Inevitable is the fourteenth and final song from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals sung by Jon Matteson as Paul Matthews with backup by the ensemble. It is the fourteenth track on the soundtrack album and was written by Jeff Blim.
Lyrics[]
Paul:
Emma, I'm sorry
You lost
Emma,
I’m sorry
You lost your way
What if I told you I made it
And this is the life that I chose?
Would you even believe it, Emma?
Do you believe in ghosts?
What if I told you a story
That settled all the dust?
I'm still the man you trust
It's inevitable for us
Emma, spoken:
No! Get away from me! You’re not Paul, you're
one of them!
Paul, sung:
Before, I had no ambition
But now my life is a song
Don't you want to see me happy?
Is it so tragically wrong?
What if the only choice is
You have to sing to survive?
Paul and Nurse:
We must go on with the show
It's inevitable
Paul:
To know what I want now
Ensemble:
Know what you want now!
Paul:
Emma, I want you to join the party
Aren't you going to tip me?
Ensemble:
Get your cup of coffee
Paul:
Look at the fun we're having already!
Ensemble:
What?
Paul:
I found my calling
You can do the same now
Put your words to lyrics
And you're playin' the game now
It’s all there is and all there ever was
Paul and Ensemble:
Emma!
Paul (Ensemble):
Let me puke in your mouth, Em (Ahh)
Just open your food bin, girl (Ahh)
And you can join the
hive
Then show me your—
Paul and Ensemble:
Hands!
Show me those jazz hands!
Get ’em up or you're shit outta luck!
Show me your hands!
Show me those jazz hands!
Or I might be inclined
Paul:
To plant my seed!
Ensemble:
Ooooooooooooooo
Paul:
The hive needs to feed!
Ensemble:
Ooooooooooooooo
Paul:
Happiness is guaranteed!
Ensemble:
Ooooooooooooooo
Paul:
If
you just give us one last
Paul and Ensemble:
Show-stopping number!
With Emma front and center!
A kick line is inevitable!
What if I told you a story
How the world became peaceful and just?
It was inevitable
Inevitable
Inevitable
Paul, spoken:
The apotheosis is upon—
All:
Us!
External Links[]
- Inevitable on iTunes
- Inevitable on Spotify
- The Guy Who Didn't Like Musical Cast Recording on the Starkid Store
- The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals Cast Recording on Amazon Music
I've seen this theory around and even though it would be cool, I don't think it's really viable when you tHiNk AbOuT tHE impLiCaTiOnS. As it was already said, Paul says very clearly something along the lines of "There's a time in every man's life when you have to draw a line in the sand. And I... will never be in a fucking musical". It's a very highlighted line; the pause before the statement, the background silence, the music afterwards, the way he walks out, this is not something he could ever take back. So assuming he's faking in Inevitable, what's the plan? 'Cause they have no idea how to stop the aliens, the only theory was destroying the meteor, but that clearly didn't work so now what? They would have to fake forever, and that's not an option for someone like Paul, that's beyond the line in the sand, no way. If they had any theory on how to stop the aliens it would make sense to fake to gain some time, but there's no future here, the aliens got to the mainland, the whole world is doomed.
Besides, even though Jon has said that he plays it somewhat ambiguous, Nick has said somewhere (a livestream, I think) that Paul is gone. Still, the fact that we're talking about this is the brilliance of the song, in my opinion. We're going through what Emma's most likely thinking in that moment, doing what infected Paul wants her to do: doubting. Looking for hope in his words, for double meanings that could mean he's still alive. But there's really no doubt about it, the song's title is clear; it could have been called something else, it could have been called "What if", but it's not. It's inevitable, it was always inevitable, from the very title of the musical written in past tense, from the phrase "The apotheosis is upon us" being repeated throughout the show. He didn't like musicals, but it's upon us, it's inevitable; Emma, I'm sorry, you lost. Best song in the goddamn show, Jeff's a fucking genius and Jon's amazing.
