Team StarKid Takes on SPACE

Reportage by Rachael Morgan

In November Team Starkid held their first ever tour, the StarKid Precarious Auditory Concert Experience  (SPACE) Tour, and I was lucky enough to attend their Chicago show at The Bottom Lounge. One of my friends had to buy our tickets the moment the pre-sale opened up as the shows were apt to sell out. Fans arrived hours early. People even came from overseas to attend.  

Meredith Stepien, Lauren Lopez, Brian Holden and Dylan Saunders performing during the SPACE Tour.

Yet, you’re probably, and perhaps not illegitimately, wondering … who’s Team Starkid?

Team Starkid is a group of once-Michigan Theatre students (and now alumni) who joined together in 2009 to put on their student-made musical: “A Very Potter Musical.” A few months later, writers Nick Lang, Matt Lang, and Brian Holden posted the video of the musical on YouTube under the screen name “StarKidPotter” for friends and family members.

Jamie Lynn Beatty and Joey Richter performing during the London, Ontario show.

From there the name “StarKid” stuck. “A Very Potter Musical” went viral, and two years later StarKid’s original works have garnered over 100 million hits on YouTube. They have over 110,000 YouTube subscribers, and each StarKid has thousands of Twitter followers. The Starship soundtrack made it to number four on the Top Ten Albums list on iTunes. They recently won the 2011 Broadway World Chicago Award for Best New Work for 2011's "Starship." Even members of WB’s Harry Potter cast have become fans. The most famous StarKid (who played Harry Potter in “A Very Potter Musical”) Darren Criss now stars on Glee. You get the point … they’re kind of awesome and I’m kind of crushing on them.

Joe Walker gives a recap of the year and thanks fans in StarKid's Season's Greetings message.

But seriously, their mostly teenage-girl fanbase and Beiber-like following aside, I am proud to call myself a fan. Through their Potter musicals and even their less appropriate musicals (e.g. “Me and My Dick”), they have shown that the internet can be a viable venue for theatre distribution. All of their shows can be viewed free on YouTube; yet, they are able to fund their projects from donations and the sale of merchandise and iTunes. 

So despite hearing teenage girls scream StarKid songs for an hour and a half outside the venue and being one of the few people who could receive a 21 and over wristband, I was pretty excited before the show started.

The opening of the show at the Orlando, FL concert.

And they did not disappoint. They performed a selection of songs from all of their shows (even a pre-StarKid project), which were originally written by A.J. Holmes and Criss and rearranged by Clark Baxtresser in order to fit the members of StarKid who were touring. (All together there are 20+ performers in StarKid, but for most shows only seven performed.) Julia Albain directed the show and Lauren Lopez choreographed high energy and, at times, silly dance moves for the songs. The members joked in between numbers. They battled faulty mics, easily making jokes out of the technical difficulties, and kept the act energetic and entertaining from start to finish. The audience was loudly singing along to every word, uproariously laughing at numbers such as “Granger Danger,” “Boy Toy,” and “Different as Can Be,” and swooning as the guys sang in harmony to “Status Quo” and Joe Walker lost his shirt  under his SPACE jacket during “Stutter.”

Joey Richter and Lauren Lopez reprise their roles (well... sort of) as Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy for "Granger Danger" in Atlanta, GA.

The song we were all waiting for, “Back to Hogwarts,” came during the encore. The troupe first went into a mock huddle to debate, while their mics were on, whether or not they could do the number without Criss. After much discussion and plenty of jokes, they performed the song with each member stepping in for missing StarKids’ parts. The end was just as high energy as the rest of the show.

The encore: "Days of Summer" and "Getting Back to Hogwarts."

Other shows around the country included some “guest appearances.” Darren Criss flew in for the Boston and New York shows, while Joe Moses and Tyler Brunsman appeared at the New York shows.

What’s next for StarKid? More original shows and the members becoming more and more successful outside of StarKid performances. The third installment of “A Very Potter Musical” is projected to come out in 2012, permitting the cast’s, and particularly Criss’s, schedule. Some of the StarKids have started a band called “Jim and the Povolos,” which recently released its EP on iTunes. Members are appearing in movies, doing stand-up, and while the group is now based in Chicago, many of them are starting their careers in LA and New York. There has even been discussion of bringing "Starship" to Broadway.

In interviews they have stated that they’re not sure where exactly they’re heading, but they know they want to get there together.

Joe Walker, Joey Richter, Dylan Saunders, and Lauren Lopez during "Harry Freakin' Potter."

Jim and the Povolos perform "Holiday Club" during the SPACE Tour, a song about the StarKids being together.

To view their shows just go to the Team Starkid website. 

 Photo credit to Jennifer Stuber Photography.

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