History Trivia / BlackFriday

** Tim Houston is somewhat younger than Hannah Foster -- Hannah is 13, the same age as her actress, and Tim is about 9 or 10. (Hannah was aged up to match her actor's age after Kendall Yakshe was cast, and her still-childish behavior in the script is down to her AmbiguousDisorder and/or DisabilitySuperpower.)

** [[spoiler: For the first few performances, including the one that was recorded for the "digital ticket" version of the show, the Ted costume from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' was still in storage, meaning that Creator/JoeyRichter instead shows up in "What If Tomorrow Comes?" as the movie theatre kid (canonically named the Obnoxious Teen). This means it wouldn't really make any sense for him to be holding Charlotte in the final moments of the show, but he still is holding hands with the Hot Chocolate Boy, igniting HoYay speculations among the fans. Notably, this ending also has Paul share an actual hug with Bill, his best friend, which was replaced by a much more ambiguous interaction with his [[FriendlyEnemy frenemy]] Ted in the final version, while Corey Dorris's costume is changed to that of a random passerby from TGWDLM.]]

** The Creator/LangBrothers have revealed ''Black Friday'' is in fact an older idea than ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' and predates the idea of a [[TheVerse single "Hatchetfield series" continuity]], which would also make it an older idea than ''Theatre/NerdyPrudesMustDie'', the first Hatchetfield story idea. It was originally developed as an "episode" for Creator/LaurenLopez and Julia Albain's longrunning comedy project [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyOfJdYUvVI "The Moms"]], and would've originally been a much more straightforward RetailRiot comedy about these Midwestern mom characters losing their minds over a FlashInThePanFad over a children's toy. The Hatchetfield universe partially developed from this idea [[CerebusSyndrome exploding past its initial boundaries]] to become part of a sprawling CosmicHorror story.

** [[spoiler: For the first few performances, including the one that was recorded for the "digital ticket" version of the show, the Ted costume from ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' was still in storage, meaning that Creator/JoeyRichter instead shows up in "What If Tomorrow Comes?" as the Movie Theater Kid. This means it wouldn't really make any sense for him to be holding Charlotte in the final moments of the show, but he still is holding hands with the Hot Chocolate Boy, igniting HoYay speculations among the fans. Notably, this ending also has Paul share an actual hug with Bill, his best friend, which was replaced by a much more ambiguous interaction with his [[FriendlyEnemy frenemy]] Ted in the final version.]]

** The end of the "feud" on social media was director Casey Patrick Tebo saying he'd watched Starkid's ''Black Friday'', liked it a lot and would love to [[https://twitter.com/caseyshoots/status/1328856214793555976?s=20 put a Wiggly doll in the movie]] as an EasterEgg, though we'll see if it actually happens.

** The Creator/LangBrothers have revealed ''Black Friday'' is in fact an older idea than ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' (as is its planned sequel, ''Nerdy Prudes Must Die!'') and predates the idea of a [[TheVerse single "Hatchetfield series" continuity]]. It was originally developed as an "episode" for Creator/LaurenLopez and Julia Albain's longrunning comedy project [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyOfJdYUvVI "The Moms"]], and would've originally been a much more straightforward RetailRiot comedy about these Midwestern mom characters losing their minds over a FlashInThePanFad over a children's toy. The Hatchetfield universe partially developed from this idea [[CerebusSyndrome exploding past its initial boundaries]] to become part of a sprawling CosmicHorror story.

