sorry dude i can’t hang out today. i saw someone online misinterpret my favourite piece of media. yeah i have to lay on the floor. yeah it’ll be all day.
you know you're deep in the trenches of the starkid fandom when you watch the starkid episode of dirty laundry, and upon hearing one of the questions, you not only know whose it is but also the entire story
alright now that I'm finally home and settled I've made a list of stuff from the TGWDLM reprise that I liked. I have endless love in my heart for this show so it is very long <3 so without further ado I give you;
TGWDLM Reprised things that are important to me
The train choreography oh it's so silly <3
The SET holy shit it really is phenomenal. Best one they've done so far, and one of my favorite theatre sets I've ever seen overall
Rolling office chairs
Charlotte's zoned out stare as she picks something out of her teeth and wipes it on her skirt
Paul unplugging his mouse and plugging it back in
Melissa's clipboard covered in cat stickers, and the perfect dose of Freak(tm) that Mariah injected into the softball convo. Context changes the interaction anyway but seeing her play it with the context? Unmatched. Melissa's on the verge of exploding when Paul turns her down and trying so hard (and failing) to hide it, it's incredible
Bill being so locked in on the Mama Mia tickets he doesn't answer Paul for a solid thirty seconds
There's a drink on the Beanie's menu called Fudge You Clivesdale
"There's a line..." (there is no line) "and... people are working..." (Zoey is on her phone)
Emma's super smiley snarky delivery on "well did you do that to be nice or did you do it to be an asshole?" I love her so much <3
The pause between Emma giving Paul his coffee and Paul saying he doesn't like musicals. It adds a cute relatable awkwardness that I appreciate, like he knows the interaction would naturally end here but he wants to keep talking to her. Continuing to complain about musicals should be an easy in. And Emma giving a teeny bit of an Oh I Thought We Were Done Here? vibe, but picking up on him trying to flirt and clearly being fully won over by "some things are worth it." Her big smile when she asks his name is so damn cute!!! She is sold she wants this dork!!!!
Frank Pricely cameo <3 (he gets TWO and he deserves it)
Paul fully exiting and then RUNNING back onstage to keep arguing with the Greenpeace Girl, he's such a piece of shit I'm in love with him
Paul has three locks on his door
He quietly says Emma's name to himself before he starts walking to work, he's so smitten <3
Ruth Fleming cameo!
MAX JÄGERMAN CAMEO!!! This was the one I was most excited for, I screamed when I saw him. That's my favorite awful jock whose corpse is being puppeted around all silly, look at him GO <3
Paul getting his ass slapped twice <3
Infected Max saying "This kid's got MUSCLES :D"
ALL the new choreography for What Do You Want, Paul?, but specifically Mr. Davidson gesturing for Paul to come sit in his rolling chair and Paul just. obeying. and also when Davidson chokes Paul with the phone cord
"I forgot what it was..." (looks at Paul and mouths "I didn't forget")
Emma looks really happy to see Paul again at first <3
The GOOP in the coffee pot, oh it looks so good and nasty!!
"Oh god. I just quit my job. I'm unemployed." // "Do you have any savings?" // "NO!!!"
"They used to call me Tomcat Paul- er- Alleycat Paul"
Bill, Charlotte, and Ted actually being INSIDE the trashcans makes it like ten times funnier
The cop car choreo bit in Show Me Your Hands. Just everything about it, I love it so much. Emma's little arms-crossed sulk is delightful to me
Emma gagging when she looks at Sam's brain
Hidgens having a portrait of himself in his house. Who painted that. Did he commission Ziggs to paint that. I want to believe he did
Ted sounding legitimately bummed out when he says "I'm gonna go hit on that crabby barista." He's settling, he'd much rather be flirting with Charlotte and I truly love that
Charlotte being relentlessly horny during both her scene with Ted and all of You Tied Up My Heart. Someone take this woman to bed she is desperate and she deserves it
Jaime played Charlotte a little mousier this time around and I think it was endearing
Bill fully smacking Ted in the face. 1000/10 no notes, perfect form. Do it again
How somber Emma sounds when she starts talking about Jane. The grief and guilt and shame and self-loathing WEIGHS in her voice, it's really good. There's like... an uncertainty that Lauren brings to the monologue in this iteration that's really interesting to me. Like maybe the path she put herself on in her grief isn't the right one but she can't think of any other options. And now that the world's ending it won't even matter. She won't get to see if it works out, she won't get the chance to make things right with Jane's family. And even though she doesn't mention Tom and Tim by name they loom over the monologue in how palpable her regret is. It's really good
This might've just been my read but Emma sounds a little apprehensive when she says "I guess that makes me the supervillain" and practically melts at "I don't think of you like that at all, Emma." She has her walls up but Paul erodes them by just. being genuine. This is why paulkins is my number one ship, folks
JOIN US AND DIE. AAAAAAUGH HOLY FUCK ITS SO GOOD. THE GOOP. THE GOOP GLOWS. GAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!
