#corey lubowich director of all time

[smytherines]

spent last night wondering if I was losing my Spies hyperfixation. But then I rewatched the Mary Kate Wiles bts and realized that part of the arm clasp rehearsal from the digital download bts is in this video and. yep I am still afflicted

also bonus! the tickle torture scene (straight version)

[jackie-talks-about-starkid]

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (Rewatch #11, 11/20/2020)

YouTube publish date: December 23, 2018

Number of views on date of rewatch: 4, 394, 741

Original Performance Run: October 11 - November 4, 2018 at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles

Ticket price: General Admission - $37, Priority - $69      Digital Ticket: $15      Rush Ticket via TodayTix: $18

Director: Nick Lang

Music and Lyrics: Jeff Blim

Book: Matt Lang and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: $9.99 on iTunes      Release date: December 23, 2018

Parody or original: original content, slightly inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Funding: $127,792 by 3,419 backers via Kickstarter (x)      Original Goal: $60,000

Main cast and characters

Paul - John Matteson

Emma - Lauren Lopez

Ted - Joey Richter

Charlotte - Jamie Lyn Beatty

Bill - Corey Dorris

Professor Hidgens - Robert Manion

Sam/General McNamara - Jeff Blim

Alice/Greenpeace Girl - Mariah Rose Faith

Musical numbers

     Act I

“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” Characters: Ensemble “ La Dee Dah Dah Day” Characters: Ensemble “What Do You Want, Paul?” Characters: Mr. Davidson and Paul “Cup of Roasted Coffee” Characters: Nora, Zoey, and Emma “Cup of Poisoned Coffee” Characters: Nora, Zoey, Hot Chocolate Boy, and Ensemble “Show Me Your Hands” Characters: Sam, Police Woman, Police Man “You Tied Up My Heart” Characters: Sam and Charlotte “Join Us (And Die)” Characters: Charlotte and Sam

     Act II

“Not Your Seed” Characters: Alice and friends “Show Stoppin’ Number” Characters: Professor Hidgens “America Is Great Again” Characters: General McNamara and Ensemble “Let Him Come” Characters: Ensemble “Let It Out” Characters: Paul and Ensemble “Inevitable” Characters: Paul, Ensemble, and Emma

Notable Notes:

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals won 12 2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards (x)

Best Musical - Local

Choreography - Local: James Tolbert

Costume Design - Local: June Saito

Director of a Musical - Local: Nick Lang

Featured Actor in a Musical - Local: Robert Manion (Joey Richter and Corey Dorris were the other two nominees in this category)

Featured Actress in a Musical - Local: Jaime Lyn Beatty (Mariah Rose Faith was also nominated)

Leading Actor in a Musical - Local: Jon Matteson

Leading Actress in a Musical - Local: Lauren Lopez

Lighting Design - Local: Sarah Petty

Musical Director - Local: Matt Dahan

Scenic Design - Local: Corey Lubowich

Sound Design - Local: Ilana Elroi and Brian Rosenthal

Cultural Context: 2018

The #MeToo movement originated by Tarana Burke gains international popularity on social media

The revival of Queer Eye premiers on Netflix

Beyoncé headlines Coachella (#Beychella), becoming the first black woman to do so for the music festival

Megan Markle marries Prince Harry

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27th

Content Analysis:

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals has the most original concept of a musical I can think of for any piece of musical theatre, on Broadway or off. It is a musical that is focused on Paul, a guy who, believe it or not, doesn't like musicals, but due to a mysterious zombie-like infection brought to his town, Hatchetfield, finds himself stuck in an apocalyptic scenario in which anyone can be infected by a hive-mind that forces anyone it infects to behave as if they were in a musical. Because of this, the only people who actually perform musical numbers in the show are those around Paul who are infected with this musical disease, which makes each musical performance all the more dramatic, as well as allows for the acting of the main characters to be much more at the center of attention than they would normally be if the characters were expected to sing out their feelings as if the audience were watching them develop through the lens of a traditional musical.