** The scratch track version of "The Tickle-Me-Wiggly Jingle" was almost completely different, with a much more kitschy {{Retraux}} feel compared to the relatively slick, modern version in the final show. It also contained a hilariously cutesy bridge ("To love you, hold you, keep you tight/And love you, hold you, keep you tight/[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment And keep you tight, and keep you tight, and love you soooo...]]") to the tune of "If I Fail You", which would've made for a huge MoodWhiplash pair of BookEnds for the beginning and ending of the show. Some have expressed regret for the revised jingle being easier to take seriously as a real ad campaign, compared to the exaggerated (and hilarious) CreepyCute aspects of the original.
** In general the three songs from the scratch track preview -- "The Tickle-Me-Wiggly Jingle", "[=CaliforMIA=]" and "What Do You Say?" -- along with "Deck the Halls (of Northville High)" give off much more of a bouncy "classic Starkid" vibe for the musical, compared to the rest of the songs, which are much moodier, darker and more serious, experimenting with new ideas for Jeff Blim like heavy use of recurring {{Leitmotif}} rather than full-on reprises. For those who are iffy about the new direction ''Black Friday'' took, it's a glimpse into what it might've been like as a musical closer to Starkid's original tone.

** Lex Foster, Ethan Green, Alice, Deb, and Grace Chastity are all around the same age (17-18) and in the same high school class. Deb and Grace Chastity are currently seniors at Hatchetfield High, Alice transferred to Clivesdale High after her mom and Bill got divorced last year, and Lex dropped out this year. Alice, Deb and Grace all know each other and Alice dislikes Grace; Lex wasn't friends with any of them and is something of a loner thanks to her bad home life. (Hot Chocolate Boy is also a Hatchetfield High Student but nothing is currently known about him besides this.)

** In an ''extremely'' tantalizing and debate-inducing hint to fans, when a fan asked Nick an innocuous question about which Starkid cast member he'd like to see play Jane if she were an onscreen character, he said he couldn't answer because it would be a spoiler.
** [[spoiler: In response to the ''massive'' fan outcry over the fact that Lex never finds out Ethan dies and gets a chance to mourn him over the course of the play, Nick Lang said he regrets the [[PacingProblems pacing of the show]] didn't permit this to be addressed in Act 2, and says he believes Lex, like Hannah, [[PsychicPowers subconsciously sensed Ethan's death when it happened]]. She won't openly talk about it because it's too painful, but her sense that Ethan ''must'' be dead is definitely part of her hitting the DespairEventHorizon in "Black Friday".]]

** Although the fact that there is one sprawling, interconnected Hatchetfield universe is massive FanficFuel, Nick did feel the need to douse the flames by officially denying that any of the ''other'' Starkid shows were meant to tie into one overarching continuity, despite the extreme popularity of EpilepticTrees involving ''Theatre/{{Starship}}'' and ''Theatre/{{Firebringer}}''.

* TroubledProduction: The live run of Black Friday was beset by illness among the cast; Robert Manion posted publicly about the stress doing the show while sick put on his health, and the evening performance of Black Friday [[{{Irony}} on the actual Black Friday]] was the first canceled live performance in Starkid history (as a consolation for ticketholders an informal cabaret performance was held with the remaining cast members that night.)

** The Starkid fandom were extremely hyped to see newcomer and fan favorite Mariah Rose Faith take a lead role in this show... before she got snatched up to play Regina George in ''Theatre/MeanGirls''. (An even faster and more sudden loss than when Creator/DarrenCriss got taken away by ''Series/{{Glee}}''.)

* TroubledProduction: The live run of Black Friday was beset by illness among the cast; Robert Manion posted publicly about the stress doing the show while sick put on his health, and the evening performance of Black Friday [[{{Irony}} on the actual Black Friday]] was the first canceled live performance in Starkid history. (As a consolation for ticketholders an informal cabaret performance was held with the remaining cast members that night.)

* CreatorsFavoriteEpisode: Despite all the criticism from fans as noted on the YMMV tab, [[Creator/LangBrothers Nick and Matt Lang]] have been very clear when asked that ''Black Friday'' is their favorite work they've written so far and they hope to build on the new direction it sets for future Starkid productions. (Depending on how you feel about the show yourself this may verge into MagnumOpusDissonance.) Creator/LaurenLopez and Creator/JoeyRichter, two of the performers who've been with the troupe since the beginning, likewise say that the Hatchetfield series is the Starkid project they've enjoyed working on most since ''Theatre/TheTrailToOregon''. Along the same lines, Nick Lang has politely but firmly shut down fans asking about a return to pop culture parody musicals (especially a return to Harry Potter), saying he's pretty strongly decided that genre is played out.

