way I Do. Bro the chemistry between Meredith and Dylan is off the charts and this song just shows it. I love everything about this song. It’s so beautiful, I can’t even. Also not too be too like generic but Kick it up a Notch is phenomenal and one of Darren’s best. Actually this show’s whole soundtrack is probably my favourite of the ones that Darren wrote.

Favourite scene: I don’t think I have a favourite but I love the scene with Junior and Mega-Girl where he calls her a toaster and all that. Some of Brian’s best acting and he and Meredith’s chemistry really is really present here. It’s not often you get to see these two play opposite each other so it’s fun and interesting to watch.

3. A Very Potter Sequel

As a major Harry Potter fan, it’s only natural that I hold the Potter series with the highest regard. Despite the fact that this show is a parody by a bunch of college kids, it literally is a better adaptation than a whole eight-part, multi-million budget film series and that’s saying something. How the hell did Nick and Matt write every single one of these characters more accurately and consistently than professional screenwriters and at times, JK Rowling herself? It’s very rare that you ever hear me say that a sequel (I guess it’s technically a prequel) is better than the original but here we are. Don’t get me wrong, AVPM is iconic™ but this show just somehow improved what AVPM already perfected. The plot was much more fleshed out and every single character was written so perfectly and also everybody was casted perfectly. If you follow me you probably know of my love for Remus Lupin and while his character is AVPS is written absolutely ridiculously, it is one of my favourite things about the show. In this show Remus is written to be like this total mess of a person, who is like homeless and just walks around the school half naked, covered in blood and forces a child to eat a dead deer and is just drunk all time and yet I can just totally accept it. Like if the movies had written Remus like this I’d be like “hmm no” but when Brian Holden does it I’m like “um yes this is amazing”. This is quite possibly Starkid’s funniest show, I literally cry of laughter EVERY TIME. Honestly this show is comedic gold for any Harry Potter fan. From anything that comes of Lupin’s mouth or the entirety of Umbridge’s character to Lucius’s dancing.

This being said, I can totally understand why anyone wouldn’t like this or the other Potter shows as much as the others or not think it’s funny if they’re not a fan as most of the humour is based on knowledge of the original series and obviously this for the other parody shows like HMB or ANI. Nonetheless I still think anybody could enjoy this show and its humour as Starkid pretty much has the same sense of humour running throughout most if not all of their shows.

MVP: Brian Holden. I don’t think I need to explain again. But also Tyler Brunsman and Joe Walker are scene-stealers too. Also Corey Dorris as Yaxley in this show is peak comedy.

Favourite song and scene: okay so these kind of go together for me for this show. The whole scene with Those Voices brings me to tears every time. I fucking love the whole marauders era so them showing Sirius Black seeing James and Lily in the Mirror of Erised is more than my heart can take. Nick and Darren in this scene is just *chef’s kiss* and then you add Brian Rosenthal harmonising in the background, well it’s enough to make any girl break and you bet it does every time.

4. Holy Musical B@man!

Oh my god this is just such a fun show and if it was a person, I would die for it. When I first watched this, I wasn’t that big of a DC fan at the time so I couldn’t fully appreciate it for what it was. It’s actually so amazing and it’s a real shame that it sometimes gets overlooked. Nick Gage’s song writing is actually amazing and I really love this soundtrack. I mean I literally get chills every time I listen to the end of Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight. You know which part I’m talking about.

Also can we talk about the costumes for this show? June really fucking outdid herself with this show, they are literally the best costumes out of the whole Starkid canon and you cannot tell me otherwise. Not only did she nail like the classic comic book character costumes like Batman and Superman, etc. while also making them her own but she also created completely original and amazing costumes like Sweet Tooth and Candy. I wish I had even a small percentage of that talent and artistic ability. Anyway this show is so hilarious and also so emotional at the same time it’s not even fair. I’m not a big fan of Batman or Robin and yet this show almost has me changing my mind. And honestly, Nick Lang deserves the fucking world, I absolutely love watching him act and it’s unfortunate he doesn’t do it a lot because he’s amazing.