The strong book and emphasis on the characterization of the small main ensemble highlights the incredibly strong performances by the actors. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals is an interesting work in StarKid's repertoire in that the characters represented onstage are the most 'normal' characters the audience has seen in a StarKid universe. By now, the Starkid audience is used to seeing either parodies of well-known works, such as Harry Potter or the DC comic universe, inventive imaginings of other universes or periods of time, such as Starship or Firebringer. Yet, this production emphasizes the kind of characters and settings one sees in everyday life rather than the characters one sees in a sci-fi novel or fantasy world. The characters are played to represent a specific type of character often seen in media, and specifically mimic horror movie tropes with a comedic twist. For example, Professor Hidgens represents the off-kilter scholarly type, Paul is the everyday man dragged into the evil schemes of an unknown being's plot, Emma is the relatable final girl, etc. Yet, these character types and what they represent mirror the kind of everyday people we see in reality. Sure, they are written and played with comedic intent but their lives and place in the plot are human enough that the audience does not need to make the make-believe leap of connecting with non-human or glorified human characters-these people ARE human. Emma is an intelligent woman whose adventurous life turned into one full of grief for her sister and finds herself stuck in a terrible job in the hometown she tried so hard to get away from. Paul is a simple man playing the reluctant hero, but whose heart and genuine care for the people he is close to reminds us of the best of humanity when our society is constantly filled with examples of our worst behaviors. Bill just wants a relationship with the daughter he's drifting away from, Charlotte just wants her husband to love her, and Ted is there because, let's be honest here, we all know a Ted.

The characters also happen to be played by actors the audience would not expect to play that specific character type. For example, Joey Richter is known for playing lovable, funny, and relatable characters in StarKid's works, yet in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, he plays the most morally repugnant yet incredibly hilarious characters in the show and he plays that part so well and so convincingly that it's hard to believe he's actually playing against his type. Jaime Lyn Beatty, like other StarKid works, performs a strong, comedic character type as she always does, yet her performance as Charlotte has the most dynamic internal life of any character the StarKid audience has seen her play.

The most notable performance comes from Jon Matteson who plays Paul. His role as the protagonist, who is onstage nearly the entire, time holds the piece and the universe of the story together so perfectly. His dry delivery and incredible comedic timing work so well for the character that it feels as though you can go up to Matteson right after the finale and expect to talk to Paul himself because he embodies the role so well. Matteson’s performance feels so natural and honest that it's heartbreaking, even for the most fanatic musical theatre nerd, to watch him realize that he's fallen victim to the Apotheosis and turns into the thing he hates the most-a musical theatre character.

A horror-comedy musical is a hard thing to pull off, especially on a budget that was almost entirely crowdfunded, and even harder to execute successfully, which is why the only few commercial horror-musical comedy staples I can think of at the moment art Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd, and to a certain extent, Heathers. Yet the consistent hard work that goes into creating a StarKid musical and the unique environment that process produces makes anything seem possible and destined for success. The level of creativity going into this production company and the work they create as a team is something that just cannot be done with traditional musical theatre as seen on Broadway because of such large overhead and emphasis on creating a profit rather than creating art. There have been and will continue to be many different creative teams making unique musicals for the general public, but taking into account global accessibility for all demographics and concept originally, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals proves StarKid continues to take the lead and doesn’t need the exclusion of any demographic in order to do so.

P.S. Happy Black Friday! Don’t forget to get in line to buy your Wiggly dolls ;)

[isaidnotostatusquo]

******** VERY IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ ************

So ... I think this is the first original post I’ve written in four whole years of having this Tumblr, but I legitimately can’t think of a better reason to break my internet silence! For those of you who have been living under a rock/have an actual life outside of social media, the Tin Can Brothers (Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter and Brian Rosenthal) are currently in the midst of Kickstarting their latest project: a 10 episode webseries/podcast called ‘The Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye’! This project is sure to be incredible and you can find out more specific details by following the link below!! 

The Tin Can Brothers are the same guys behind the smash-hit musical: ‘Spies Are Forever’, which has amassed hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube (if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s pretty dang good, and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd3aJl930YE&list=PLlF0gFzOX4tD1KJ5ZEnvhD55Qhnz-K0X2)! 

This year, they also released their first ever short film, ‘Flopstoppers’ (again, you can watch it for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lipp_4fco3w). 

On top of Kickstarter campaigning, they’re currently uploading weekly episodes of their hilarious one-act play, ‘The Solve-It Squad Returns’. You can watch the first six scenes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEA0hNs0M98&list=PLlF0gFzOX4tDiqbhfmx5036ZFKD6LAoQN and/or you can purchase the show in its entirety (along with Behind the Scenes content) here: https://www.tincanbros.com/stage-productions! 

Marketing aside, these guys are wholeheartedly committed to producing consistent, quality content that their fans can access easily and cheaply. Their work is witty, original and extremely engaging! Additionally, their projects always include badass female characters with distinctive personalities and independent motivations, who are allowed to be vulnerable AS WELL AS strong; just like real human beings! As a long-term fan of the TCB, I’m 100% positive that ‘Wayward Guide’ will live up to these standards!

