Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Harry Potter the Musical Review

For those of you who have seen A Very Potter Musical, hopefully you've been able to have a few good laughs. If not, the full 2 hour play is on YouTube from StarKid Productions and University of Michigan. Darren Criss wrote most of the play and music and plays Harry Potter (that's what's up, Glee fans).

The play is largely informal, with very little stage direction or scenery. In fact, the proscenium stage is mostly dark with black floors and walls. The lack of formality of the parody draws attention to the comedy aspect of it - ridiculous songs, exaggerated wigs, Malfoy being played by a girl. There are few props, and the ones that are used are often made of cardboard. To me, the low-budget feel of it only adds to the comedic appeal.

The only problem I have with this play is the vulgarity of it. There are moments when the comedy relies largely on shock value, and I think it would have been better if they had used wit instead of surprising the audience with sexual innuendos.

Act 1, Part 4

1 comment:

  1. I am not sure that vulgarity is a problem in this particular case. It seems like the point of this parody is to take the formalized dialogue of Harry Potter and make it American vernacular with some Bugs Bunny gags mixed in. It does not seem tasteless, just not high brow. Maybe you could elaborate on what you mean by using wit as opposed to sexual innuendo?

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