StarKid Productions returned last week with the sequel to their fan-parody hit A Very Potter Musical. For those of you who have yet to experience the “totally awesome” YouTube phenomena, A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel are full-length musical parodies of J.K. Rowling’s blockbuster Harry Potter series.
Created and performed by students from the University of Michigan, both musicals incorporate many of the hijinks from Harry’s (Darren Criss) seven years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A Very Potter Musical takes place in Harry’s second year, with the plot focusing around the House Cup Tournament (“Sort of like the Tri-Wizard Tournament, except no, not like that at all”) and Professor Quirrell (Brian Rosenthal) as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor who shares his body with the soul-sucking Lord Voldemort (Joe Walker).
At the conclusion of A Very Potter Musical, Harry defeats Lord Voldemort, leaving Lucius Malfoy (Tyler Brunsman) to admit in the opening of A Very Potter Sequel that with Voldemort dead, Harry “…marries Ginny. They live happily ever after. There is literally no way to move forward from this point.” Until, that is, Lucius reveals a Time-Turner and the Death Eaters are off to kill Harry in his first year before he has the chance to face the Dark Lord.
Harry’s first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Gryffindor Quidditch coach is none other than werewolf Remus Lupin (Brian Holden), but the real twist is that with Sirius Black (Nicholas Joseph Strauss-Matathia) recently escaped from Azkaban, the Ministry of Magic has sent Dolores Umbridge (Joe Walker) to act as a security officer to Hogwarts.
The sequel has all the same charm and hilarity of the first musical, making it hard to tell which musical actually came first. The sequel flows perfectly back in time to Harry’s first year, even filling in gaps from jokes mentioned in A Very Potter Musical. For instance, in the sequel we witness the budding relationship between the Sorting Hat and the Scarf of Sexual Preference, which were on their honeymoon in the original and therefore unable to sort Hogwarts’ newest attendees.
We also get to witness Ron Weasley’s (Joey Richter) embarrassing transition from abhorring “Herman” to comparing his budding feelings for Hermione Granger (Bonnie Gruesen) to those of red-headed Mary Jane for Spiderman. Draco Malfoy’s (Lauren Lopez) involvement in the events that unfold in first year will be sure to warm your heart at the same time you’re giggling over his flouncy behavior.
Overall, A Very Potter Sequel should prove to be a gut-splitting summer entertainment for Harry Potter fans. With its wacky mix of canon events and the writers’ own humorous take on the series, it’s difficult to stop laughing.
The soundtrack, like that of A Very Potter Musical, is sure to play endlessly in your head until you wish for a beater to smash your head in like a bludger, but that does not detract from the catchy melodies and quirky lyrics by Darren Criss.
In fact, the only drawback to A Very Potter Sequel is that we can only view it online instead of watching it live.
-Riann
thesalemite.org 