However, at the rate that the Kickstarter is moving, ‘Wayward Guide’ is NOT currently projected to be fully funded by its final day (24/09). If it doesn’t reach its $100,000 goal, it ain’t happening! No cards will be charged, no rewards will be given out, and it’ll be like the whole concept never existed! But YOU can change that! By donating just $1 (approx 70p for my fellow Brits), you’ll be helping this project come to life! If you donate $5 (approx £3.80) you’ll not only play a key part in the creation of ‘Wayward Guide’ but you’ll also receive exclusive updates on its progress, right up until its release; all for the price of a Starbucks! There are additional rewards available at increasing price tiers, so the more you donate, the more you will receive! At the moment, the Kickstarter needs to be making around $4000 per day in order to reach its goal! It’s a lot of money, but I’m confident we can do it! As Tescos say - Every little helps!

And if this hasn’t got you convinced, here’s a list of the people who we currently know to be involved in the project, and some things you may know them from! (Additional cast members are constantly being announced as various Kickstarter goals are met, so this list is by no means definitive):

- Benji Dell is Director of Photography! 

If you’ve watched ‘Flopstoppers’ or the ‘Spies Are Forever’ Kickstarter video, he was also DP for both of those! His work is BEAUTIFUL and based on what I’ve seen of him in the ‘Flopstoppers’ BTS featurette, he seems like a really chill guy!

- Chuck Criss is Composing! 

He’s in the band ‘Computer Games’, along with his brother, Darren, who you mayyyy have heard of before! He’s also in indie rock band ‘Freelance Whales’. His musical style is EXTREMELY cool, and if you watch the Kickstarter vid for this project, you can hear some of his tunes first-hand!

- Corey, Brian and Joey! 

In addition to writing and producing ‘Wayward Guide’, the Tin Can Brothers are taking an even more active role! Corey is also going to be directing the project, whilst Brian and Joey will both be acting in it!

- Mary Kate Wiles! 

You may know her as Tatiana from the TCB’s previous project, ‘Spies are Forever’, or from her prolific work with fellow internet comedy group, ‘Shipwrecked Comedy’! (’Kissing in the Rain’, ‘Poe Party’ and the upcoming ‘Case of the Gilded Lily’) She also appeared as Lydia Bennet in Pemberley Digital’s Emmy Award winning webseries ‘The Lizzie Bennet Diaries’, and has enjoyed starring roles in the short film ‘I Ship It’, and in the webseries ‘Muzzled the Musical’ amongst many others! (Basically she’s done almost everything there is to do and I’d be here all day listing her credentials!) She also has a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcw3_LYw-SuTdOaWjEJSvHQ, which you should definitely check out because she’s great and posts weekly! She’ll be taking a lead role in this project as podcast host, Artemis Schue-Horyn, and I for one, can’t wait!

- Steve Zaragoza!

Steve was an original member of the popular YouTube channels,‘SourceFed’ and ‘SourceFedNerd’, which have amassed over 2 million subscribers in total! He’s also starred as Iggy DeLacey in Pemberley Digital’s ‘Frankenstein, M.D’ and has recently appeared in some Disney Channel and Disney XD shows. He’s a new addition to the TCB universe, and is sure to be wonderful! 

- Dylan Saunders!

You’re sure to know Dylan from his work with Team StarKid! He’s appeared in the ‘Very Potter’ trilogy, ‘Starship’, ‘Holy Musical B@man’ and, most recently, ‘Twisted’! I think we can all agree that he has one of the best voices on the planet, and he’s also one of the most laid-back and friendly guys I’ve ever had the privilege to meet! I’m so excited to see him working with these guys again!

- Joanna Sotomura!

Another Pemberley Digital star, Joanna appeared as the title character, Emma Woodhouse, in the series ‘Emma Approved’! She’s also a new addition to the TCB world, and I can’t wait to see more of her!

- Jon Cozart!

Yep, that’s right - ‘Paint’ himself is going to be involved in this project! Jon is probably best known as the creator of ‘Harry Potter in 99 Seconds’, a.k.a one of my FAVOURITE videos of all time! He’s amazing and extremely creative and you should definitely subscribe to his YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Paint

- Nick Lang!

One of the founding faces of Team StarKid, Nick has been involved in some way in pretty much every creation of theirs to date! Also, he once taught my Dad a magic trick, which my Dad has never managed to accurately recreate. Further proof that Nick is the best!

