It’s Black Friday in the town of Hatchetfield, and this holiday season’s hot ticket item is the brand new Tickle-Me Wiggly doll! He’s cute. He’s cuddly. He’s evil.

Last year, I reviewed the StarKid musical, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, which I highly recommend watching even more so after watching, “Black Friday,” and I’ll explain why in a minute. If you’re unaware who StarKid is you might be familiar with A Very Potter Musical and should check out their Youtube channel.

Black Friday released on their channel Saturday, February 29.

There won’t be any spoilers, but this review is a bit shorter only because I want to avoid giving anything away.

Shopping Day From Hell

Described as a musical horror-comedy, Black Friday follows the town of Hatchetfield as they go nuts over a new doll, Tickle-Me Wiggly, in stores for Black Friday, but there are only so many to go around and they will do anything to get it in time for the holidays.

What I like is, even though Black Friday is a commentary on consumerism, it also tackles more serious issues like domestic abuse, PTSD, and the rich vs the poor, which is a bit different for StarKid.

Hell, they even comment on Wiggly being released in America because they know how well it will sell there compared to other countries.

The gore and death are there as well as the comedy but I felt it took me some time to get into the story. Once it picked up and the characters fight and yell over the doll, I enjoyed seeing the chaos and wondering what they will do just to get one.

New and old StarKid members take part in the musical, one of my favorites being Dylan Saunders whose voice has grown so much since A Very Potter Musical, but it’s always great to see just how much everyone’s changed.

Like usual, the songs are fun and clever, but most importantly, the production upped its game since the last musical. The lighting, sound, and even dance numbers are some of the best I’ve seen from StarKid.

If you have seen The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, you’ll probably notice Black Friday takes place in the same town: Hatchetfield and that’s not a coincidence. I won’t go into any further detail because I’d like for you to find out on your own.

That being said, you don’t HAVE to watch the one to enjoy the other, but you’ll understand the references and the bigger picture.

Overall

Although this isn’t the first commentary on Black Friday and how far people will go to get something, StarKid flips the story and turns it into something more with monsters, murder, and questions about what’s going on in the universe.

Even though it took me some time to get into the story, by the second act, you’ll find yourself invested. Some of the songs aren’t as catchy as past musicals either but the energetic performances suck you into the story.

If you have a few free hours, I would recommend watching Black Friday and if you have even more time, add The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals to your list.

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