Poster |
| Jeff Blim |
| Jeff Blim |
| Nick Lang Matt Lang |
| October 11, 2018: Matrix Theater, Los Angeles |
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is a horror comedy musical with music and lyrics by Jeff Blim and a book by Matt and Nick Lang. The show acted as the first instalment in StarKid's Hatchetfield Series. Loosely inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers, it is the 11th stage show produced by StarKid Productions. The show follows Paul, an average guy “who doesn’t like musicals,” as his town is overcome by a musical alien hive mind. The show ran from October 11, 2018, to November 4, 2018, at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles, California. A recording of the musical was uploaded to YouTube on December 24, 2018, which has since amassed over 6.3 million views as of July 9, 2022.[1]
Funding for the show was done through Kickstarter, similarly to StarKid's most recent shows. The project raised US$127,792 through 3,419 backers out of its $60,000 goal.[2]
Synopsis[edit]
Act 1[edit]
A group of singing zombies addresses the audience, setting the scene in the small town of Hatchetfield and introducing the main character, unremarkable everyman Paul Matthews. ("The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals").
At his office, Paul is invited to a production of Mamma Mia! by his coworker Bill, but he declines. While at the local coffee shop, Paul meets Emma Perkins, a barista who shares his dislike of musicals. As he leaves the shop, an approaching storm forces him to shelter. The various residents of Hatchetfield express dismay over the weather, while a strange meteor strikes the local theater.
The next day, Paul encounters a group of people singing and dancing in unison ("La Dee Dah Dah Day"). Paul, deeply disturbed, arrives at work. He is called into his boss’s office but flees when his boss bursts into song ("What Do You Want, Paul?"). Rushing to the coffee shop, he tells Emma he thinks the world is becoming a musical. Emma, unconvinced, excuses herself to sing a tip song with her coworkers ("Cup of Roasted Coffee"). However, the customers collapse after drinking coffee infected by Emma’s coworkers. The zombified customers join the baristas in song ("Cup of Poisoned Coffee"), chasing Paul and Emma out of the shop.
Paul and Emma find Paul’s coworkers in an alleyway, where they learn the entire town is affected. Paul’s coworker Charlotte calls her husband Sam, a police officer, for help. An infected Sam attacks the group until he is knocked out ("Show Me Your Hands"). After discovering Sam’s blood is now bright blue, Emma proposes that they seek help from her biology professor, doomsday survivalist Professor Hidgens.
The group arrives at Hidgens' fortified home, where he explains that Sam’s blue blood and all the citizens' infection is the result of an alien invasion (arriving via the meteor that struck the theater), and restrains the unconscious Sam. When Sam wakes up, he convinces Charlotte to untie him ("You Tied Up My Heart"), then attacks and kills her.
Meanwhile, Emma and Paul become closer, where they discover Paul’s hatred of musicals was inspired by seeing Emma perform in Brigadoon in high school. Their conversation is interrupted by a zombified Charlotte and Sam, who attack the group ("Join Us (And Die)"). Professor Hidgens returns, shooting and killing both of them.
Bill receives a phone call from his daughter Alice that she is trapped at school. Paul joins Bill on his rescue mission.
Act 2[edit]
At the high school, Paul and Bill search for Alice. They find a zombified Alice, who claims Bill caused her death and he was never a good father ("Not Your Seed"). Bill, heartbroken, attempts to shoot himself but is instead killed by Alice. Right as she is about to attack Paul, the army arrives, scaring her away and knocking Paul out.
Back at Professor Hidgens' compound, Hidgens explains the aliens are a hivemind that communicates through music. Although this helps Emma realize how to stop it, Hidgens becomes convinced a hivemind could create a peaceful world. He sedates Emma to prevent her from spreading the information. Meanwhile, Paul wakes up and is greeted by General McNamara, who works with a special unit of the US Army called PEIP. McNamara tells him that if he can rescue Emma, the army will send a rescue helicopter.
Emma wakes up tied to a chair with Paul’s coworker Ted. Hidgens deactivates his house’s defenses and reveals he has a history in musical theatre. He intentionally attracts the aliens by singing the opening number of his musical Working Boys, a show glorifying his own undergrad experience (“Show Stopping Number”). The zombies arrive and Hidgens willingly joins them, convinced they’re his college friends. The zombies then tear him apart.
Paul arrives to rescue Emma and Ted and they head for the pickup site, but the zombies drag off Paul. Ted abandons them and continues running, making it to the pickup site before being shot. PEIP, now infected, is led by a zombified McNamara ("America Is Great Again"). Paul and Emma manage to escape to the helicopter, but they discover the pilot is infected. The resulting fight crashes the helicopter and pierces Emma’s leg with rebar. She tells him to leave her and destroy the meteor, ending the invasion. Paul arms himself with grenades and reluctantly leaves.
