#matt lange

[notengoteclas]

[twistedappletree]

meet me in my hell,

will you go down with me?

even if i cross the styx unaided,

you’re on the periphery.

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

NPMD best line deliveries

oh shit! oh fuck!! i didnt think thered be a skele'uhn here ?!? im so fucking scared of skele'uhnz!!!

dont frighten him pokey you nasssssty boy

were going to jail...and with my luck no one will even B O T H E R making me their bitch...

🐦 heyus the thing about a bãrbĕqüe...it brings folks together...from awl wawlks of laife...theyres a storhé behand everyh burrghurr...everyh kehbahhb...

but I...called God a sonofa B word...who am iaieEUGHAHuhuuuh...

[wowowwild]

The acest of attorneys (and friends)

[hatchetfield-scarecrow]

I honestly love how Starkid wrote the Lords in Black. Cause usually eldritch gods in media are completely cold and dismissive of humanity and don’t even acknowledge them, but the Lords in Black are full of energy and love tormenting humans and treating them like their toys, and I think that’s so fascinating and arguably more terrifying.

[kairithemang0]

Imagine calling your brother in the middle of the night and going “calendar man your days are numbered” and that’s how you start the conversation

Absolutely legendary

[isogenderskitty]

obsessed with the fact it took the langs about a year to go from “wow this is such a cool idea, someone should make this! oh well” to “OH WAIT WE HAVE A PRODUCTION COMPANY”

[automaticheartcrusade]

I think Hatchetfield fans need to realize that realistically speaking, it’ll be a good LONG while till we get nightmare time 3. Like at best I’m expecting the first episode of NT3 to drop either mid…maybe late 2025 or early 2026. Not only does it take forever to write since it’s hours worth of content that’s being written by only two people, but then there’s the filming and editing process, which hasn’t even begun yet as far as we know. Not to mention that it all depends on what Starkid wants to focus on. For Nick and Matt, they have made it clear that they’re working on getting The Lands That Are off the ground, with the pro shot release of Cinderella’s Castle coming early 2025, and we don’t even know what they plan to do after that.

So yeah, nothing wrong with being excited or wanting NT3, but I do think people need to keep these things in mind and stop demanding it as if it’s right around the corner, cause for now it ain’t y’all. 😭

[onlinehorseproblems]

I don't understand the "starkid only does hatchetfield musicals 😡" train. Because if i were lang brothers???

i would also make multiple musicals and readings of the different aus involving my OCs, like Oh you liked the coffee shop au?? haha just wait till you see the catboy au

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

THERE'S A CASTLE ON THE HILL, AS THE STORY GOES...

As promised, some initial thoughts on the things I loved about seeing this show. Spoiler free, since most of us haven't gotten to see it yet, and under the cut since I do wax a bit poetic...

Cinderella’s Castle is, in a strange way, an exercise in irony. The show is a retelling of an ancient story that is beloved and recited throughout so many cultures, and yet somehow feels completely fresh. The modern take on glam-punk lighting, a score infused with styles from 80s synth to anime, a high fantasy set with the costumes to match, the spirit of Jim Henson lingering through both the puppets and some larger and intangible vibe, a script combining that Starkid humor and Hatchetfield darkness with a whole different style of speaking… all of these beautifully executed elements melted together into something that I’ve never before seen. To take a tale as old as time and make it unique is no easy feat, but Starkid did so with magic and charm to spare.

Like any good Starkid show, Cinderella’s Castle is relentlessly dynamic: fun and tragic and exciting and just-plain-silly, with many twists and turns and character moments will make you gasp or cheer just as often as you laugh. It simply rollicks. The story clicks right along, especially in act 2, but the characters are so distinct and fun that I found myself almost wishing the Langs had sacrificed their plotting and pace just to spend more time hanging with every single member of this ensemble of personalities.