MVP: Joe Walker. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching Joe play all of his over-the-top comedic roles but I particularly love watching him play a slightly more serious role like this, it’s really refreshing and I really think he knocked it out of the park. Also Jeff Blim as Sweet Tooth is one of my favourite Starkid characters. No joke, 12-year-old me was OBSESSED.

Favourite song: either Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight or Rogues are We.

Favourite Scene: the whole To Be a Man scene.

“Batman or should I say Butthead”

“Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh”.

If that’s not comedic gold I don’t know what is.

5. A Very Potter Musical

This show is and always will be Starkid’s most iconic show. I think it says a lot that a silly parody musical put on by a group of college students has been able to inspire a whole decade’s worth of beautiful, creative, crazy works of art which only continues to grow. This show was never meant to become what it did but how lucky and fortunate are we all that it did. I am so grateful that 8-9 (tbh I can’t even remember anymore) years ago I decided to watch a silly musical about Harry Potter because I cannot imagine my life without Starkid in it. No this show might not have the best set or props or costumes or sound/video quality (it was 2009 guys, give them a break) but it is absolutely amazing in every single way and that’s all I’m going to say.

MVP: fucking everyone. I mean I’m around the same age they were when they started all of this and I can’t even imagine being able to create something even remotely as creative and wonderful or having any kind of success as close to that any time soon.

Favourite song: I feel like I should go for a classic like Not Alone but I’m not gonna lie I’m a real sucker for Missing You.

Favourite scene: oh man I don’t know the whole show is so iconic. I don’t know how I can pick just one.

6. Black Friday

I’m sure some people would be surprised that this show would be so high on this list for a number of reasons. Mostly due to the fact that I’ve been known to be quite fond of, and pretty biased towards some of Starkid’s older shows. But I think that’s just because I’m really nostalgic for how the fandom was back 8 years ago when I joined. And also when I joined the fandom, HMB was like our TGWDLM. It was the newest show out and everyone was talking about it. And also this is the show I have been rewatching the most lately and vie literally had the album on repeat for the last month.

A lot of people don’t really like the new direction that Starkid has taken with this show and honestly I don’t get it. Yes, it’s considerably darker than their other shows and while they classify it as a horror-comedy, it doesn’t really have a whole lot of comedy. But in my opinion, I think that’s what makes the show so great. The main focus of this show is the characters – their pain, their desires, their struggles and I think any excess of comedy would just take away from what’s really important. I really love watching Starkid delve into this new kind of story-telling and I think they’re doing an amazing job with this Hatchetfield series. I think this show did such a great show of introducing us to all the new characters, developing their arcs and really establishing their role within the world of Hatchetfield while simultaneously blending them perfectly with the already established characters from TGWDLM. What I really like about this show and even TGWDLM is how the characters are written. They feel so real not as cartoonish as some of the characters in Starkid’s previous shows which are why the audience can really relate to these characters.

Also this editing and cinematography of this show is fucking amazing and unlike anything else we’ve gotten from Starkid over the years. The choreography is outstanding and the musical is phenomenal. This is easily Jeff Blim’s best work and I have a feeling some people might disagree with me on that. The music in this show is so beautifully intricate and the lyrics have so much depth and emotion which I just feel like TGWDLM lacks. I know some people have been a bit offstandish about the singing in this show and I guess I’d have to agree. The live vocals on the youtube version do seem a bit off but I just suspect some cast members may have been sick or maybe they were just having an off day (it happens guys, even to professionals). Also I love the additions of some new members to Starkids, everyone was absolutely great in this show. For some of these actors, the characters they played were completely opposite to roles that they’ve played in the past but they all nailed it – Joey, Jon, Lauren. My only complaint in terms of casting is that I wish they gave Jaime more, while she is often praised for her singing skills (rightfully so), she often gets overlooked in her acting abilities and it would be great to see her play a bigger role in the next show.

