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Holy Musical B@man! is the fifth original online musical from Team StarKid. The show is a parody of the story of Batman, a comic book character created by DC Comics as well as a parody of the general superhero genre. The musical was performed March 22–25, 2012, at the Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. It was released on YouTube on April 13th, 2012.
Summary[]
Holy musical, Batman! It's time for crime-fighting shenanigans with everyone's second favorite superhero (right after Spider-Man). After witnessing the murder of his parents, a young billionaire makes a solemn vow to dress up like a bat and wage a one-man war on the rouges of Gotham. So get ready to see the Dark Knight the way you always dreamed of... singing and dancing!
Synopsis[]
Act 1[]
The show opens with young billionaire Bruce Wayne witnessing his parents get mugged and shot by a nameless villain. As he grows up, Bruce vows to seek out and destroy evil so that what happened to him will never happen again, deciding to dress up as a giant bat and fight crime as the masked vigilante "Batman" ("Holy Musical B@man!"). Batman is universally loved by the citizens of Gotham City for being a dark and angsty anti-hero. This is despite the fact that Batman irrationally hates them all, holding the people of Gotham responsible for letting his parents die and considering them all (potential) criminals. After a final battle with his nemesis, The Joker, in which the villain falls to his death, Batman partakes in a ceremony to receive the Key To The City from Commissioner Gordon, but clashes with Superman, a smug and all-powerful superhero from Metropolis who constantly upstages Batman (but is secretly jealous of his popularity). After leaving the ceremony in a huff and arriving home, Batman comes to the realization that he doesn't have any real friends, and fires his loyal butler Alfred after he discovers that he was pretending to be Lucius Fox. Alfred immediately returns disguised as "O'Malley, the Irish butler" and both he and Batman lament ("Dark, Sad, Lonely, Knight"). Superman, also feeling lonely due to his lack of popularity, calls Batman and leaves an apologetic voicemail, inviting him to an upcoming battle with Solomon Grundy that he's trying to organize with other heroes.
The Council of Rogues, a group of Gotham's most famous super-villains - The Penguin, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze and the Riddler - meet to discuss how Batman is foiling all of their crimes ("Rogues Are We"). After a brief interruption from Two-Face, who is promptly refused membership on the council by the other annoyed villains, Sweet Tooth, the newest villain in town, arrives and swiftly seizes control of the Rogues. He then hatches a plan to rouse every villain in Gotham, no matter how lame or derivative, and kill Batman by overwhelming him with sheer numbers ("Rogues Are We (Reprise)"). Batman is crying in his room when Alfred introduces him to a visitor: the orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson. Batman and Dick realize they have a lot in common and quickly strike up a friendship. Bruce reveals his secret identity as Batman, to which Dick reveals that he wishes to become his sidekick, Robin. Together they set out and take on the hordes of lame new villains plaguing Gotham, both happier than they have ever been. ("Dynamic Duet").
Act 2[]
The citizens of Gotham react badly to Robin, feeling that his wisecracking and light-hearted antics detract from Batman's image as a lone, dark anti-hero ("Robin Sucks"). Meanwhile, Superman grows even more jealous of Batman and his new friendship after no-one showed up to his Solomon Grundy battle. "O'Malley" tells Batman he agrees with Gotham's opinion on Robin and Batman fires him; he returns yet again as "Kwan Lee, the Chinese butler". While rescuing Rachel Dawes, Robin is captured by Sweet Tooth and his new accomplice and lover, Candy, who also take three thousand people hostage in Gotham Square. Sweet Tooth then sets up a Facebook poll, letting the people of Gotham decide whether he kills Robin or poisons the water supply with a lethally-sour Warhead in seven hours. Seeing Batman torn between saving Gotham or Robin, Alfred "returns" and comforts him. Batman, believing that Gotham will choose to sacrifice Robin to save themselves, decides to rescue Robin and let Gotham City suffer the consequences. In response to this, President Barack Obama enlists Superman to defeat Batman before he can rescue Robin and doom the citizens of Gotham ("The American Way").
