I will warn you before you read: this review is VERY VERY VERY Spoiler-Free :D Enjoy!

After what seems like a million years, Team Starkid finally released their newest musical, and the end of the Potter musical franchise. I discovered Starkid about three years ago, in about May of 2010, right after A Very Potter Sequel came out. I had just been dumped, BIG time, and I needed a distraction. I had seen this “A Very Potter Musical” thing all over the place; MuggleNet talked about it all the time and people who knew I was (am) a HUGE Potter fan kept suggesting it to me.

And I seriously fell in love with it. Its hilarious!

I know there are a ton of people out there who don’t like Team Starkid, or the musicals, or even just the people involved. And I can see that. The way I have always seen it: you either love it or you hate it.

I definitely love it. I love musicals anyway, of all shapes and sizes, no matter how cheesy they are. I mean, I love the High School Musical trilogy. I LOVE musicals. And someone out there decided to put together a Harry Potter musical? It was a win for me, and it was really important to me during the time that I found it. I think I watched AVPM and AVPS a thousand times during that time period; it really…it really helped distract me and make me happy during a rough time.

So I became a big Starkid fan. I’ve also enjoyed their other musicals as well: Me and My Dick, Starship and Holy Musical B@man!

So when I heard they were FINALLY going to be doing A Very Potter Senior Year…I was really excited. Sad that they would only being doing it at Leaky Con 2012 and there was no way I’d be able to make it. Then when they announced they’d be filming it and screening it on YouTube like they do allll their videos, my excitement grew alllll the way back up again.

And then I heard that basically it would just be a read-through of the script.

Doesn’t that sound boring? I thought, well, that sucks. I mean, I get it. They *actually* got Darren Criss to come back and play Harry Potter and he’s a busy man, and probably wouldn’t have the time to really rehearse the play the way they do with the other musicals. I totally get it.

But it was so much more than I had expected it to be.

First off, the cast? They got EVERYONE to come back, seriously. Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Meredith Stepien, Jaime Lyn Beatty, Lauren Lopez, Joe Walker, A.J. Holmes, Dylan Saunders, Brian Holden, Brian Rosenthal, Nick Strauss, Joe Moses, Britney Coleman, Jeff Blim, Tyler Brunsman, Devin Lytle, Richard Campbell, Nick Lang, Sango Tajima, Jim Povolo, Lily Marks, Arielle Goldman, Corey Dorris, Denise Donovan, Elona Finlay, Chris Allen, Brant Cox, Alle-Faye Monka…almost everyone who has ever been in a Starkid musical, or production, was part of this and that was a big part of why it rocked so hard. Everyone that you’ve come to know and love came back, and become a part of this.

I mean, seeing Devin Lytle as Cho Chang again…or Brian Holden as naked Lupin, Jim Povolo as Goyle, Richard Campbell as Neville, Jaime as Ginny Weasley, Lily Marks as Mrs. Weasley…and then people like Alle-Faye Monka from Me and My Dick becoming part of the Harry Potter musical awesomeness…and Chris Allen from Holy Musical B@man.

AND Ms. Evanna Lynch, the beautiful and talented actress who played Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter movies, turned up to play Luna in A Very Potter Senior Year.

I don’t want to give away too much, because I want you all to enjoy it.

I will tell you that its senior year, and now that Harry has defeated Voldemort, he just doesn’t really know what to do with his life anymore. He isn’t quite as cool as he used to be, with no one to save, and now he’s desperate to gain some of that fame back. Enter some familiar characters and some characters we haven’t seen before (McGonagall, Hagrid, Mad Eye Moody, Shacklebolt, to name a few, and we are so ready for an amazing musical.

All the new songs are super great, and they even throw in some old, very familar, and very much loved Starkid songs to build up alllll that nostalgia. Of course, there were mistakes and everyone was carrying their script around, but there were all the costumes, and everyone did a great job. I truly, truly enjoyed it.

And it was hilarious. So many amazing jokes and my sister peeked into my room a couple times to see what the heck I was laughing at.

Plus it was a very nice way to wrap up and end the Potter musical franchise. Obviously Team Starkid is still working on other things; they showed a few “commercials” during the musical. But its time to put away the Potter, the same way the books had to end, the musicals had to as well and I think they did a great job with that. Plus it was a nice way for Darren to say goodbye as well. He’s breaking out on his own now, he’s a HIT star on Glee and he’s been on Broadway. Joey Richter is breaking out in the business too, appearing on Jessie on the Disney channel and Glee as well. They’re all growing up, and it was a badass and fun way to end the musicals.

For those of you who would like to watch the musical, the first part is right here for you:

Also, coming up for Starkid: an Aladdin musical about Jafar called Twisted and a graphic novel. SO EXCITED!

What did you guys think of A Very Potter Senior Year? As always, let me know in the comments.