TAMPA, Fla.– A Very Potter Musical was sponsored by Alpha Psi Omega (APO) and put on in a short span of 17 days. Sept. 3 was the first day of rehearsals, and on Sept. 20 was an invited dress rehearsal with two shows following on Friday, Sept. 21, and Saturday, Sept. 22, at the David Falk Theatre at The University of Tampa.
A Very Potter Musical is an “unofficial, fan-made, parody show” of the Harry Potter series created by Team StarKid, students from the University of Michigan, in 2009 and uploaded to YouTube, where it became a crucial part of the Harry Potter fandom. The show is famously known for being written and starred in by Darren Criss, a star of Glee and several Broadway shows.
The original videos of A Very Potter Musical were uploaded to YouTube in 2009, featuring each song individually in a playlist of 23 videos, which have amassed 40,419,688 views and counting. The musical is performed for free because StarKid does not own the rights to the Harry Potter characters and cannot sell tickets.
“The group that Ben [Sutherland, director] chose, he knew what he was doing with not only picking talented people but picking people that will be able to put in the work to be able to pull off a show like that in such a short time,” said Mariela Zeno, who played Draco Malfoy and is a musical theater major at UTampa.
Incredibly, the show was funded mostly by donations. The APO-sponsored production did not receive any funding directly from the University as the show’s director was cast in it. A GoFundMe was created by the cast to help fund the show’s costumes, props, and overall production.
The goal was to raise a total of $1,000. By the time of dress rehearsals, $770 was raised, allowing the show to go on.
This production makes its famous counterpart proud with some of the best comedic acting I’ve seen in a UTampa production. The energy and enthusiasm of the audience play a crucial role in bringing a show to life, enhancing the performances, and creating an unforgettable atmosphere.
“It was kinda getting hard for us because we all [had] probably heard the show so many times that I could restate other people’s lines,” said Elijah Conley, who played Gregory Goyle and is a musical theater and journalism major at UTampa. “So we were laughing less; having an audience there to laugh with us … it brings the energy up.”
The pop culture references were a hit with the mostly Gen Z audience with multiple mentions of Wizards of Waverly Place, High School Musical, and Zac Efron specifically, among many more.
“My only expectation was to laugh so hard I cried, and I did in fact do that!” said Keira Tiwari, a senior at Wiregrass Ranch High School and audience member.
Matthew Jay as Severus Snape, Mariela Zeno’s Draco Malfoy, and Lord Voldemort played by Ben Sutherland, in particular, were standouts. Jay’s Snape impression was spot-on and perfectly exaggerated. Zeno’s Draco was very flexible, constantly going into splits and crawling or rolling around the stage, taking up space and never failing to make the audience laugh. Professor Quirrell, played by Ethan Lucas, and Sutherland’s scenes were the real showstoppers and never failed to make audiences cheer, audibly awe, or laugh at their expense.
“Voldemort and Ron definitely stood out to me,” said Tiwari. “When they were on stage, I felt like I was watching the original actors.”
The vocals were top-notch with Faith Dodge’s (Ginny Weasley) outstanding vocal runs, Oliver Paul’s (Harry Potter) hilarious guitar solos, and incredible vocals from the cast. Amazingly, Madi Allgeier hilariously played Hermione Granger while also serving as one of the show’s technical directors. An inventive thing I noticed was the show had digital programs, which were very convenient and cost-effective.
The show even featured our very own newspaper! At the top of the second act, newsies come out to announce a disturbing article written about Harry Potter, and to my surprise, the newspaper being shown off was the first print issue of The Minaret.
“We easily could’ve printed out Hogwarts newspapers, but I think we wanted to choose the Minaret as a cute little shout-out to The University of Tampa,” said Conley. “It was also very nice, you know, to have it. They’re free newspapers. They’re actual newspapers. Who even sells newspapers anymore?”
Although A Very Potter Musical wrapped its production on Sept. 22, this was the first show in UTampa’s Department of Theatre and Dance 2024-2025 season. Catch another of the various UTampa productions coming soon!
Cast List
Harry Potter: Oliver Paul
Ron Weasley: Andrew Miller
Hermione Granger: Madi Allgeier
Ginny Weasley: Faith Dodge
Draco Malfoy: Mariela Zeno
Cho Chang: Kelsey Breslin
Lavender Brown: Kayah Bonilla-Mas
Pansy Parkinson/Molly Weasley: Kelsey Lopez
Bellatrix Lestrange: Briana Lopez
Cedric Diggory/Cornelius Fudge: Shane Patterson
Vincent Crabbe: Andy Terrazas
Gregory Goyle: Elijah Conley
Neville Longbottom: Athan Brady
Albus Dumbledore: Parker Greenblatt
Severus Snape: Matthew Jay
Professor Quirrell: Ethan Lucas
Lord Voldemort: Ben Sutherland
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Photo by Lexi Smith.