Batman breaks through Sweet Tooth's barricade around Gotham Square and confronts the supervillain, who flees with Robin. Batman's pursuit is interrupted by Superman, and the two heroes fight each other ("To Be a Man"). Superman dominates the fight until Batman brings out a chunk of Kryptonite, weakening Superman and leaving him lying powerless in the street. Batman corners Sweet Tooth, but the villain attempts to throw Robin into a vat of boiling hot chocolate. Batman saves Robin and lets Sweet Tooth fall into the vat instead, but not before Sweet Tooth activates the Warhead launch and successfully poisons the water supply. Robin is appalled that Batman would leave Gotham City to die, and after checking the Facebook poll, it is revealed that the people of Gotham chose to sacrifice themselves instead of killing Robin.
Realizing that he can believe in the people of Gotham City after all, Batman puts aside his pride and calls on Superman to save the day, mending the rift between them. Superman travels back in time by flying around the world until he reverses the rotation of the Earth, which allows him to intercept the Warhead before it can be deployed and throw it into the Sun. With their new friendship established, Superman and Batman form the Super Friends with various other superheroes ("Super Friends"), including Spider-Man (who is really Alfred in another disguise).
Cast[]
(*) Bold names denote the actor's onstage Starkid debut
Band[]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Nick Gage | Synth 1 |
| Scott Lamps | Synth 2 |
| Max Evrard | Synth 3 |
| Justin Kono | Drums |
Creative Team[]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Nick Lang | Book |
| Director | |
| Editor | |
| Matt Lang | Book |
| Director | |
| Camera Operator | |
| Nick Gage | Music and Lyrics |
| Musical Direction | |
| Scott Lamps | Music and Lyrics |
| Musical Direction | |
| Katie Spelman | Choreography |
| Corey Lubowich | Scenic Design |
| June Saito | Costume Designer |
| Sarah Petty | Lighting Design |
| Mark Swiderski | Sound Design |
| Sound Editor | |
| Angela Kiessel | Production Supervisor |
| Michael Bou-Maroun | Assistant Stage Manager |
| Yonit Olshan | Assistant Costume Designer |
| Lana McKinnon | Hair and Makeup |
| Clare Roche | Master Electrician |
| Crosstown Scenic | Scene Shop |
| Liam White | Camera Operator |
| Video Coordinator | |
| Camera Operators | |
| Corey Braun | |
| Tony Pisaneschi | |
| Josh Romero |
Songs[]
| Act | Song | Sung by | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 | Holy Musical B@man! | Ensemble | 3:04 |
| Dark, Sad, Lonely Knight | Alfred, Batman, Ensemble | 5:32 | |
| Rogues Are We | Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Mr Freeze, The Riddler, Catwoman | 2:15 | |
| Rogues Are We (Reprise) | Sweet Tooth, Rogues | 2:12 | |
| The Dynamic Duet | Batman, Robin | 3:35 | |
| Act 2 | Robin Sucks! | Ensemble | 1:31 |
| The American Way | Superman, Batman, Sweet Tooth, Ensemble | 4:01 | |
| To Be a Man | Superman, Batman | 3:03 | |
| Super Friends | Ensemble | 3:31 |
Recording[]
A cast recording of the production was released on two separate albums on April 13, 2012, alongside the YouTube premiere of the musical, through Bandcamp. That's What I Call StarKid! contained seven of the nine musical numbers, as well as instrumentals for all nine numbers, and four demo versions performed by Nick Gage. The Holy Musical B@man! soundtrack contained the other two numbers.
Critical Response[]
- On Cinema Blend, it was praised for "wacky wordplay, catchy tunes, and good-natured ribbing".[1]
- At ComicsAlliance, Chris Sims praised the show, calling it "surprisingly catchy" and that "the love that the creators have for the character is evident."[2]
Gallery
 Click here to view the gallery. |
Trivia[]
- Matt Lang came up with the joke "Calendar Man your days are numbered" while dreaming. He considers it the best joke he's ever written.
- There is a lyric change in the song “Super Friends”. On the studio recording, the song includes the line “What a super queer thing to say” however during the recorded performance, and subsequent live concerts, the lyric is performed as “What a super weird thing to say”.
References[]
| Team StarKid Musicals | |||||||||||||||
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