Musical Parodies

Recently, Team Starkid announced their new show, Firebringer. I love how they've finally decided to make a woman-centric show, and it looks like Meredith has a huge hand in the creation process, which is great because she's hilarious.

As I watched the video asking for money for the kickstarter to fund this production, the harmonies brought me right back to the first production of theirs that I saw, A Very Potter Musical (AVPM). Hannah, one of my best friends in high school, insisted I watch it, and I was instantly hooked. Soon, I was watching their other shows online and taking the train into Chicago to get in a line to hope to score tickets to a live show and going to C2E2 (it's a comic book convention- something I never thought I'd have any interest in) just to get autographs and attending their concert tour. I have two of their tshirts.

In addition to literature, one of my passions have always been theater. I started going to theater camp when I was four years old. I've been in countless shows, and even took to writing plays, though I never actually produced them. My dad had a little workshop in the basement and I was taught how to use tools from a young age, so when I was old enough in one of my theater troupes to have a shop requirement, I thrived there too. I even student directed my high school's production of RENT. I never cared what I was doing, I just wanted to be a part of the production.

Given my passion for both literature and theater, what could be better than a musical based on a book I love? Now I must contend that AVPM is a parody, not a direct adaption. To be honest, I think it's all the better for it. When it comes to adaptions, I can be a bit of a purist. When Harry Potter moved from page to screen, I was upset about so many missing details. The missing potions task to get to the Sorcerer's Stone. The wrong teacher revealing information about the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbeldor's reaction to Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. The fact that Peeves was cut entirely. The list goes on and on.

The fact that AVPM is a parody allows it some wiggle room. They keep the heart of the story while simultaneously making fun of it. A sorting hat? That's ridiculous! Is there a scarf of sexual preference too? Well, there is in our version.

I don't know if a musical parody would be quite the right adaption idea for many great stories, but I do wonder if it would be for the fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian fiction types of work that tend to be hot right now for Young Adults. These works require the audience to suspend their disbelief. A good parody just points out where you do, and pushes it.

If you're not familiar with AVPM but you like Harry Potter, I suggest you watch it now. You won't regret it.