And that’s also a tribute to the actors themselves. Jeff is David Bowie reborn as the impish and fabulous narrator. Jon and Joey bring Hop A Lot and Crumb to life with so much charm and presence that they practically had the audience eating out of their hands from the very first second. Like, seriously, you will not believe how invested you will immediately become in these talking animals. Kim’s Fairy Queen is as radiant and terrible as promised; her portrayal of immortal inhuman power compels and commands and stands fully distinct from the Lords in Black. Lauren and Mariah are delightfully disgusting as the vile but deeply lovable troll step-sisters; you can feel the fun they’re having practically radiating off of them. Curt’s Tadius is dryly funny and put-upon, but also provides a vitally grounding and centering presence in the larger-than-life world of the Lands That Are. His big scene with Bryce is probably my favorite part of the whole show. James Tolbert is nothing short of an absolute STAR as the Prince, stealing scene after scene after scene with ease and charm and more jokes about genitalia than I think any of us expected. Angela once again displays a completely different facet of her never-ending range, exuding such elegance and control even in trollish filth that I do fear that the kids on the internet are going to start calling her “mother” with greatly increasing frequency. "Facade" was an absolute highlight of the night. And of course Bryce anchors, propels, and heightens every scene she’s in with such apparent ease you forget she’s been rehearsing for weeks and isn’t simply Ella herself. Ella is this world’s bruised, brave, and angry heart, and you will absolutely root for her every step of the way as she wrestles with who she is and learns what it means to claim her own power.

This was Starkid’s biggest budgeted show to date, and you could tell. This group of Michigan Wolverines and friends have accomplished incredible things since the Very Potter days of a single door and some cardboard columns, and I’m so proud of how far they’ve come. And yet Cinderella’s Castle, the fifteenth musical in the fifteenth year, still retains some of that core Starkid magic that I’ve always believed boils down to love. You can so often see that love emanating from the performers on a Starkid stage: love for the show, for their friends, for their craft, for the audience’s energy pushing them through. And the sense of love and support and community radiating from the audience is just as palpable. The man sitting behind me last night was at his first ever Starkid show, and afterwards he remarked in awe how that was the best audience he’d ever been in. And all that love isn’t unearned—it is built and it is nourished by a proud history of creativity, of song and of dance and of laughter and tears. And Cinderella’s Castle, I think, is going to prove an installment worthy of both Starkid’s past and future.

Starkid family, Bogs Hollow grants thee Starlight.

[heavymetallovrrr]

reminder to WARN PEOPLE ABOUT SPOILERS ON YOUR POSTS ABOUT CINDERELLA’S CASTLE. this goes for the people who are seeing it live and the people who are getting the digital ticket (that’s including me)! HIDE. THE. SPOILERS.

[yourawizardkatniss]

these are MY workin’ boy

[myheadphonesareneverloudenough]

one of the best things about Hatchetfield is that people can’t get mad at you for your headcanons. so many fandoms have toxic people who claim that “you’re ruining the character!” and “that character would never do that!” but with Hatchetfield, Paul Matthews is canonically a catboy. Tom Houston canonically tried to fuck his car. no new idea you can come up with can ever be weirder than the situations the Langs put their own characters in.

[lettingtimepass]

Favorite Starkid lore drops from the Cinderella's Castle Kickstarter

Matt Lang throwing Pincer into a dumpster in Chicago

Nick Lang being legitimately upset that Darren got cast on Glee because he needed him to write songs for Starship.

Darren Criss surprising everyone at a rehearsal of Starship, but instead of everyone being happy to see him, they were all upset that he hadn't finished writing all the songs yet 😭

"SNIP SNIP, TEAM STARKID"

During the NPMD power outage, when Nick realized not all the lights had turned back on, he knew the scene when Steph shoots Pete and the bullet goes in slow motion wouldn't work in the dark and would instead look like Steph just killed Pete--so he ran backstage and found a flashlight to shine on Max.

In Black Friday, Nick and Matt originally wanted to make Wiggly a giant puppet but they ran out of time and money so they decided to use the lights/set instead (this shook me because I loved the Wiggly effect so much!!)

Similarly, they wanted each of the Lords in Black in Nerdy Prudes to be puppets but ran out of time/money so they had to be "just people" instead 😂

I'll post more when I think of/remember them!!