- Clayton Snyder!

You’ll probably remember Clayton from his wonderfully intense portrayal of Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Shipwrecked Comedy’s ‘Poe Party’ (as members of Shipwrecked have said, he was basically in his own movie). Also, he’s Ethan Craft from ‘Lizzie McGuire’ so that’s pretty dang cool!

- Sinead Persaud!

A founding member of Shipwrecked Comedy, Sinead has co-written, produced and starred in every single one of their projects to date! Last year, she appeared as sassy ghost, Lenore, in ‘Poe Party’, which was a perfect role for her! In this, she’ll be appearing as a ‘Macabre Mortician/Taxidermist’, which is an EVEN MORE PERFECT role for her! 

- Titus Makin Jr!

Titus has done a looottttttt of TV work over the years, (like seriously, so much!) but you’ll probably remember him best as David the Warbler from ‘Glee’! He’s also got a budding music career going, so he’s very talented! Another TCB newbie!

- Tara Perry!

Perhaps you’ll remember Tara from when she coughed a lot and was reallllly into trees on Shipwrecked Comedy’s ‘Poe Party’. If not, she also played boss lady, Vivian DeMarco, in the Tin Can Brothers’ short film ‘Flopstoppers’! I’m also pretty sure that I saw her once in an art gallery in Glasgow, but was 100% too scared to approach her, so who knows?

- Gabe Greenspan!

If you’ve been keeping up with the Tin Can Brothers recently, then you’ll for sure know Gabe from their most recent show, ‘The Solve-It Squad Returns’! He plays a complete a*sehole called Keith, but somehow manages to still make him loveable! Also, he’ll be appearing in Shipwrecked Comedy’s upcoming ‘The Case of the Gilded Lily’, so keep your eye out for that!

 - Ashley Clements!

Ashley is probably best known for her titular role as Lizzie Bennet in Pemberley Digital’s, ‘The Lizzie Bennet Diaries’. Other webseries she’s appeared in include ‘Poe Party’ and ‘Muzzled the Musical’ (as a well-dressed villain both times)! Most recently, you might have seen her in the Tin Can Brothers’ ‘The Solve-It Squad Returns’ where she acted opposite Gabe Greenspan. She’ll be doing that again and it’s sure to be hilarious!

- Corey Dorris

You’ll probably best remember Corey as Big Tallywacker in ‘MAMD’, Yaxley in ‘AVPS’, Kingsley Shacklebolt in ‘AVPSY’ and the Grandpa in ‘The Trail to Oregon’! When I saw the show in New York, his character was called ‘Ol’ Man River’, which is, in my opinion, the BEST NAME HE COULD EVER HAVE HAD! He’s also Juilliard trained which is prettttyyy cool!

- Sean Persaud

Another founding member of Shipwrecked Comedy, Sean has also co-written, produced and starred in each of their projects, along with his sister, Sinead. He played the titular role of Edgar Allan Poe in ‘Poe Party’ last year, where he exhibited his uncanny ability for deadpan hilarity! He’ll be playing a ‘Desperate Pastor’ in this project and I can’t wait! 

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AND DONATE IF YOU CAN SO THAT THIS PROJECT CAN HAPPEN!!!

[smytherines]

I love One Step Ahead for all the obvious reasons (gay angst), but also because it is so packed with little storytelling moments. Also it just seems exhausting. So much happens in that song:

1. Motorcycle chase (with office chairs)

2. Boat chase

3. Staff fight

4. Sword fight

5. Vigorous musket loading

6. Run up the staircase

7. Hang glider chase

8. Fistfight

9. Run halfway down the stairs again

And the entire time they are doing all of this, they're belting out a vocally demanding song. I mean, no wonder Curt Mega had to take a breath during that final note. That's a feat of endurance. I simply would've passed out and died.

One Step Ahead is one of my favorite setpieces of all time. In anything. Ever. It is so impressive, and it is even more impressive when you realize this was done by a tiny little independent company with the theatre budget equivalent of $1.50. Unreal. It should not be possible.

And the thing is, One Step Ahead is the perfect narrative counterweight to A1P1 (Spies Are Forever). The amount of thought they put into this is just stunning. Because here's the thing: A1P1 is also incredibly physical. For most of the song Curt and Owen are on the move, they're going up the ladder, they're fighting goons, they're going down the staircase, they're running.

But more importantly, Curt and Owen are touching a lot in A1P1. And yeah, that's fun in a swoony curtwen vibes way, but its also incredibly important to the narrative. They are touching a lot, and when they aren't touching they are standing just a little bit too close together. Its subtle enough that you initially dismiss it as a stylistic choice, but once you have the full context it is remarkably intimate.

