Back in 2009 at the University of Michigan, StarKid Productions staged “A Very Potter Musical,” taking one of the most iconic book-to-movie franchises of the era and producing a parody musical. There was something magical about that show for people like me who were “Harry Potter” fans at the time watching it on YouTube. It toed this difficult line of making fun of some of the goofier aspects of the source material while never feeling mean-spirited or like it was also making fun of people who enjoyed that original property.
As it turns out, 2009 was also the year Tiffany Keane Schaefer started writing what would become “Twihard! A Twilight Musical Parody,” now receiving its world premiere at Otherworld Theatre, which manages to capture a similar magic to that StarKid show. “Twihard” spoofs Stephenie Meyer’s iconic book-to-movie franchise “Twilight,” poking at ridiculous moments from the film franchise while also serving as a loving tribute for the fans who have gathered around the series since the first “Twilight” book dropped in 2005 and movie premiered in 2008.
A caveat before we move on: I’ve seen the movie versions of the “Twilight” series at least a couple of times years ago but have never read the books. Thankfully, the musical “Twihard!,” which features a book and lyrics by Schaefer and music by Brian Rasmussen, stated early and often that it had no intention of trying to cover everything from the franchise and was sticking mostly to the first book/movie. Set in the woods of Washington state, and featuring an on-stage three-person band led by Rasmussen, “Twihard” does away with Bella Swan and Edward Cullin to follow the new-to-town Bella Goose and her perpetually 17-year-old vampire love interest Edward Mullen.
Truthfully, the plot of the musical itself doesn’t wind up mattering much. It loosely follows the first book, with Bella and Edward meeting and falling in love, and other vampires being very unhappy that a human like Bella knows about vampires. But the heart of this show is all about the fans. The show opens with a monk chant as the holy book “Twihard” is lifted high, and fans are represented throughout the show by ensemble members wearing homemade “Twihard” t-shirts.
Even if you only know the broad strokes of what goes on in “Twilight” from coming across references in pop culture, there’s plenty to enjoy. For instance, you may have come across a meme of Edward covering his nose at the smell of Bella, or him creepily staring at her in that same infamous science class scene — moments that Schaefer and Rasmussen hilariously capture in song. There are, in fact, no less than four entire songs dedicated to Edward’s weird staring. Those with slightly more knowledge of the series are treated to unforgettable movie lines like, “Hold on tight, spider monkey,” with Bella clinging to Edward’s back and, of course, a good ol’ fashioned vampire baseball scene.
But what really hits the “this is for the fans” point home is the meta moments that step outside the confines of the story being told by the first “Twilight” movie. For instance, Jacob, the third member of the love triangle, isn’t really in the first movie that much, a fact that “Twihard” acknowledges. (Don’t worry, he still appears in this show — after all, you have to give the fans what they want.)
“Twihard” also gleefully riffs on fanfictions, veering into fan-created romantic pairings between characters that weren’t necessarily explicitly in Meyer’s original work. Suffice it to say, exploring one such pairing in the musical, through an eye-popping number between the patriarchs of the Mullen and Goose families, certainly explains why Otherworld dedicated the first row of the audience as the “daddy burlesque zone.”
There are moments when the story turns its attention away from the central couple to focus on side characters where “Twihard” may lull for the more tangential fans, but anytime that happens, you’ll quickly be brought back in by the songs.
Under all of the laughs, there’s a surprising amount of heart in “Twihard,” thanks in no small part to this music. Songs like “The Lion and the Lamb,” a duet between a smitten Bella and an Edward who sees himself as too dangerous to be with her, soar in a way that you’d expect from a Broadway musical number. Rasmussen bounces between Broadway ballads, tap numbers and spoken word/rap effortlessly, leaving a desire to hear the score performed by a more robust pit orchestra. Throughout, Rachel Arianna as Bella and Casey Huls as Edward smoothly flit between the goofiness of the parody script and the heartfelt nature of some of the songs, somehow capturing a sweetness in this story that even the movies never did for me.
There are things to nitpick about this show, like trouble seeing some of the blocking when actors were on the floor of Otherworld’s stage or struggling to see parts performed behind a semi-translucent scrim, and sure it felt like there were some overindulgent bits that added more length than laughs. But when the biggest complaint is that people were laughing so much and so hard that I’d miss a line or two here or there — it’s hard to fault a show for being too much fun.
Schaefer was a jack-of-all-trades here, adding directorial and costuming duties alongside sharing props duties with Ben McClymont and of course writing the books and lyrics. “Twihard” feels like a labor of love for Schaefer. More than just the obvious time commitment from all of those responsibilities, the love of this story and its fanbase seeps from every pore of this show. There’s no telling what’s next for Schaefer and Rasmussen, be that another production of this, the teased sequel of “Twihard 2: Twiharder,” or something completely new. But with “Twihard,” they captured something magical, a hilarious, loving, musically gorgeous tribute and riff to a series that means a lot to a lot of people.
Jerald Pierce is a freelance writer.
Review: “Twihard! A Twilight Musical Parody” (3.5 stars)
When: Through March 24
Where: Otherworld Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St.
Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Tickets: $30 at otherworldtheatre.org
