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Review-y Rec! Hogwarts Story, by Wendy
Jun. 21st, 2004 09:13 amYou guys have probably all seen the link by now, but I have to go all squeeful over Hogwarts Story, an OotP filk musical of West Side Story by Wendy ( hebrideanblack@earthlink.net ). It's everything filk should be--clever and funny and a very, very good take on both sources.
I'm picky about filk--the adaptation of the lyrics has to make you slap your forehead with "Of course!" or at least nod in gleeful agreement, and yet it has to be different enough to be engaging, and--here's the biggie--it has to scan, guys.
And it has to be clever. Again, there has to be the head-slapping in terms of the story choices--who gets to sing what song, why the purpose of that song in the musical fits the tone of what you've adapted.
Having skill at both of these things is a rarity, and, joyfully, Wendy's one of those artists who does.
Having "The Jet Song" become the Death Eater's anthem is logical--but paralleling the Jets' concerns about their companion Tony with the DE's regarding Snape is taking it that step forward into forehead-slapping cleverness. And then, the very first lines of lyrics:
When you eat death, you eat death all the way
From your first crucio to your final AK
That's when you know it's all genius, my friends--funny, clever, a perfect parallel and it SCANS.
There are very few places where the scansion wavers--Wendy's quite aware that when you sing her version of "Officer Krupke" it's going to sound perfectly right to sing it as "PROF-ess-or Um-bridge," so, that's no error.
Speaking of which, that' song's another terrific example of putting all the brilliance together--sure, anyone confronted with the idea of turning West Side Story into OotP might have said, "Hey, you have to make the Officer Krupke song about Umbridge!"--but where she takes the entire song--with her choices for the dual roles in the rest of the play-within-a-play-ness of that number--that's the result of a remarkable brain, so incredibly clever is it.
She doesn't even cop out and veer from canonical OotP for the sentimental duets--no romantic inserts. Instead, the scene of marriage vows ("One Hand, One Heart") is Snape contemplating Pensieve memories of the vows he made both to the Death Eaters and the Order, and "Somewhere (A Place For Us)" is Harry and Luna's lament for loved ones gone beyond the Veil.
(Oh, okay, slash lovers, there's a LITTLE romance--but it fits because it sticks with subtext! I'll show you, and besides, I was looking for any excuse to show off her hilarious parody of "(I Like To Be In) America":
SIRIUS:
I hate to be in the House of Black.
It's so gloomy in the House of Black.
Got no roomie in the House of Black.
REMUS :
What about me in the House of Black?
)
So. Yes. It's all filk should be. Go look!
(I note a link at the bottom of the page to other HP filk musicals. I must check those out. They have no link to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maybethemoon's equally brilliant HP version of the Buffy musical, so maybe I should tell 'em.)
I'm picky about filk--the adaptation of the lyrics has to make you slap your forehead with "Of course!" or at least nod in gleeful agreement, and yet it has to be different enough to be engaging, and--here's the biggie--it has to scan, guys.
And it has to be clever. Again, there has to be the head-slapping in terms of the story choices--who gets to sing what song, why the purpose of that song in the musical fits the tone of what you've adapted.
Having skill at both of these things is a rarity, and, joyfully, Wendy's one of those artists who does.
Having "The Jet Song" become the Death Eater's anthem is logical--but paralleling the Jets' concerns about their companion Tony with the DE's regarding Snape is taking it that step forward into forehead-slapping cleverness. And then, the very first lines of lyrics:
When you eat death, you eat death all the way
From your first crucio to your final AK
That's when you know it's all genius, my friends--funny, clever, a perfect parallel and it SCANS.
There are very few places where the scansion wavers--Wendy's quite aware that when you sing her version of "Officer Krupke" it's going to sound perfectly right to sing it as "PROF-ess-or Um-bridge," so, that's no error.
Speaking of which, that' song's another terrific example of putting all the brilliance together--sure, anyone confronted with the idea of turning West Side Story into OotP might have said, "Hey, you have to make the Officer Krupke song about Umbridge!"--but where she takes the entire song--with her choices for the dual roles in the rest of the play-within-a-play-ness of that number--that's the result of a remarkable brain, so incredibly clever is it.
She doesn't even cop out and veer from canonical OotP for the sentimental duets--no romantic inserts. Instead, the scene of marriage vows ("One Hand, One Heart") is Snape contemplating Pensieve memories of the vows he made both to the Death Eaters and the Order, and "Somewhere (A Place For Us)" is Harry and Luna's lament for loved ones gone beyond the Veil.
(Oh, okay, slash lovers, there's a LITTLE romance--but it fits because it sticks with subtext! I'll show you, and besides, I was looking for any excuse to show off her hilarious parody of "(I Like To Be In) America":
SIRIUS:
I hate to be in the House of Black.
It's so gloomy in the House of Black.
Got no roomie in the House of Black.
REMUS :
What about me in the House of Black?
)
So. Yes. It's all filk should be. Go look!
(I note a link at the bottom of the page to other HP filk musicals. I must check those out. They have no link to
maybethemoon's equally brilliant HP version of the Buffy musical, so maybe I should tell 'em.)