The zombies once again address the audience ("Let Him Come"). Paul enters the site of the meteor crash and is greeted by the reanimated bodies of the town residents. They claim they’re happy and ask what he wants, to which he replies it does not matter. They begin to sing, telling him that he must express his feelings through song. To his horror, his close proximity to the meteor is quickly infecting him. Paul switches rapidly between singing and talking, fighting for control against the infection. He manages to pull the pin on a grenade and throw it at the meteor, screaming that he doesn't like musicals ("Let It Out").
A newscast from the neighboring town of Clivesdale states that it has been two weeks since the previous events. Emma is in a hospital in Clivesdale and is now in witness protection. She is told there were no other survivors, but that she will be escorted to her new life by someone she knows. Paul enters, and Emma, overjoyed, embraces him. Paul begins to sing, telling her she lost. He is joined by other zombies and they sing a medley of previous songs in the show and implore her to join them, explaining that they have finally found happiness. They tell her the ending is "inevitable" and surround and drag her off stage ("Inevitable").
Roles[edit]
Cast[edit]
| Paul | Jon Matteson |
| Emma, et al. | Lauren Lopez |
| Ted, et al. | Joey Richter |
| Charlotte / Nora / Deb, et al. | Jaime Lyn Beatty |
| Bill, et al. | Corey Dorris |
| Hidgens, et al. | Robert Manion |
| Alice / Zoey, et al. | Mariah Rose Faith Casillas |
| Sam / General McNamara / Mr Davidson, et al. | Jeff Blim |
Characters[edit]
- Paul Matthews, a guy who doesn't like musicals and is unsure of what he wants in life. He has a crush on Emma, and frequently visits the coffee shop she works at as an excuse to see her.
- Emma Perkins, a barista who is trying to work her way through community college. She hates Hatchetfield, her job, and musicals.
- Ted, the office asshole. He has been having an affair with Charlotte for some time.
- Charlotte, an anxious woman committed to a failing marriage with Sam. She is secretly cheating on Sam with Ted.
- Nora, Emma's boss at Beanie's.
- Bill, a divorced father trying to connect with his teenage daughter, Alice.
- Alice, a teenage girl who is caught between her parents' divorce and facing the struggles of growing up.
- Deb, Alice's bad-girl girlfriend.
- Zoey, a catty college girl who works with Emma. She loves musical theater, and is also having an affair with Sam.
- Professor Henry Hidgens, Emma's biology professor and doomsday survivalist.
- Mr. Davidson, Paul's laidback boss.
- Sam, Charlotte's cheating husband, a police officer who is having an affair with Zoey.
- General McNamara, a military general who finds Paul and tries to help. He works for PEIP, a secret organization that investigates paranormal, inter-dimensional, and extraterrestrial phenomena.
Creative team, crew, and musicians[edit]
| Nick Lang | Producer, Director |
| Ilana Elroi | Sound Design, Engineering |
| Brian Rosenthal | Sound Design |
| Corey Lubowich | Scenic Design, Producer |
| Amy Plouff | Scenic Charge |
| Sarah Petty | Lighting Design |
| June Saito | Costume Design |
| James Tolbert | Choreography |
| Lauren Lopez | Additional Choreography |
| Jade Svenson | Wardrobe/Deck Hand |
| Paul Gabriel | Stage Manager |
| Matt Dahan | Music Direction, Keyboard 1 |
| Josh Fleury | Bass |
| Sam Johnides | Guitar, Keyboard 2 |
| Ryan McDiarmid | Drum |
Musical numbers[edit]
Act 1[3]
| Act 2[3]
|
A cast recording was released on December 24, 2018.
Sequels[edit]
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals served as the first instalment in StarKid's horror-comedy series the Hatchetfield Series. A second musical entitled Black Friday was produced and performed by Team Starkid in the fall of 2019. The show takes place in Hatchetfield, and features several recurring characters from The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals. The fact that all of the characters in said musical died has led many to theorize that Black Friday takes place in an alternate dimension, secondary timeline, or time loop, with the final song indeed posing the question of whether "tomorrow will come" as characters from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals fill the stage. The show ran from October 31-December 8, 2019 and featured most of the original cast and crew members.
