A Very Potter Musical

A Very Potter Musical
AVPM soundtrack art
MusicDarren Criss
A. J. Holmes
LyricsDarren Criss
A. J. Holmes
BookMatt Lang
Nick Lang
Brian Holden
BasisHarry Potter
by J. K. Rowling
Productions2009 University of Michigan
AwardsEntertainment Weekly's 10 Best Viral Videos of 2009[1][2][3]

A Very Potter Musical (originally titled Harry Potter: The Musical and often shortened to AVPM) is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and A. J. Holmes and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang and Brian Holden.[2][3][4][5][6] The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling (particularly Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), as well as their film adaptations.

A Very Potter Musical tells the story of Harry Potter's return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, his participation in the House Cup Championship, the trials and tribulations of adolescence, and the return of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort and the Golden Trio's attempts to destroy the Horcruxes.

The musical was performed on April 9–11, 2009 on the University of Michigan campus and is currently available to watch online on YouTube.[7][8][9] It was produced by StarKid Productions and directed by Matt Lang.[2][3][4][7][8][9] The musical starred Darren Criss as Harry Potter, Joey Richter as Ron Weasley, Bonnie Gruesen as Hermione Granger, Jaime Lyn Beatty as Ginny Weasley, Lauren Lopez as Draco Malfoy, Brian Rosenthal as Quirinus Quirrell and Joe Walker as Lord Voldemort.[2][3][4][5][8][10] In late June 2009, the group put the entire musical up on YouTube and it became a viral video, obtaining millions of views.[1][2][3][6][7][8][9]

The popularity of this musical allowed Team StarKid to create subsequent musicals, such as Me and My Dick (2009), A Very Potter Sequel (2010), Starship (2011), Holy Musical B@man! (2012), Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier (2013), The Trail to Oregon! (2014), ANI: A Parody (2014), Firebringer (2016), The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals (2018), and Black Friday (2019). A third installment of the A Very Potter series, called A Very Potter Senior Year, premiered at LeakyCon on August 11, 2012.[11] A fourth installment, titled A Very Potter Christmas (this time audio-only and not a musical), was released as a reward for backers of Team StarKid's Firebringer musical and was later released to the public during the A Very Potter Golden Birthday!!! stream.

  1. ^ a b Lyons, Margaret. "The 10 Best Viral Videos of 2009" Entertainment Weekly, December 29, 2009. Retrieved on July 14, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e Davenport, Misha (February 2011). "Darren Criss from 'Glee,' Starkid launch Chicago home with 'Starship'". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Milam, Whitney (July 24, 2010). Team StarKid tops Glee and Gaga on iTunes, talks new projects. HollywoodNews. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Team StarKid's Home Page for "A Very Potter Musical" Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Guerra, Jennifer (July 15, 2009). "A Very Potter Musical!". Michigan Radio. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  6. ^ a b McKee, Jenn (October 25, 2010). "Darren Criss, U-M grad and 'Very Potter Musical' star, will be a new face on "Glee"". AnnArbor.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c Austrone, Xavier. "StarKid Interview: Starship Coverage & A VERY POTTER THREEQUEL!?" Archived August 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Wizardinglife.com, November 22, 2010. Retrieved on July 16, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d Smith, Grady (July 30, 2010). "'A Very Potter Musical' star Darren Criss talks about his new EP and the future for Team StarKid". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith. "'My Dick' Rises to Become First Charting Student Musical" Billboard.com, March 18, 2010. Retrieved on July 16, 2011.
  10. ^ "Glee Star Darren Criss Confirmed to Succeed Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway". Broadway.com. August 1, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  11. ^ "Only at LeakyCon: "A Very Potter Senior Year"". Archived from the original on July 19, 2012.