Those are important details- like the way Owen has his arm around Curt and is literally holding his hand when they're talking to Cynthia. Its meant to tell us that they are together. In the romantic way, yes, but also they're just aligned, working together, on the same page. They are partners here. They literally have each other's backs.

And that's down to Curt Mega and Joey Richter selling the absolute shit out of these roles, and genius choreography by Lauren Lopez, and Corey Lubowich being the director of all time.

The digital download BTS has a part with Joey and Curt rehearsing the bit where they do the hug, and right after that they're trying to figure out what cool action poses to move into and Corey says that he wants to see something with them "connected," which is just... yeah, that's the perfect word to describe what is going on in A1P1. These two are connected.

So then we get to One Step Ahead. At the very beginning, Curt does the arm clasp with Tatiana. The first time they did this, Curt had a flashback of Owen. Owen was still his partner in his heart. But this time that bond is severed. Curt thinks of Tatiana as his partner now.

We get into the action of the song, and Curt and Owen do not touch. Even when they are very physically close together, there are weapons between them. In A1P1 they had lots of moments with their backs turned to each other, trusting each other, working perfectly in sync. In One Step Ahead they are facing each other head on. They are literally and figuratively fighting. They are breaking up.

The only moment during this sequence where they are actually touching each other is when Owen slaps Curt, Curt punches Owen twice, and they do that lock up move. They're only touching to hurt each other now.

And its so subtle and well executed that you don't really think about the parallels between these two scenes the first time you watch them. But you feel it on an emotional level. They had about ten minutes to establish the relationship between these two, and they used that ten minutes so effectively that the staircase scene ends up hitting like a ton of bricks.

Just. I love this show. I love how much TCB and Curt Mega and the rest of the cast care about this show. I'm so grateful they keep coming back to it. I cannot wait to see what they do with these scenes for Spy Another Day.

[smytherines]

genuinely my favorite part of this entire stream is when they're talking about how they added Spy Dance last, and Corey says something like "because if you actually think about it the ending of the show is really sad." and just gets the most thoughtful look on his face

It reminds me of the tinlightenment stream where they rewatched the staircase scene, and everybody else is cracking jokes about how horny the show is (valid) but Corey is like watching intently and mimicks the lowering the gun from Curt's head to his heart bit

idk man, director of all time, nobody does it like Corey Lubowich

today feels like a depressed pandemic spies are forever reunion livestream kind of day

[jackie-talks-about-starkid]

Holy Musical B@man! (Rewatch #5, 10/6/2020)

YouTube publish date: April 13, 2012

Number of views on date of rewatch: 2, 128, 328

Original Performance Run: March 22-25, 2012 at Chicago’s Hoover-Leppen Theatre

Ticket price: Free by lottery [x]

Director: Matt Lang and Nick Lang

Music and Lyrics: Nick Gage and Scott Lamps

Book: Matt Lang and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: Released April 13, 2012      “That’s What I Call Starkid!, Vol. 2” on iTunes $9.99 *features most songs      “Holy Musical B@man!” on Bandcamp for no minimum price *features two songs: ‘Holy Musical B@man!’ and ‘Robin Sucks!’ [x]

Parody or original: parody, babey!

Main cast and characters:

Batman/Bruce Wayne - Joe Walker

Robin - Nick Lang

Superman/Clark Kent - Brian Holden

Alfred - Chris Allen

Sweet Tooth - Jeff Blim

Commissioner Gordon - Lauren Lopez

Vicki Vale - Julia Albain

Musical numbers

Act I

“Holy Musical B@man” Characters: Narrator and Company

“Dark, Sad, Lonely, Knight” Characters: Alfred, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Company

“Rogues Are We” Characters: The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Scarecrow, The Riddler, and Mr. Freeze

“Rogues Are We (Reprise)” Characters: Sweet Tooth, Evil Mother Goose, Evil Sherlock Holmes, Evil King Arthur, Evil Huckleberry Finn The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Scarecrow, The Riddler, and Mr. Freeze

“Dynamic Duet” Characters: Batman, Robin, and Company

Act II

“Robin Sucks” Characters: Ensemble

“The American Way” Characters: Superman, Batman, Sweet Tooth, and Company

“To Be A Man” Characters: Batman and Superman

“Super Friends” Characters:  Batman, Superman, Robin, Spider-Man, Green Lantern, and Company

Notable Notes:

