Team Starkid is a musical theatre company that was founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan. The group may be best known for their debut show A Very Potter Musical which parodied the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts. They filmed the show and put the performance online to watch back but ended up gaining a much larger audience. Since then, Starkid have gone on to great acclaim for their parodies and comedic shows, and often sell out several in-person shows before putting them on YouTube for even more people to watch. Ahead of the online release of their new musical Nerdy Prudes Must Die on 13th October, here is my ranking of Starkid’s musicals.
15. Ani: A Parody (Chicago, 2014)
Music by Clark Baxtresser and Pierce Siebers/Book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang/Directed by Matt Lang/Starring: Chris Allen, Joe Walker, Denise Donovan and Brian Holden
Anakin Skywalker hates his life. Widowed and stuck in a boring job, he spends his time reminiscing on his childhood, most of all his time spent pod racing. Luckily for Ani, things are about to change, and he’ll get to go on the most exciting adventure of his life.
14. Me and My Dick (Michigan, 2009)
Music by A.J. Holmes, Carlos Valdes and Darren Criss – Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden and Eric Kahn Gale – Directed by Matt Lang – Starring: Joey Richter, Joe Walker, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Devin Lytle, Ali Gordon and Nicholas Joseph Strauss-Matathia
Teenage Joey Richter has a new best friend… his dick. Together, they must face the trials of adolescence, girls, and school, and Joey must figure out how to get his crush, Vanessa, to fall in love with him.
13. A Very Potter Senior Year (LeakyCon, 2012)
Music by Clark Baxtresser, Pierce Siebers and A.J. Holmes – Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden – Directed by Matt Lang and Nick Lang – Starring: Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Joe Walker, Meredith Stepien, Jaime Lyn Beatty, A.J. Holmes and Dylan Saunders
A staged reading at Harry Potter convention LeakyCon, A Very Potter Senior Year is the third and final instalment of Starkid’s ‘Very Potter’ trilogy. Harry and his pals are back at Hogwarts and must defeat the dancing Dark Lord once and for all.
12. Holy Musical B@man! (Chicago, 2012)
Music by Nick Gage and Scott Lamps – Book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang – Directed by Matt Lang – Starring: Joe Walker, Nick Lang, Brian Holden, Chris Allen, Lauren Lopez and Jeff Blim
Everyone’s favourite masked DC superhero takes on the villains of Gotham in this all-singing, all-dancing tale. Discover his feud with the people’s favourite Superman and his relationships with beloved butler Alfred and best friend/sidekick Robin.
11. Starship (Chicago, 2011)
Music by Darren Criss – Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, Brian Holden and Joe Walker – Directed by Matt Lang – Starring: Joey Richter, Joe Walker, Lauren Lopez, Dylan Saunders, Denise Donovan, Brian Holden and Meredith Stepien
Bug has a dream to be a Starship Ranger – it’s the only thing he’s ever wanted to do. The only problem is, he’s not a human! Willing to do anything it takes to achieve his dream, Bug manages to disguise himself as a human, but doesn’t understand the deadly consequences that will befall his human friends – it’s up to him to save his friends and the universe.
10. Black Friday (Los Angeles, 2019)
Music by Jeff Blim – Book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang and Brian Holden – Directed by Nick Lang – Starring: Angela Giarratana, Dylan Saunders, Kim Whalen, Lauren Lopez and Kendall Nicole Yakshe
It’s the holiday season and this year, everyone is desperate to get their hands on the hottest new toy, the Tickle-Me Wiggly. What they’ve failed to realise is that none of their kids are actually interested in this toy at all, so why is everyone going mad for it? Taking place in the same universe as their prior show The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, Black Friday takes place in an alternate timeline where evil inter-dimensional forces attempt to take over and destroy the world.
9. The Solve It Squad (Los Angeles, 2017)
Music by Nick Gage – Book by: Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal - Directed by Corey Lubowich – Starring: Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal, Ashley Clements, Gabe Greenspan, Lauren Lopez
Technically not a Starkid show, The Solve-It Squad is a play by sister company Tin Can Brothers, which was founded by 3 members of Starkid. The show is a parodic take on Scooby Doo’s mystery gang, and sees the squad come back together 20 years after the murder of their beloved animal companion, Cluebert. Now an FBI agent, Scrags comes across a familiar case which may point to the culprit that got away so long ago. He tries to bring Keith, Gwen and Esther back together after so many years of being apart, but their differences may hinder them from catching the killer who started it all.
