This article is about the musical. You may be looking for the song, the soundtrack or the Kickstarter campaign.
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The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is the eleventh original online musical from Team StarKid. It is the first installment in the Hatchetfield Series. It ran from October 11 to November 4, 2018, at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles. The entire show was released for free on YouTube on December 23, 2018.
Summary[]
The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals is a horror-comedy show following Paul, an ordinary guy who doesn’t like musicals, and his friends/co-workers, as the world around them becomes a musical.
Synopsis[]
Act 1[]
A group of singing zombies addresses the audience, setting the scene in the tiny town of Hatchetfield and introducing the main character, unremarkable everyman Paul Matthews. ("The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals").
Paul's day begins like any other, as he works dutifully at a nondescript office job. Here, his coworkers are introduced: obnoxious womanizer Ted, sweet but unstable Charlotte, and Paul's best friend, sheepish Bill. Charlotte has a phone conversation with her husband Sam, a police officer who dismisses her many attempts at affection. Bill invites Paul to come to see a touring production of Mamma Mia! with him and his teenage daughter, Alice, with whom Bill feels he must make an effort to connect after his divorce with his wife. Paul declines, stating that he would "rather do anything" than go see a musical.
Paul goes to the local coffee shop, Beanie's, where he befriends Emma Perkins, a cute barista who shares his hatred for musicals. As he leaves the coffee shop, he is accosted by an activist from Greenpeace, who tries to solicit a donation from him. Their conversation is cut off by a rapidly approaching storm, which alarms townspeople all over Hatchetfield. Charlotte, although cheating on her husband with Ted, fears for Sam's safety; Bill's daughter Alice takes refuge with her girlfriend Deb; and a mysterious man, Professor Hidgens, reacts in awe and horror at his predictions coming to fruition.
The next morning, on his way to work, Paul encounters a group of singing and dancing people on the street, led by the Greenpeace girl he met the day before. The singers recall their past lives and express their newfound happiness through song and dance ("La Dee Dah Dah Day"). Paul, deeply disturbed, arrives at work, where Bill complains that the performance of Mamma Mia was cancelled after a meteor hit the theatre. Charlotte expresses concern about her husband singing unusually well in the shower. Just as Paul, horrified, begins to connect the dots, he is called into the boss's office. He gives excuses, thinking his boss Mr. Davidson is unsatisfied with his work, but Davidson cuts him off, suddenly bursting into song to ask Paul about his objective in life ("What Do You Want, Paul?"). Scared by yet another incident of inexplicable singing, Paul runs out under the pretense of getting coffee.
He arrives at Beanie's, where he confides in Emma that he is worried the world may have turned into a musical overnight. Emma, not convinced, excuses herself to sing a tip song with her coworkers Zoey and Nora ("Cup of Roasted Coffee"). After discovering that they added "a whole 'nother A section" to the choreography without her knowledge, she quits in exasperation. The customers suddenly begin to cough and choke, whereupon the baristas reveal that they have poisoned the coffee. The customers transform into musical zombies and join the baristas in song ("Cup of Poisoned Coffee"), chasing Paul and Emma out of the shop.
Paul and Emma meet Bill, Charlotte, and Ted in an alleyway, where they learn that people all over downtown have inexplicably begun to sing and dance. Charlotte reveals that she has called Sam, who arrives singing and dancing. He and his fellow officers, all musical zombies at this point, harass Paul and his friends until Ted hits Sam over the head and knocks him out ("Show Me Your Hands"). Emma proposes that they seek help from her biology professor, "doomsday survivalist" Professor Hidgens.
The group arrives at Hidgens' compound, where he reveals that he has been preparing for this exact doomsday scenario for decades. He tells them that the blue goo found on Sam's skull is the result of an alien invasion and ties the unconscious Sam to a chair for the group's safety. Ted attempts to convince Charlotte to abandon Sam for him, telling her to upgrade from a scumbag to a sleazeball, but she refuses. When Sam comes to, he begs Charlotte to untie him, professing his love to her through song and reminding her of their lives before their marriage fell apart. She is unconvinced, until he fakes his death, causing her to free him ("You Tied Up My Heart"). He then attacks her, ripping out her guts.