I love how rough and physical infected Charlotte and Sam get. The infected are rougher with the humans in this version in general but it's particularly fun here. I love when they push Paul and Emma together like they're gonna make them kiss, only to bonk their heads together and puppet them around while they're both dizzy
Emma, Paul, and Bill huddling together while Ted tries and fails to get their attention. Correct, this is the dynamic. Also an OT3 moment for those with eyes to see <3
The DEVASTATION in Ted's voice for his The World Has Changed monologue. Being able to actually see Charlotte's body and how he's been looking at her adds to it on its own, but Joey really dialed up Ted's pain this time around. It's great
Emma being left alone on the stage as the curtains close
Not Your Seed. Everything about Not Your Seed. Bill constantly trying to reach infected Alice and being held back by Paul. Whenever Paul tries to run in to protect Bill and gets shoved back by one of the girls. Bill being able to get close and touch Alice without being attacked because they know this will hurt more. When he holds her hands. When she sits on the floor and he sits with her and cradles her so tenderly, not wanting to believe she's gone. That he can still hold his little girl. Deb and the Bee taking the gun off Bill's back and placing it in his hands at the end. Corey's performance. He's incredible. Not Your Seed has always been an effectively sad moment, but this was next level. So thoroughly devastating.
Paul catching Bill and gently lowering his body to the ground. Not giving his attention to the infected teens immediately because he's still holding onto Bill for a few beats
Overall Paul and Bill are a lot more touchy in the reprise up to this point and as someone who ships them I feel personally catered to
Will's delivery of "yes... of course... STOP... it..." And also the amount of slooooow turns he does as Hidgens, he's such a living cartoon I love how he performs. Great casting imo
The Black Friday motif playing while McNamara explains what PEIP does
Emma and Ted trying to beckon Hidgens away from the piano, and almost succeeding, only for him to slooooowly turn back to it and sit down. SO fucking funny 😭 Additionally, the long-ass pause between "it's.... a................................. sssshow-stoppin number-" KILLED me
Hidgens does the same woman-with-too-many-curves outline from WDYWP at one point and Emma says "that's too many!"
Infected Greg and Stu miming basketball and golf while talking about football
After ditching Paul and Emma, when Ted goes: "I just gotta get to that chopper. Heh. 'Get to the choppah!' Haha did you hear that, Paul- AW FUCK!" I like that a lot. He wants Paul's validation so bad it makes him look stupid <3
The fucking choreography for America Is Great Again AAAAUGH!!! The slow-mo running, the freeze-frame moments of Paul and Emma being separated and reaching for each other!! Emma being directly targeted with the gun aimed at her, and Paul saving her, before being caught by McNamara, and then Emma saves him. it's so much more dynamic than the original (all of the musical numbers are) and I love it so!!! much!!!
Jon and Lauren's helicopter crash acting
The flirty, teasing, half-delirious delivery of "and it wasn't cuz you liked our shit coffee!" It's really cute to see Emma being overt about knowing Paul's into her and that she's into him too <3
I just liked seeing the blood-spit in person it was special <3
Let It Out. Holy fucking shit Let It Out. LET IT OUT. GOD. I was sitting there with my jaw hanging open the entire time. This was a spiritual experience. I am a different person after seeing Let It Out.
The meteor is amazing (it GLOWS). The lighting and the fog are amazing. The way you can tell Paul is starting starting hear the music before he sings his first note is amazing. The new choreography is amazing. The additional lyrics are amazing. Jon!!! sounds!!! AMAZING!!!!! His singing has improved so much and it SHOWS, his performance is so heightened and strong. The two sides of Paul are distinct and the fight for control is a hard push and pull that Jon sells so fucking well. You can FEEL him collapse under the fight and start to give in a little during the bridge. Paul's battle with apotheosis was THE thing that made me fully fall in love with this show the first time. I've always thought it was incredible. Getting to see an IMPROVED version where every single aspect is dialed up and enhanced is more than I could have ever hoped for. This was very genuinely one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Dare I say, fucking transcendent
Also infected Bill hugged Paul right before the song started and that is everything to me
Seeing The Hug(tm) in person. Followed immediately by the opening of Inevitable. Once again, a life-changing moment for me the first time I saw it, and life-changing again in person
Infected Paul lifts Emma
Infected Paul DIPS Emma
Infected Paul is so deeply sinister and threatening and joyful and I NEED to KISS HIM on the MOUTH I don't CARE if he pukes on me that is a FEATURE not a bug-
Jaime and Mariah coming out as Charlotte and Melissa for Inevitable, and Emma in casual clothes with her hair down, matching her look during the opening. It cements the show as a clean loop, that it's a performance the infected are putting on after the story really happened
Emma's terror is so raw and visceral, and when she sees the band and the audience and the set backdrop lifts to reveal the stage lights, it's such a fantastically horrific moment. Lauren played it so fucking phenomenally, she's such a star. And it feels so different to be THERE. She's seeing the audience, she's seeing ME. I'M witness to her horror, I'M part of the show, I'M clapping and cheering as she's dragged to her death. But I don't stop, do I? I love the show, after all
It was an incredible experience, this reprise is so good. There's such a strong sense that everyone involved loves what they're doing and loves this show and loves this world. It's the same show, but there's more context, more understanding, more to work with, and more experience. Lauren's direction is fantastic, I really like how much exaggerated, physical comedy she added to the show. It feels like both the comedy and the drama/emotion were heightened, which makes the contrast stronger, so the emotions hit harder. At least for me. There were a couple comedic choices that didn't work for me, I didn't love Sam's lego-man walk, but for the most part I really enjoyed this take on it. And GOD all the new choreography!!! Everything was so much more dynamic, so much more fun to watch! James and Lauren were firing on ALL cylinders for this show and it DELIVERS. It's so good. I had the time of my life
Infected John MacNamara would’ve been silly if it wasn’t for the fact he was stripped of his autonomy and made to sing a song that went against his morals and beliefs and was also forced to harm people which is something he would never wanna do
stormborns
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