I will start this by saying I was/am casual friends with a lot of the people in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (I was spacevirgoart once upon a time, if that means anything to any of you.) I have a natural bias to hype all of these people up as some of the most talented, hardest working, and kindest people I know. The good news is my bias isn’t unfounded. When I moved away from Los Angeles, it was painful for me to watch this & many other Starkid shows because it made me sad — I missed my friends. However, as it comes to a year of me leaving LA for the much colder coast, I am finally able to go back and visit one of the best horror musicals to ever exist: The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals.
And in my revisit, I am happy to report it’s as good as ever.
The Starkid team are no strangers to internet, having made waves across the internet and with theatre kids all the way back to their Harry Potter musical days. And while a lot of their shows are good, there is something so important about The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals as it elevates them from a group of friends making incredible art to professional friends making art that transcends their usual audience. Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets Singin’ In The Rain, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals focuses on Paul (Jon Matteson), an average guy who…doesn’t like musicals. His world is turned upside down however when there seems to be a singing virus spreading through the small town of Hatchetfield, and it seems only he can save the day. Having a musical that explains the music is a bold move, but it really adds to the comedy aspect as the audience can latch onto Paul, who is so confused and frankly horrified by THE IMPLICATIONS of everyone singing.
I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the vocal talents of everyone in the cast; Jon Matteson gets two of the most emotional numbers in the show and truly goes from comedic lead to hauntingly tragic hero effortlessly. Mariah Rose Faith Casillas makes her Starkid debut in this and proves that she is a force to be reckoned with — her voice is one that cannot be matched, and she’s someone that should be on everyone’s radar (also great writing/acting coach!). Everyone in this cast is given a moment to shine, and the songs highlight what makes each of them so talented.
Jeff Blim wrote and composed all of the songs in the show, and in the first half sings most of them. To date, I believe this is some of his best work. Blim is exceptionally good at blending comedy with heartfelt, with one lyric making you cry with laughter, only to have it followed by a genuine gut punch. “What Do You Want Paul?” as a song is hysterical, but once audiences know what is going on, that moment is genuinely devastatingly sad for Blim’s character, Mr. Davidson. During “Let It Out”, the song during the climactic battle, audiences can only laugh so they don’t cry as Paul really is put through some genuine mental anguish. Lyrically, the song is haunting, and Matteson perfectly walks the line between comedy and horror, creating a uniquely terrifying moment for his character while not driving the audiences away. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, lyrically and musically, paints a beautiful horror show, and has earworms that truly will stay with you for the rest of time.
And all of this musical talent is matched by some of the best acting I have ever seen. Everyone in this is incredible and delivers emotional, heartfelt performances that resonate with audiences. These people are also hysterically funny. I will die on the hill that the actors in Starkid have comedic timing like no one else — Joey Richter has the ability to make me laugh like no one else, especially as Ted, the douchebag “friend” in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. I have never seen a group of more effortlessly talented people all having the time of their lives while delivering an incredible performance that, I think, sets a standard a lot of theatre isn’t ready to match.
You can watch all of Starkid for free on YouTube, and I highly suggest that you do. The shows only get better and better with time, and they start out exceptionally strong. My personal favourite forever and ever is Trail to Oregon!, but it isn’t horror so I don’t know if it has a place here, but I am also happy to write a piece about how perfect it is in general. This isn’t really a review, more just me talking my friends up and an incredible show they made long before I ever got to meet them. But as I write about a lot of horror, and this is a filmed performance, I wanted to include it in the Cinema Cemetery as something to be appreciated and remembered, and hopefully stuck in your head.