Everything Harry Potter

Ok, it's only six days until the release of part 1 of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", and even though I won't be able to attend the midnight release :(, I am so, so gratified that so many people I know are planning to. I even saw someone on Facebook wondering on his status if anyone would be willing to see a 3:20 AM showing with him (they have 3 AM showings??).

The last few weeks have really seen a revival of Harry Potter-related culture re-saturation, and of course, I could not be happier. To celebrate Harry Potter is to celebrate all things magical, real or not, to celebrate sincerity, geekiness, humor, and friendship.

It seems to me that the Harry Potter fanbase differs from every other pop culture phenomenon, namely Twilight and Star Wars, because being even the most hardcore Harry Potter fan doesn't imply detachment from normal life. I may just be tooting my own horn here, but I believe it. Twi-hards and Star Wars are generally viewed as introverts who are out of touch with reality and deal with the outside world by retreating into an imaginary one. They're usually bunched into constituencies of overweight teenage girls, sad-sack housewives, and nerdy sex-deprived males (of all ages). But you'll find a Harry Potter fan anywhere. It probably has the most evenly distributed demographic of fans in the world. Boys and girls, readers and non-readers, cool kids and nerds.

The smartest girl I know is a Harry Potter devotee, as is another friend, this one a hipster socialite. Ironically, the most pathetic people I know have never had any interest in the series or "understand" it. That kind of says it all.

So in celebration of all things Harry Potter, I've embedded videos of everything Harry Potter-related going on right now. I could also post a picture of myself dressed as a Gryffindor (albeit a bit on the skanky side) from Halloween, but I'll desist for now.

The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows World Premiere in London

We've all seen the trailer, so here's the premiere video. First time I've seen Ralph Fiennes show up at one of these things, and eloquent in his brevity as always when observing the crowd: "It's the power of a good story". Heart. My friend at Princeton skipped studying for a chem test just to watch videos of Tom Felton.

Darren Criss performing "Teenage Dream" on Glee

Youtube catapults another worthy viral performer into actual stardom after Darren Criss, who got famous from writing, singing, and performing the jaw-droppingly awesome and hilarious "A Very Potter Musical" at the University of Michigan landed a guest spot on Glee. Two things happened: The world realized that Darren Criss was a charming and talented mofo, and "Teenage Dream" became Glee's best-selling song in history within a week. And hopefully, the woefully under-watched musical gained more exposure.

The Quidditch World Cup Promo

Coming to New York soon! How far will two Seekers go in order to capture the Snitch and win a Quidditch match.....through the entire city with a broomstick between their legs. I love how ripped the Slytherin seeker is, how nobody in Grand Central seems to notice the person wearing a gold lame bodysuit and wings, and I love the sequence of them in Central Park. It's amazingly funny.

The news that JK Rowling is open to writing more books set in the Wizarding world, as long as it doesn't feature Harry Potter and the old gang, which I completely agree with. Their youth was essential to the series' magic and I know how jarring it was for many people to witness Harry and his friends all grown-up in the epilogue. But why lay the beautifully-constructed world to rest?

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/11/12/j-k-rowling-more-harry-potter-books-on-the-way/

And finally, an HP-related Facebook status trend...

Put this as your status if someone you knew was killed by Lord Voldemort. As everyone knows, being killed by Avada Kedavra, having your soul sucked out by a dementor, or getting petrified by a basilisk is a truly tragic fate for anyone, muggle or wizard. 93% of people won't copy and paste this. Will you make this your status to spread awareness of this growing threat?

Love forever. Literally. My descendants will read the books and cherish them (I don't really care what happens to the movies) until the end of this world as we know it.

Spring Awakening

Continuing on the Broadway preoccupation: Spring Awakening.

A few years ago, a friend instructed me to find a nice musical to watch on a celebratory night. I flipped through the newspaper ads until my eye fell upon a simple poster, featuring a boy and a girl lying together. Or more precisely, the girl on her back, dress piling erotically to reveal an inch of leg as the boy bent over her, clearly in the process of unbuttoning her top. The faces were half-hidden and her gray schoolgirl stockings only left more to the imagination. The title of the show was Spring Awakening.

I went online and brought two tickets.

What can I say? It was superb advertising. After all. the tension before the plunge is always the most compelling part. Furthermore, we'd been informed that the two actors would actually stimulate sex onstage during the show. Live. Are you telling me that you would have picked "Mamma Mia!" instead?

Cut to: A year later, when I'm listening to the soundtrack nearly every other day. The less said about the story and characters, the better. But the music was something I had never heard on Broadway. Sure, the lyrics are provocative, probably the main attraction to an agonizing pre-teen. But what's outstanding is the rock-balladic nature of the tunes, performed with rollicking gusto and more range of feeling than I've heard anywhere else by the SA cast, all of whom were under 25.

Featured: "Mama Who Bore Me" (my friend's favorite), "The Bitch of Living", "Totally Fucked".

And let's not forget that Spring Awakening's original cast featured a pre-Glee Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff, and the ever-winsome John Gallagher Jr (his hedge-haired character Moritz is probably the second-best aspect of the show). In a way, Spring Awakening has become the Rent of my generation. There are some I know who refuse to acknowledge Lea Michele as anyone else except "the original Wendla". And Jonathan Groff was the only reason I started watching Glee in the first place, because may the gods strike me before I miss a Spring Awakening reunion on national TV. I've already signed the Facebook petition to have John Gallagher Jr guest star next.

Favorites: "Word of Your Body" "Touch Me" "I Don't Do Sadness/Blue Rain"

John Gallagher Jr. after winning a Tony for the role of Moritz, and giving one of the rapid and "awww"-inducing winning speeches in recent history. Jonathan Groff was also nominated, but not Lea Michele.

Other famous poster says everything about the musical you need to know.

I'm so going to look back at these shots in the future and cry. They're positively ethereal.

Suck it, Newsweek.

Don't be frustrated, Johnny! This is all leading to a Tony and a passionate fanbase.

Hanschen (Jonathan B Wright) and Ernst (Gideon Glick) in the one of the funnier and sexier scenes of SA