Meanwhile, the others head to Hidgens's bar, where an argument arises breaks out between Bill and Ted. Emma and Paul become closer, Emma revealing that after her sister's death, she promised herself that she would not die in Hatchetfield, whilst Paul reveals that his hatred of musicals was inspired by seeing Emma herself perform in Brigadoon in high school. Their conversation is interrupted by Charlotte, now a musical zombie as well, and Sam, who attack Paul ("Join Us (And Die)"). Just in time, Professor Hidgens returns, shooting and killing both of them.
Bill receives a phone call from Alice, who is still at school. Bill instructs her to hide until he can come to get her. Although Ted tells him it's a lost cause, Paul decides to join Bill on his rescue mission.
Act 2[]
At the high school, Paul and Bill search for Alice as Bill panics that he is to blame for her situation. Paul tries to reassure him that he's wrong, but is interrupted by Alice, now infected as well. Alice sings, telling Bill that her death was indeed his fault and he was never a good father ("Not Your Seed"). Bill, heartbroken, attempts to kill himself with the shotgun they brought to defend themselves, but Paul stops him and tosses it aside. While Paul is busy comforting Bill, Alice picks up the shotgun and shoots and kills him. Right as she is about to attack Paul, the army arrives, scaring her away and knocking Paul out.
Back at Professor Hidgens' compound, Hidgens explains the nature of the alien invasion to Emma, describing it as a hive mind. Although Emma realizes how to stop its spread, Hidgens is excited by the peace and unity of a hive mind society and decides to take the aliens' side, tranquilizing Emma. Meanwhile, Paul wakes up and is greeted by General McNamara, who works with a special unit of the US Army called PEIP. McNamara tells him that if he is able to rescue Emma, the army will have a helicopter come pick them up.
Emma wakes up, tied to a chair with Ted. Hidgens opens the gate to the compound, claiming that the only way humans will be saved from themselves is if they let the alien invasion continue. He then goes on to reveal that he has a history in musical theatre, much to the dismay of Emma and Ted. He purposely attracts the aliens by singing, including the opening number of a musical he has been working on called Working Boys, where he reminisces about his days with his friends in undergrad ("Show-Stoppin' Number"). His singing attracts the zombies, though he is now too far gone to realize this and thinks that they are his college friends Greg, Steve, Stu, Mark, Leighton and Chad. The zombies join in his song before dragging him off and killing him.
Paul arrives to rescue Emma and Ted and they immediately head for the pickup site, but the zombies catch up to them and drag off Paul. Emma tries to save him but Ted keeps running. He makes it to the pickup site and is greeted by PEIP, who have also been infected. McNamara shoots and infects Ted before beginning to sing ("America Is Great Again"). Paul and Emma manage to make it to the helicopter after Emma shoots McNamara in the arm and get on. However, they realize that the pilot is Emma's infected coworker when she begins to sing and pulls a gun on them. The resulting fight causes the helicopter to crash. A piece of rebar ends up in Emma's leg. She tells him to leave her behind and go destroy the meteor to end the invasion. He reluctantly leaves her and takes a grenade belt along with him.
Several zombies once again address the audience through song ("Let Him Come"), where they pass on the word that the star of the show, Paul, is making his way to the meteor. Paul enters the local theatre, the site of the meteor crash, and is greeted by the reanimated bodies of Bill, Ted, Charlotte, Zoey, Professor Hidgens and Mr. Davidson. They tell him that they are happy now, and that if he destroys the meteor he will also die. They ask what he wants, to which he replies that it does not matter. The zombies, however, disagree. They begin to sing, telling him that they feel there is a song in him and that he must express his feelings through song, and to his horror, his proximity to the meteor causes him to sing and dance against his will. Paul begins to switch between singing and talking, fighting for control against the infection. He manages to pull the pin on a grenade and throw it at the meteor, yelling that he doesn't like musicals ("Let It Out").