“That’s What I Call Starkid” and the “Holy Musical B@man” two-song album are the last cast recordings from StarKid available on Bandcamp

     *Fun facts provided by Abby:

Matt and Nick were having difficulty writing Joker’s character so they cut Joker out of the show and replaced him with a made-up character, Sweet Tooth. They later found out that Sweet Tooth was an actual Batman villain

“Calendar Man, your days are numbered” was a line of dialogue that Matt Lang dreamed about and then put in the show

Jeff Blim only got about 8 out of 10 candy gags correct during any given performance, so the recorded production edited together multiple nights of his performances so that they were all be right for the released production

Cultural Context: 2012

The first Hunger Games movies opened in theaters and the last Twilight movie gets released

So does The Avengers!

StarKid’s second tour, ‘Apocolyptour’, begins a month after the YouTube release of HMB!

Whitney Houston is found dead in Los Angeles on February 11

On May 9, Obama becomes the first president to vocalize his support for gay marriage in the United States

Content Analysis:

Holy Musical B@man! has a very solid plot, enjoyable musical numbers, and great characterization, which makes the overall performance very entertaining. However, one of the theatrical traits that it lacks is a solid voice and consistent tone from the book. There are moments when I found myself unable to stop laughing, such as Robin and Batman’s duet, ‘Dynamic Duo’, or any time Lauren Lopez as Commissioner Gordon talks, but in between very strong scenes and numbers were moment of dialogue that felt rushed or lacked the comedic depth that StarKid usually has in their productions.

The character that really stood out for me was Jeff Blim’s StarKid debut character, Sweet Tooth. Blim has very strong facial expressions and a unique vocality to this specific character that really personifies the classic superhero villain that comic books, especially DC, is known for. The offstage death of The Joker at the beginning of the show subverts the expectation the audience has for a Batman parody but uses Blim’s character's manic personality and very clever candy puns to balance out Batman’s childish broodiness that Joe Walker plays so well.

Nick Lang as Robin was perfect casting. The natural size difference between him and Walker’s Batman made each scene with them, whether it’s comedic or dramatic, all the more effective because of the difference in physicality and Lang’s kind of British/Transatlantic emphasis he puts into the character’s voice just works for his comedic performance. The scene in which Batman and Robin meet for the first time is my personal favorite scene and a comedic standout moment in the show that contains the perfect balance of parody and sincerity.

Generally, the physical gags of the show are also reliably and consistently funny, as they make fun of the superhero genre for both comic books and movies while heightening the comedic aspects because of the performances deliberate lack of special effects to make certain moments or action sequences more realistic. One example is whenever Superman files-rather than being extra and having Brian Holden (who makes a very funny Superman, by the way) actually fly using a rigging system or using lighting and sound effects to create the stage illusion that he’s actually flying, he’s just carried by a stagehand dressed in all black while holding himself up in a Superman pose which is way funnier than it should be, but works so well because himself and the other actors plays off the gag so well. As well, the fighting sequences are intentionally underplayed or themselves a parody of the traditional high-action, realistic movie sequence fighting that the audience has grown accustomed to, especially from Batman’s character who relies only on his physical fighting ability and super-realistic weaponry.

Before the show fully began its performance, I feel like the light-hearted parody of the tone’s show was communicated very successfully by Corey Lubowich’s set design. The minimalist set pieces were very practical for such a small performance space and stylistically fit in with every scene that they were present in, making them perfect for multifunctional use and fast scene changes. The stylistic background is also very well done, as it’s not too simplistic to not have an effect and honors the traditional comic book/early 1960s superhero tv show feel while also not being too distracting. The split levels of the stage are also great for both dramatic and comedic effect, and it adds depth to the physical performance while also strengthening the effect of certain physical gags throughout the show.

Though this particular production does not have the strongest book in StarKid’s repertoire, I feel like the performances and the overall tone of the show definitely succeed in making this production a distinctly StarKid show. As a long-time StarKid fan, I can see elements of the original AVPM-era vibes of the performance, can compare the growth of the performance quality and production quality of their work from their earlier University of Michigan based shows, and witness the seeds of the future production characteristics seen in their more recent works such as The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals and Black Friday. I feel like if I were to periodize certain StarKid eras, Holy Musical B@man! would be the beginning of an age reminiscent of Disney’s experimental era. While HMB isn’t a blockbuster musical, so to speak, the fact that this show was the second of their independent shows away from U of M lets the audience see how they began to grow as a production company who has a very distinctive, cult-classic voice in the theatre community.