8. A VHS Christmas Carol (Los Angeles, 2021)
Music by Clark Baxtresser – Book by Clark Baxtresser – Directed by Corey Lubowich – Starring: Dylan Saunders, Joey Richter, Lauren Lopez, Jaime Lyn Beatty, James Tolbert, Jamie Burns, Clark Baxtresser, AJ Holmes and Meredith Stepien
Originally a live-streamed production in 2020, A VHS Christmas Carol is an 80s synth-filled reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic. A cast of Starkid’s past, present and future perform this interactive show filled with Christmas electricity.
7. Firebringer (Chicago, 2016)
Music by Meredith Stepien and Mark Swiderski – Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden – Directed by Nick Lang – Starring: Lauren Lopez, Meredith Stepien, Denise Donovan, Lauren Walker, Rachael Soglin and Jamie Burns
Go back to the cave-times where this tribe tries to survive prehistoric life with the help of their peaceful leader Jemilla. Jemilla’s leadership means that the tribe is doing better than ever, but one member, Zazzalil, does not want to contribute. Zazzalil always tries to find the easiest way to do something, and in searching for this, she accidentally discovers the most important invention in history: fire. This discovery will change the tribe’s world forever, whether it be for better or worse.
6. A Very Potter Sequel (Michigan, 2010)
Music by Darren Criss – Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden – Directed by Matt Lang – Starring: Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Bonnie Gruesen, Lauren Lopez, Joe Walker, Joe Moses, Brian Holden and Dylan Saunders
This sequel goes back in time to Harry’s first year at Hogwarts as he must grapple with his newfound wizardhood (and popularity) as well as the horrible new professor Dolores Umbridge.
5. The Trail to Oregon! (Chicago, 2014)
Music by Jeff Blim – Book by Jeff Blim, Matt Lang and Nick Lang – Directed by Nick Lang – Starring: Jeff Blim, Rachael Soglin, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Lauren Lopez, Corey Dorris and Joey Richter
This interactive show takes influence from the video game of the same name. Follow this pioneer family as they travel down the dangerous trail to Oregon, meeting bandits and shopkeepers along the way. Hopefully no-one dies of dysentery!
4. A Very Potter Musical (Michigan, 2009)
Music by Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes – Book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden – Directed by Matt Lang – Starring: Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Bonnie Gruesen, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Lauren Lopez, Dylan Saunders, Joe Walker, Brian Rosenthal and Joe Moses
In Starkid’s debut musical, the young Harry Potter is back at Hogwarts for another super cool adventure to defeat the Dark Lord. With the help of his friends Ron and Hermoine, the Boy Who Lived is ready to fight and save the Wizarding World.
3. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (Los Angeles, 2018)
Music by Jeff Blim – Book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang – Directed by Nick Lang – Starring: Jon Matteson, Lauren Lopez, Joey Richter, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Corey Dorris, Robert Manion, Mariah Rose Faith Casillas, Jeff Blim
Paul is just a normal guy living a perfectly normal life until everyone in Hatchetfield suddenly start singing and dancing, like something out of a musical! It’s up to Paul to try and put a stop to this musical apocalypse before normality seizes to exist.
2. Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier (Chicago, 2013)
Music by A.J. Holmes – Book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang – Directed by Brian Holden – Starring: Dylan Saunders, Rachael Soglin, Jeff Blim and Joe Walker
This Disney parody mostly focuses on the tale of Aladdin in a Wicked version of events by following the story of its villain, Jafar! The misunderstood vizier tries to do his best by his people but everything he does seems to disappoint or go wrong, especially when the free-spirited princess runs off with a vagrant thief. With the help of a wish-granting Djinn, Jafar tries to make the world a better place and connect with his true love once again.
1. Spies Are Forever (Los Angeles, 2016)
Music by Clark Baxtresser and Pierce Siebers – Book by Corey Lubowich, Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal – Directed by Corey Lubowich – Starring: Curt Mega, Mary Kate Wiles, Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal, Lauren Lopez, Tessa Netting, Joe Walker and Esther Fallick
Yet again, not technically a Starkid musical but a Tin Can Bros production, Spies are Forever follows Agent Curt Mega in his first mission back after losing his partner. Mega must complete the mission to shut down the Nazis’ evil plan while tangoing with a rival Russian femme fatale and the deadliest man alive.
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