A newscast from the neighboring town of Clivesdale states that it has been two weeks since the events of the show. Emma is in a hospital in Clivesdale and is greeted by Colonel Schaffer, a PEIP agent, who has set up a new life and identity for her. Schaffer tells her that there were no other survivors, but that she will be escorted to her new life by a Ben Bridges, who Emma apparently knows well. Ben enters and reveals himself to be Paul. Emma and Paul embrace before Paul begins to sing, telling her she lost. He is joined by other zombies and they sing a medley of previous songs in the show and implore her to join them, explaining that they have finally found happiness. They tell her the ending is "inevitable" and surround and drag her off stage ("Inevitable").
Development[]
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals was the third show to be conceptualized attached to the name Hatchetfield. The show acted as a backdoor pilot for the wider Hatchetfield Series and upon it's large success Black Friday was launched. The musical was loosely inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals was announced on June 18, 2018 via the kickstarter reveal trailer and the Kickstarter campaign was launched the same day. The campaign ran from June 18 until July 15, 2018 and raised $127,792 between 3,419 backers. The show originally contained two extra songs but A Meteor Hits and Red Blooded Merican was replaced by America Is Great Again.
Cast[]
See also: Hatchetfield Cast
| Actor (*) | Character |
|---|---|
| Jaime Lyn Beatty | Charlotte |
| Nora | |
| Deb | |
| Colonel Schaffer | |
| Ensemble | |
| Jeff Blim | Mr K. Davidson |
| Sam Sweetly | |
| General John MacNamara | |
| Ensemble | |
| Corey Dorris | Bill |
| Ensemble | |
| Mariah Rose Faith Casillas (Credited as Mariah Rose Faith) | Melissa |
| Zoey Chambers | |
| Greenpeace Girl | |
| Alice Woodward | |
| Doug | |
| Lauren Lopez | Emma Perkins |
| Donna Daggit | |
| Ensemble | |
| Robert Manion | Professor Hidgens |
| Ensemble | |
| Jon Matteson | Paul Matthews |
| Joey Richter | Ted Spankoffski |
| Dan Reynolds | |
| Rod | |
| Homeless man |
(*) Bold names denote the actor's onstage Starkid debut
Band[]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Matt Dahan | Keyboard 1 |
| Josh Fleury | Bass |
| Sam Johnides | Guitar |
| Keyboard 2 | |
| Ryan McDiarmid | Drums |
Creative Team[]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Nick Lang | Writer |
| Producer | |
| Director | |
| Editor | |
| Camera Operator | |
| Matt Lang | Writer |
| Jeff Blim | Music and Lyrics |
| Corey Lubowich | Producer |
| Scenic Design | |
| Camera Operator | |
| Matt Dahan | Music Direction |
| James Tolbert | Choreographer |
| Lauren Lopez | Additional Choreography |
| Ilana Elroi | Sound Design and Engineering |
| Sarah Petty | Lighting Design |
| Paul Gabriel | Stage Manager |
| Amy Plouff | Scenic Charge |
| Brian Rosenthal | Sound Design |
| June Saito | Costume Design |
| Jade Svenson | Wardrobe/Deck Hand |
| Justin Hong | Camera Operator |
Songs[]
| Act 1 | Song | Sung By | Duration | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals | Ensemble | 4:05 | |||
| La Dee Dah Dah Day | Greenpeace Girl, Homeless Man, Ensemble | 3:17 | |||
| What Do You Want, Paul? | Mr. Davidson | 3:11 | |||
| Cup of Roasted Coffee | Nora, Zoey, Emma | 1:38 | |||
| Cup of Poisoned Coffee | Nora, Zoey, Ensemble | 0:33 | |||
| Show Me Your Hands | Sam, Ensemble | 2:24 | |||
| You Tied up My Heart | Sam | 3:35 | |||
| Join Us (And Die) | Charlotte, Sam | 2:01 | |||
| Act 2 | Not Your Seed | Alice, Ensemble | 3:23 | ||
| Show Stoppin Number | Professor Hidgens, Greg and Stu | 5:19 | |||
| America Is Great Again | General McNamara, Ensemble | 2:11 | |||
| Let Him Come | Ensemble | 0:38 | |||
| Let It Out | Paul, Ensemble | 3:27 | |||
| Inevitable | Paul, Ensemble | 2:57 | |||
Recording[]
The cast album was released on December 24, 2018 on both iTunes and Amazon Music. It was later released for streaming in March, 2020.