Also I get it, Santa Claus is going to High School is very hilarious and great but please don’t make it another Workin’ Boys thing. Don’t go demanding Starkid to make a short film for this too, let them focus on their other bigger and better projects, please.

MVP: this show had some of my favourite performances from many Starkids but if I had to say someone who particularly stood out to me it’s definitely Kim. Before Black Friday, I will admit I hadn’t really seen anything with Kim in it so this was a great surprise for me. I am literally in love with her voice; it’s one of the most beautiful things in this world.

Favourite song: Take Me Back. Dylan and Kim are just amazing in this song I can’t even explain how much I love it. I’m also a major fan of Feast or Famine and If I Fail You. Ooh and Made in America.

Favourite Scene: I really love the scene with Tom and Becky in the movie theatre but I also really love the whole What Do You Say scene, I think it’s hilarious. But I think my favourite is with the whole Black and White scene with the President, Wiggly and Wiley. One of Joey’s best performances in my opinion.

7. The Trail to Oregon

So on my last list, this show was considerably higher but, on my recent rewatch of the AVPM shows and HMB, I’ve realised how much I really love those shows and unfortunately TTO had to be downgraded. Don’t get me wrong, I still very much love this show. It’s one of the most fun shows to watch and has me smiling the whole time without fail. In saying this, this show also does an amazing job of adding in these beautiful emotional dramatic scenes that brings the audience to tears. At the end of the day, this show really is just about family and how important it is to love and appreciate them no matter how insane they are or how much they annoy you. I know Jeff is really beloved in the fandom but I still don’t think he gets enough appreciation for how good of a writer (both script and song writing) he is, as well as an actor. This show is so unexpectedly beautiful and I’m really grateful for Jeff creating this story.

I don’t really think this show gets enough credit for how good its production actually is considering it only has six cast members. This show is proof of how diverse, creative and talented all these actors really are. It’s such a different concept from their other shows and I think they executed it so well.

MVP: Joey absolutely smashed it, I’m sure it’s not easy having to play all these different characters and literally change between them in a matter of seconds while giving each of them their own separate, unique identities. Another performer I got to give credit to in this show is Rachael, When the World’s at Stake is an amazing performance and Corey is so funny to watch in this show. Grandpa is probably my favourite character as well as the son.

Favourite song: probably When the World’s at Stake but also Independence. I cannot possibly estimate how much time I spent trying to learn those lyrics and sing it at that speed and get it right but I finally got there.

Favourite scene: the whole scene when the Grandpa, Son and Daughter are hunting makes me laugh every time, it’s so funny. But there’s something about that scene with McDoon and Cletus that ends with them riding on the horse together that makes me crack up.

8. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals

Okay so I know the last time I did this, TGWDLM was like no 5 or 6 but like it’s been like a year and a half and a lot of my opinions on this show have changed. I’m also aware that by the time the next Starkid show is out I’ll probably also have changed my mind about Black Friday but who knows. I am eternally grateful to this show for introducing me to the amazing Jon Matteson. In a matter of 2 hours, this man somehow became one of my favourite human beings in the world. His portrayal as Paul is just, I don’t even know but something about it just sticks with me and I absolutely love it. This concept of this show is actually so amazing and you really gotta give the Lang’s credit for being able to come up with stuff like this. A lot of the beauty of the show is that it seems like such a simple concept but if you really think about the implications, you can actually understand why it’s so terrifying. Production-wise, this show isn’t anything fancy in terms of set, costumes props, etc. But the lighting design is amaaaaaazinggggggg!

The soundtrack for this show is pretty great but if you’re comparing it to Starkid’s other scores, it’s not the best. I said it before; the music in this just lacks the depth and emotion that is so heavily prominent in the Black Friday score.

