Admission to free Chicago performances March 16-25 is by lottery at teamstarkid.com.
The new show, with book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang, music and lyrics by Nick Gage and additional lyrics by Scott Lamps, is billed as "a parody musical that is produced and performed solely for the enjoyment of its creators and other comic book fans." Though clearly referencing dark hero Batman, the show, according to the creators' disclaimer, "is in no way sponsored, approved, endorsed by or affiliated with DC Comics, Warner Bros. or any of their affiliates."
StarKid Productions was co-founded by University of Michigan theatre grads, including Darren Criss, a breakout star of TV's "Glee" who recently starred in Broadway's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
StarKid Productions is a parody-minded "ensemble of writers, actors, directors, designers, producers" who blend "live performance with the accessibility of the internet."
The troupe's roots are in The University of Michigan's School of Music, Theater and Dance. In April 2009, with a budget of less than $150, the cast and creative team — including Nick Lang, Matt Lang and Brian Holden — created A Very Potter Musical, featuring Darren Criss as Harry. The filmed performances were put on the internet, and the show went viral. According to the company, StarKid's original works have earned 64 million views on YouTube. (Part One of A Very Potter Musical alone has been viewed more than 8.1 million times on YouTube.)
The troupe's titles include A Very Potter Sequel, The Space Tour, Me and My Dick and Starship.
Holy Musical B@man! boasts a cast of StarKid veterans including Julia Albain ("Crabbe" and Various Characters – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel); Chris Allen ("Duder Reese" – Little White Lie); Jamie Lyn Beatty ("Ginny Weasley" – A Very Potter Musical, "Rita Skeeter" – A Very Potter Sequel); Denise Donovan ("February" – Starship); Brian Holden ("Remus Lupin" – A Very Potter Sequel); Nick Lang (Various Characters – A Very Potter Sequel, Starship); Lauren Lopez ("Draco Malfoy" – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel); Jim Povolo ("Goyle" and Various Characters – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel); Dylan Saunders ("Dumbledore" – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel); Meredith Stepien ("Mega-Girl" – Starship); Nicholas Strauss ("Old Snatch" – Me and My Dick, "Sirius Black" – A Very Potter Sequel); and Joseph Walker ("Lord Voldemort" – A Very Potter Musical, "Dolores Umbridge" – A Very Potter Sequel, "Dick" – Me and My Dick). The cast also includes two new additions to the StarKid acting company: Nico Ager and Jeff Blim.
Holy Musical B@man! features choreography by Katie Spelman (Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Paramount Theatre), set designs by Corey Lubowich (Me and My Dick, A Very Potter Sequel, Starship, The Space Tour), costume designs by June Saito (Starship), lighting design by Sarah Petty (A Very Potter Sequel, Starship, The Space Tour) and sound design by Mark Swiderski (Starship, The Space Tour).
View the show's promotional video here.
For more information, visit www.teamstarkid.com.