A Very Potter Sequel Review

Sunday, July 25, 2010 , Posted by Should I See It at 11:57 PM



Show: A Very Potter Sequel
Presented By: Team StarKid
Director: Matt Lang
Starring: Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Bonnie Gruesen, Lauren Lopez, Joe Walker and Brian Holden.
Plot: Lucius Malfoy is up to no good. He turns back time to try and kill Harry Potter during his first year at Hogwarts School and Witchcraft and Wizardry.


 

Big things have happened to Team StarKid in the year since A Very Potter Musical became an accidental international internet phenomenon. Their other major non-Potter outing, the musical Me and My Dick, was the first student-made musical to hit the Billboard cast recording charts. Over the weekend, their compilation album, A Very StarKid Album, trumped Lady Gaga and Glee on the ITunes album charts.

So it is no wonder that the announcement of A Very Potter Sequel on the first of January this year was greeted with rabid excitement and anticipation. After the live performances in May and its video premiere at Potter convention Infinitus, A Very Potter Sequel finally hit the internet on the 22nd of July.

A Very Potter Sequel doesn’t quite live up to the impossibly high standard set by A Very Potter Musical. The plot doesn’t flow nearly as well; it’s not as streamlined as it was in A Very Potter Musical. Lucius Malfoy’s desire to get rid of Harry Potter begins the show, and we expect it to be the main drive of the plot, but the show gets side-tracked; making it feel like the show lacks a clear focus.

Turning back time sends us back to Harry Potter first goes to Hogwarts, and it feels like a lot of recapping: The returning characters don’t really develop much more. I guess that is part of the dilemma of the time travel scenario: How do you develop characters backwards?

There are a lot of references to A Very Potter Musical: which start out cute, but get old really quickly. A lot of enjoyment of the show relies on a solid knowledge of AVPM, which means A Very Potter Sequel never really invents anything for itself. And for this reason, A Very Potter Sequel never really hits the mark set by A Very Potter Musical.

I remember after watching A Very Potter Musical for the first time I had “Going Back to Hogwarts”, “Granger Danger” and “Ginny” stuck in my head on a constant loop. The score doesn’t have the same sticking power this time around. The line “He’s Harry Freakin’ Potter” from the song of the same name comes closest to being catchy, as does Umbridge’s disco number ‘You Were Never My Lover (Stutter)”. A few other songs create nice theatrical moments: “Those Voices” where Harry sees his parents in the Mirror of Erised is incredibly poignant, and Criss shows his adoration of Disney composers Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (check out his Disney covers on YouTube) in Harry’s solo upon arrival at Hogwarts ‘To Have a Home’.

The choreography by James Tolbert is great! I particularly loved his work in “Harry Freaking Potter” and “You Were Never My Lover (Stutter).” Tolbert also demonstrates great imagination in staging the Quidditch match number “Let the Games Begin.”

While all of the actors are back, not all of the characters return. Our old favourites Criss, Richter, Gruesen and Lopez are in great form. But for those in new roles, the actors show how talented and versatile they really are. After are five second cameo as Ginny Weasley, Jamie-Lynn Beatty is excellent as Rita Skeeter. Joe Walker as Umbridge is an inspired piece of casting.

Tyler Brunsman, Cedric Diggory in A Very Potter Musical, is in his element as Lucius Malfoy. Not only does he look great in the tight pants and blonde wing, but he prances around the stage with such flair, that he steals every scene he is in (I will never be able to look at Jason Isaacs [Lucius Malfoy in the films] the same way). After this performance, I would love to see him as Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods.

Don’t get me wrong, there is fun to be had with A Very Potter Sequel. Matt Lang is proving himself to be an incredibly solid director; the use of puppetry is great; I never knew you could have so much fun opening the door to a train carriage and I will laugh whenever someone asks “did you get my text?”

I will watch anything and everything produced by Team StarKid because they are incredibly talented. I love the fact that they are making things happen for themselves. There’s a reason that they have experienced the success that they have!


Should I See It?



For StarKid fans only. Make sure you have seen A Very Potter Musical first.

















All images courtesy of Team StarKid.



Comments (10)

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Sarah's avatar

Sarah · 765 weeks ago

Watched the two of them on you tube 'A Very Potter Musical' & 'A Very Potter Sequel'
love the two of them and would love if they would go on to DVD....
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Char's avatar

Char · 765 weeks ago

I actually watched this one first, and loved it much more than the first one, even though the first one was great. I understood everything in AVPS even without seeing AVPM.
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Adrien's avatar

Adrien · 763 weeks ago

I actually like the sequel better
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Name's avatar

Name · 762 weeks ago

My first impression of AVPS was "all right but I don't think it lives up to the first one"
then I watched it again..and again. I realized the MUSIC was far better in a very potter sequel. Some were catchy, some hilarious, and some actually meaningful. Another reason I liked it better was because after I rewatched it I realized how it had more hysterical moments along with serious and sad moments. And yes, Joe walker was umbridge in it, which I loved :)
1 reply · active 691 weeks ago
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Sarah's avatar

Sarah · 691 weeks ago

I COMPLETELY AGREE! I watched it the first time and was like, its okay...then I got all the AVPM music and after a while I finally got around to getting the AVPS music, now I listen to AVPS more than AVPM. The music in it is amazing, especially things like those voices, the coolest girl and stutter haha I love all of the Starkid musicals though! :D
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Nutty's avatar

Nutty · 745 weeks ago

AVPS actually grew on me a LOT the more times I watched it. "Guys Like Potter" is possibly my favorite song in the whole AVPverse.
1 reply · active 730 weeks ago
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Mrs.Criss's avatar

Mrs.Criss · 730 weeks ago

OMG that song makes me want to cry every time i watch that part!!!! I LOVE THAT SONG!
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JordynLeeAnn's avatar

JordynLeeAnn · 720 weeks ago

I actually liked the sequel better as well. I found it a lot funnier than the first one. I was laughing pretty much the whole way through! Team StarKid is ahhhmazing! :-)
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velle68's avatar

velle68 · 642 weeks ago

I agree with most of the previous comments. I actually watched the sequel first (cuz I'm always sadly late to the game) and I understood everything just fine. Of course there were jokes in there that I didn't get until I watched the first musical, but not enough to affect my understanding and appreciation for the show. Also, on the subject of the music, I feel that both soundtracks were at the very least on part with each other. Granger Danger will always be my personal favourite, but Stutter was brilliant. Not Over Yet was a fantastic opening number. Guys Like Potter is reminiscent of Flight of the Conchords: wonderfully witty with nuggets of lyrical gold (case and point: "He'll never ever think her perfect as I thought her."). And don't even get me started on how much I love Days of Summer.

Finally, as incredible and sexy as Joe Walker's Voldemort was, Joe Walker's Umbridge is just un-f*cking-believable. Whoever is responsible for this casting decision (as well as Lauren Lopez as Malfoy), you deserve all the awards. Not only is he absolutely hilarious, he also has his moments of being genuinely terrifying (axe-murderer Umbridge, anyone?). I honestly think he should get some kind of award, because that was a brilliant comedic performance.

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