I knew very little about Team Starkid, the theater troupe that Glee Star Darren Criss was part of when he was a musical theater major at the University of Michigan. Well, I knew he composed songs for, and starred in, a couple of Harry Potter parodies that went totally viral when videos of the productions were uploaded to You Tube in 2009.
A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel made Darren and Team Starkid You Tube stars. Even Darren’s Glee co-star, Chris Colfer had seen them. When Darren was cast as Blaine on Glee, he had to leave the troupe. But he’s kept ties to them. Darren composed songs for a show called Starship–the last production he collaborated on with Starkid. When the show was recently released on DVD, he helped promote it.
When the troupe announced it would be hitting the road in the fall, Darren tweeted that he’d be joining them on a few select dates. The Boston gig was announced with two days notice.
An impulse buy on my part, I might have skipped the show altogether if I had thought about it. After all, not only do I know little about Team Starkid, I don’t know much more about the Harry Potter series beyond the basic plot line. But I’m a Glee fan, and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see one of my favorite TV boyfriends! Ha.
So…yes. A whole lot of what went went down on the HOB stage tonight flew right over my head, so I’m not even going to attempt to recap it here. But the production sure wasn’t lost on the huge crowd of mostly young girls who screamed and sang along to every tune. Darren is popular, but each and every one of the performers in Starkid are treated like rock stars. The screaming was so loud at times, you woulda thought Justin Bieber was in the building. Team Starkid, made up of a talented ensemble of performers, is geek musical theater and it’s nerdy aesthetic is totally embraced by their enthusiastic fans.
But, even for a newbie like myself, the high energy production was fast-paced, funny and just plain fun. Darren had a couple of solos–two beautiful songs that touched on similar themes– “To Have a Home” and “Not Alone”. Darren is every bit as mesmerizing on stage performing big production numbers with Starkid as he is on my TV with the Warblers and New Directions. It was hard to keep my eyes off him. Seriously, I rarely flail. But. DAMN.
The encore was a tour-de-force–a 9 minute version of “Going Back to Hogwarts” that showcased nearly every member of the troupe. Starkid guitar player, Charlene Kaye, opened the show with a retro rock set that featured some nice guitar work and a sweet duet with Darren.
I don’t have much to say beyond that. I’ll let you judge for yourself. Watch the videos below.
Duet with Charlene Kaye – Dress and Tie.
NEW: Intro and first number Darren enters near the end
Darren is Harry Freaking Potter!
Darren Criss solo – To Have A Home
Darren Criss solo – Not Alone
Darren and Starkid – Get Back Up
Darren and Starkid – Beauty
Each Team Starkid member introduces themselves by first name. Except Darren: “I’m Kurt’s boyfriend on Glee!”
Darren and Starkid – Medly, including “Days of Summer”
Darren and Starkid – Going Back to Hogwarts
Watch Darren THROW DOWNZ