MVP: Jon Matteson for the reasons above. And also Joey’s monologue as Ted to Bill gives me chills every time.

Favourite song: I feel like as the show goes on the songs do tend to get more personal, detailed and emotional which I why I probably favour those over many of the songs in act one. Let it Out and Inevitable are two songs in particular that I love and definitely stand out to me.

Favourite scene: the whole Let it Out scene with Jon trying to resist the apotheosis. And also Lauren’s acting at the end of Inevitable is amazing. Her running around the stage, distressed is both so horrifying but also absolutely hilarious.

9. Me and My Dick

I mean I guess I understand why a lot of people don’t like this show but that doesn’t mean I can forgive the fact that it’s so underrated. Yeah the humour is a bit crude and I get that’s not everyone’s thing but literally this show is two and a half hours of pure golden comedy. Honestly, who thought a show about high school kids and their walking and talking genitalia could be one of the most wholesome and heart-warming things in the world. I don’t think anyone other than Starkid could pull of something like this which honestly says so much about them. These people come up with some of the most craziest, outrageous stuff and somehow turn them into beautiful, amazing works of art.

The soundtrack for this show is so freaking good man. And AJ Holmes is literally one of the most amazing and talented people on this earth. How the fuck does he write such good music? I need to know, it’s really not fair. And for all those people who complain that it took Corey Dorris ten years to get a solo, I urge you to simply watch MAMD.

This show doesn’t have the best production and the sound quality is not great but you know what? Fuck you. Because the acting is this show outshines all of that. The energy each of the performers has in this show is crazy and they are all extremely talented. Literally AJ as Joey’s heart is next fucking level. And Arielle is criminally underrated for her role in this. And Nick Strauss is a comedy king. I’ve said it before and will say it again; The Old Snatch and Flopsy are the most iconic duo.

MVP: AJ and Nick. Like I said. Next level and iconic™.

Favourite song: Listen to your heart. But also Even Though. And Finale is a certified bop.

Favourite scene: I love the scene with Dick and Flopsy but I don’t know if it’s my favourite. But one of my favourite quotes is when Dick is talking to Joey about Miss Cooter’s hair and Joey’s delivery of “on her vagina?” cracks me up every time. And honestly there’s not a lot that can beat Brian during Gotta Find His Dick just intensely repeating “Someone tell him where his dick is”. It makes me laugh so hard I really don’t know why.

10. A Very Potter Senior Year

Alright so let me take you back to 2012. I remember the day they posted the video announcing they were not only making another Harry Potter show but that they were bringing back almost every Starkid member. It was actually such a weird time for the fandom because it really did seem like this show was going to be the end of Starkid. When you watch the show, you can see that the actors are not only saying goodbye to Harry Potter and the characters that they had been playing for the last 3 years but also they were saying goodbye to each other. It was heartbreaking to watch then and it still is now 8 years later. 2012 me was absolutely devastated because I had only just discovered this fandom and I thought I would already have to say goodbye to something that become so special to me in such a short amount of time. Luckily for us all this was not the end of Starkid.

This show really holds a special place in my heart, for so many reasons. First off, it was the first Starkid show that I got to watch as it premiered. Second, I was still grieving the end of the Harry Potter movies and these musicals had kind of replaced that for me but then this was ending too. And third, it really just is the most perfectly executed ending to the AVP series.

This show makes me both laugh and then cry and then laugh again and then cry and laugh at the same time. In my opinion, it is one of the best written Starkid shows, on par with the other Potter shows and I think the only reason why it gets overlooked is the fact that it’s a stage reading rather than a proper production. But you know what, considering this show was literally put together in such a short amount of time and the actors literally had a few days’ worth of preparation, they still managed to put on an amazing show. I wholeheartedly believe that if this show had been a proper production, it would be pretty fucking perfect. The soundtrack for this show is probably the best out of all the Potter shows for me. Every one of these songs is a bop and I love them all so much.