Critical reception[]
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals received generally positive reviews from local and online publications.
Awards[]
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals received fifteen nominations in twelve categories at the 2019 BroadwayWorld.com Los Angeles Regional Awards. It was nominated in every category for which it was eligible, that is to say, every local (non-touring) musical category. It won in every category except three. Every actor in the musical was nominated for their performance except for Jeff Blim. Every nominee in the category Best Featured Actor in a Musical was from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | BroadwayWorld.com Los Angeles Regional Awards[1][2] | Best Musical - Local | Nominated | |
| Best Leading Actor in a Musical - Local | Jon Matteson | Won | ||
| Best Leading Actress in a Musical - Local | Lauren Lopez | Nominated | ||
| Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Local | Robert Manion | Won | ||
| Corey Dorris | Nominated | |||
| Joey Richter | Nominated | |||
| Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Local | Jaime Lyn Beatty | Won | ||
| Mariah Rose Faith | Nominated | |||
| Best Director of a Musical - Local | Nick Lang | Nominated | ||
| Best Choreography - Local | James Tolbert | Won | ||
| Best Musical Director - Local | Matt Dahan | Won | ||
| Best Scenic Design - Local | Corey Lubowich | Won | ||
| Best Costume Design - Local | June Saito | Won | ||
| Best Lighting Design - Local | Sarah Petty | Won | ||
| Best Sound Design - Local | Ilana Elroi and Brian Rosenthal | Won | ||
Gallery
 Click here to view the gallery. |
Trivia[]
- Parts of TGWDLM are inspired by the 1999 comedy Office Space.[3]
- One night, Jeff Blim ran offstage making alien noises because he got sick
- There were multiple issues with the "Show Me Your Hands" megaphone; one performance it fell down and broke and one night the alarm mode went off right when Jon dropped it in the trash can, meaning that a siren was on for a considerable time during the next scene
- In multiple shows including the YouTube version, Robert as Hidgens fails to put back the syringe so he tosses it off-stage
- In some shows, the actors (especially Robert) forgot props such as the fake guns and the syringe
- In Lah Dee Dah Dah Day, Joey was supposed to draw a smiley face with a ketchup bottle from the trash (as his "new trash tattoo"), but they cut it due to staging problems.
- The opening song was significantly cut down and originally involved a human train
- Robert fell off-stage during his coffee shop scene multiple times
- There were two cut songs in the show: Red Blooded Merican, which was replaced by America is Great Again, and A Meteor Hits
- For a performance that Lauren could not participate in, Nick Lang played Emma
- At least one audience hesitated to get up at the end of the show due to the fourth-wall breaking
- In the YouTube version of the show, Jeff sang "Steve" instead of Paul during Let Him Come, leading to a noticeable edit of that part
- In at least one performance, the hat Jeff wears as Sam to hide the blue brain fell off too soon.
References[]
- ↑ "December 19th Update: THE GUY WHO DIDN'T LIKE MUSICALS - Matrix Theatre Leads Best Musical Category in the BWW Los Angeles Awards Voting" BroadwayWorld.com, accessed March 19, 2020
- ↑ "Winners Announced For 2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards" BroadwayWorld.com, accessed March 19, 2020
- ↑ https://twitter.com/starkidsokka/status/1245832018719436802
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