Potter gets one last goodbye

Michelle Muzzio Staff Writer

It has been nearly two years since the last “Harry Potter” film was released in theaters. While this brings tears to Potterheads across the globe, with the release of “A Very Potter Senior Year” fans have the chance to go back to Hogwarts one last time.

The musical, produced by Team Starkid, has spent nearly four years in the making. The magic started when “A Very Potter Musical” was performed in 2009 on the University of Michigan campus.

Its success peaked when the group uploaded the performance on YouTube. It soon went viral. The musical’s popularity was aided by the blossoming fame of Darren Criss, who starred as the “totally awesome” scarred hero, “Harry Freakin’ Potter.”

In 2010, a sequel was created, “A Very Potter Sequel.” Since then, there has been talk about a third and final chapter to the parody.

Finally in August 2012, “A Very Potter Senior Year,” referred to as “AVPSY,” was performed at LeakyCon. The seven months that Team Starkid took to edit the show were excruciating for fans. Finally, on March 15, “AVPSY” was released.

The production itself was simple. The actors read from scripts. The set was plain. However, judging from the over 300,000 views on YouTube, it appears that no true fan of “Harry Potter” or Team Starkid really cared about the production itself.

What really mattered to fans were the actors, the songs and the laughs. Criss rejoined the cast as Potter. Lauren Lopez and Joe Walker returned as Draco Malfoy and Voldemort respectively.

Joey Richter came back to play Ron Weasley, finally getting a well-deserved solo, “Sidekick.”

However, the biggest casting news came from Evanna Lynch who joined Team Starkid to reprise her role from the “Harry Potter” films, Luna Lovegood.

Much of the plot of “AVPSY” was adopted from “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” although there are plenty of allusions to the other books and movies.

Throughout the show, Potter deals with his own fading relevance. Instead of a statue of him at Godric’s Hollow, he is greeted with a statue of Andrew Garfield as “Spiderman.”

Potter, along with a lovable Voldemort, comments on falling from a previous life in the ballad “I Was.”

“AVPSY” features many characters that had never been seen in a Team Starkid production before like Hagrid and Hagrid’s giant spider, Aragog, who gets his own solo, “Get In My Mouth.”

Gilderoy Lockhart, portrayed as the writer of “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games,” desires nothing more than to be a mouse king.

Malfoy finally becomes friends with Potter, although he does have to watch his secret love, Hermione Granger, be proposed to by another man.

As the show nears its end, Albus Dumbledore addresses Potter. He says, “There’s only a couple things in life that I love, and one of them is you.”

Potterheads around the world agree; one of the only things in life worth loving is “Harry Potter.” Luckily, “AVPSY” gave fans one last ride in the Weasleys’ invisible car back to Hogwarts.

Hopefully, one day, Malfoy will make it to Pigfarts and Albus Scarfy Potter will find that hidden swimming pool.