Long story short, people need to stop sleeping on AVPSY and appreciate it more.

MVP: Joey Richter. I don’t even need to explain. Just watch Act 2 Part 11. Actually him in the entirety of Act 2. And also that delivery of “losers like us that’s who” just makes me cry every time. How did Starkid portray Ron more accurately in these musicals that WB did?

Favourite song: it’s a tie between I Was and I’m Just a Sidekick.

Favourite scene: The whole scene with the resurrection stone and Everything Ends. Absolute Perfection.

11. ANI

Like the Harry Potter shows, I can understand why people don’t like this show. If youre not a fan of the original text, you probably won’t like the comedy or understand the entire plot or whatever. And honestly that’s the only reason I put this show so low. I have very very little knowledge of Star Wars so pretty much all of the jokes and that go right over my head. However, I still find it very enjoyable to watch and most of that probably has to be credited towards the fact that it has a killer soundtrack and a pretty perfect cast. Also like I said with HMB, I love the rare occasion that we get to see Nick perform. This soundtrack, oh my god, it’s so amazing. Why do people keep overlooking it? I get that it’s different because it’s not the character’s singing it but like that choreography though. Clark Baxtresser has one of the most beautiful voices so you’ll never hear me complaining about a whole score of pretty much just his voice. But that’s just me. I hate how much hate I see for this show. Everyone worked extremely hard on this show, particularly Nick and Matt who wrote the whole thing and the lack of appreciation for it is horrible to see. It’s actually such a fun show, and you can tell the cast had so much fun doing this show because their energy is so great in this.

MVP: Nick Lang. Again, he deserves the world. And Chris Allen is incredible in every role he does but particularly this.

Favourite song: With My Own Eyes and Long Ago and Far Away. I just really love the vocals.

Favourite scene: Nick’s scene as Obi-Wan.

12. Firebringer

CoNtRaVeRsIaL oPiNiOn but sorry but I don’t like Firebringer. It’s not that I hate it. I’m just not really fan of it or its comedy – mostly because I don’t think it has any. I’ve seen people say that Twisted or MAMD rely too much on using swearing/ profanities for humour but honestly I think that’s more of the case for this show. That’s not to say that there’s not things I don’t like about it. Apart from HMB, this show probably has some of the best costumes. I can’t really fault Nick and Matt’s writing too much but I have to say this is some of their weakest work. I don’t think the plot as a whole is bad I just think there’s parts that don’t work for me or just don’t feel right. And I’m not really a fan of the characters and their development. I never thought I’d ever be able to say that I dislike any role of Meredith’s but honestly I find her character really unlikeable and I know people might attack me for that but it’s just my opinion. I like Zazzalil, I think Lauren did a great job, as always but I don’t know I just don’t think there’s any particular character or performance that really stands out for me in this show. If I’m being completely honest, I have only been able to watch the full run of this show twice, maybe three times and it has been a while since the last time I watched it but if I’m being honest I don’t see myself sitting down to watch it again any time soon. One thing I can definitely praise this show on is the female and LGBTQ+ representation, although that should go unsaid but even in 2020, seeing positive representations of female, LGBTQ+ or POC in media is still somehow refreshing and surprising and ain’t that just a little bit sad?. Another thing I can praise this show on is the music, I actually quite enjoy majority of the soundtrack.

MVP: Both of the Lauren’s. Lauren Lopez because she’s amazing in everything but especially in this, I’m so happy she finally got a lead role, she deserved it 100%. And Lauren Walker is just fucking hilarious. Why hasn’t she been in another Starkid show since?

Favourite song: probs climate change

Favourite scene: like I said, there’s really not a lot that stands out to me in this show so I really don’t know what to pick.

#i really just did all this for myself but i feel unproductive so I thought i'd post this #i feel a little more productive now #starkid #avpm #avps #avpsy #starship #hmb #twisted #ani #tto #tgwdlm #black friday #mamd #firebringer

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