As a result of plans being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, StarKid Productions premiered a series of live-readings as a new instalment in the Hatchetfield series named Nightmare Time.[4] The first season of was announced on October 1, 2020[5] with the entire casts of both The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals and Black Friday returning. The series featured several returning characters from both series. The first episode of the series was streamed live to YouTube on October 10, 2020 featuring two stories: The Hatchetfield Ape-Man and Watcher World.[6] The final two episodes were performed live on October 17 and October 24, 2020 featuring the stories Forever & Always, Time Bastard, Jane's A Car and The Witch in the Web.[6] These episodes were then released on YouTube on February 14, 2021. A second season was announced on October 8, 2021.[7] The series featured 4 episodes with six stories: Honey Queen, Perky's Buds, Abstinence Camp, Daddy, Killer Track and Yellow Jacket. The entire cast of the original series returned apart from Kendall Nicole and Robert Manion and they were joined by Jae Hughes and Bryce Charles.[8] The episodes were announced to be released weekly on YouTube from May 20, 2022 to June 10, 2022.[9]
A short film titled “Workin’ Boys” was announced in 2019 as a reward for Black Friday’s Kickstarter campaign. Production of the film was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A third musical entitled Nerdy Prudes Must Die is currently being written by the same writing team of Black Friday. It was going to be performed sometime in 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had been postponed indefinitely. In September 2022 it was announced that it will be performed in February 2023 at the El Porto theatre in Hollywood with at least some of the cast and crew returning as part of "Starkid Returns".[10]
Critical reception[edit]
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals received generally positive reviews from local and online publications.[11][12][13]
Awards[edit]
The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals received fifteen nominations in twelve categories at the 2019 BroadwayWorld.com Los Angeles Regional Awards. It was nominated in every category for which it was eligible, that is to say, every local (non-touring) musical category. It won in every category except three. Every actor in the musical was nominated for their performance except for Jeff Blim. Every nominee in the category Best Featured Actor in a Musical was from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals.
| 2019 | BroadwayWorld.com Los Angeles Regional Awards[14][15] | Best Musical - Local | Nominated |
| Best Leading Actor in a Musical - Local | Jon Matteson | Won | |
| Best Leading Actress in a Musical - Local | Lauren Lopez | Nominated | |
| Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Local | Robert Manion | Won | |
| Corey Dorris | Nominated | ||
| Joey Richter | Nominated | ||
| Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Local | Jaime Lyn Beatty | Won | |
| Mariah Rose Faith | Nominated | ||
| Best Director of a Musical - Local | Nick Lang | Nominated | |
| Best Choreography - Local | James Tolbert | Won | |
| Best Musical Director - Local | Matt Dahan | Won | |
| Best Scenic Design - Local | Corey Lubowich | Won | |
| Best Costume Design - Local | June Saito | Won | |
| Best Lighting Design - Local | Sarah Petty | Won | |
| Best Sound Design - Local | Ilana Elroi and Brian Rosenthal | Won |
See also[edit]
- Lists of musicals
References[edit]
- ^ "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals". YouTube. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ^ "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - A StarKid Horror-Comedy!". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
- ^ a b c "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals". StarKid Productions. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
- ^ "Nightmare Time". StarKid Productions. Retrieved 2022-06-03.
- ^ Coming Soon... NIGHTMARE TIME (New Tales of Terror from Hatchetfield), retrieved 2022-05-18
- ^ a b "Nightmare Time". StarKid Productions. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ Coming Soon... NIGHTMARE TIME 2!, retrieved 2022-05-18
- ^ "Nightmare Time 2". StarKid Productions. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
- ^ NIGHTMARE TIME 2 (YouTube Trailer), retrieved 2022-05-18
- ^ "Nerdy Prudes Must die".
- ^ "Youtube Musical Review: 'The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals' is hilarious, horrifying in its underlying message – The Lafayette". www.lafayettestudentnews.com. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
- ^ Jan. 9, Emily Worrell / 6:34 p m; 2019. "Starkid's 'The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals' is campy in the best way". Ball State Daily. Retrieved 2019-06-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- ^ "REVIEW: "THE GUY WHO DIDN'T LIKE MUSICALS" – Thoroughly Modern Reviewer". thoroughlymodernreviewer.com. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
- ^ "December 19th Update: THE GUY WHO DIDN'T LIKE MUSICALS - Matrix Theatre Leads Best Musical Category in the BWW Los Angeles Awards Voting" BroadwayWorld.com, accessed March 19, 2020
- ^ "Winners Announced For 2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards" BroadwayWorld.com, accessed March 19, 2020