* FanNickname: No name is ever given for the {{Bit Character}}s played by James Tolbert, Robert Manion and Curt Mega, but one genius.com transcript of the lyrics to "What Do You Say?" named Robert's character (the Man in a Beanie) "Twinky Boy", which went viral to the degree that many fans mistake it for an official name. Robert himself [[WordOfSaintPaul weighed in]] to say the only name in the script was "Shopper #4", although based on his outfit the character did get the on-set nickname "[[Film/HomeAlone Kevin McCallister]]".

* {{Mondegreen}}: The preview scratch track version of "[=CaliforMIA=]" had Lex's line "'Cause I've had practice/Selling hope" get misheard by many people as "selling ''coke''", which hilariously doesn't even necessarily seem out of place with how Lex describes her life to Tom (though she tries to play it off as [[JustJokingJustification kidding]]).

** Some fans reacted to the announcement of Jaime Lyn Beatty's character of Sherman Young by headcanoning the character as non-binary thanks to her TomboyishName, but Nick Lang quickly {{Jossed}} this, saying he wouldn't write a non-binary character unless they could be played by a non-binary actor. (Now that the show is out, it's pretty clear why he quashed this rumor -- Sherman is, to put it mildly, [[PsychopathicManchild not the kind]] [[MemeticMolester of person]] you'd want to be associated with.)

** Although the fact that there is one sprawling, interconnected Hatchetfield universe is massive FanficFuel, Nick did feel the need to douse the flames by [[{{Jossed}} officially denying]] that any of the ''other'' Starkid shows were meant to tie into one overarching continuity, despite the extreme popularity of EpilepticTrees involving ''Theatre/{{Starship}}'' and ''Theatre/{{Firebringer}}''.

* FollowTheLeader: Starkid fandom had a minor eruption upon discovering there was a [[https://deadline.com/2020/11/bruce-campbell-black-friday-rogo-productions-gdr-ham-musical-1234616956/ mainstream film]] starring Creator/BruceCampbell, [[Film/FinalDestination Devon Sawa]] and Creator/MichaelJaiWhite also called ''Black Friday'' in production in 2020, a year after the Starkid musical's release, with a plot that sounded extremely similar to a mash-up between the plots of ''Theatre/BlackFriday'' and ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'' (retail workers at a toy store besieged by Black Friday shoppers driven mad by an alien [[TheVirus virus]]). [[Creator/LangBrothers Nick Lang]] [[https://twitter.com/NickLangTweets/status/1328834777127002113?s=20 pushed back on this]], gently pointing out that [[OlderThanTheyThink many works of fiction have drawn on the idea of violence on Black Friday before]] and people stumble on superficially similar plots when writing all the time. (It didn't help that Devon Sawa chose to {{troll}} Starkid fans by [[https://twitter.com/DevonESawa/status/1328834449275052034?s=20 joking about the movie also being a musical]] and stringing them along about its similarities to the Starkid show, which he hadn't actually seen.)

* {{Defictionalization}}: Starkid put in a bulk order for the plush Wiggly props used for the show and made some available for sale at the merch table. Just like the in-universe Wiggly dolls at Toy Zone, the real Wigglies cost $49.95, are available in extremely limited quantities, and can be bought only on a first-come-first-served basis with no online preorders. The "SOLD OUT" sign got as much use in real life as in the show.
** The real dolls are just regular plush toys with no "tickle-me" function, but since the in-universe Wiggly's ability to speak seems to be supernatural in nature that's probably for the best.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: People upset that Jaime Lyn Beatty was OutOfFocus in this show and didn't have a lead role or a solo should know that this was partly because she was busy, with her wedding taking place on August 31, 2019 (one month before the show opened) and developing her own one-woman show at the same time, ''Little Mermaid, Big Problems'' (a Starkid-style parody of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'', which ran alongside ''Black Friday'' at the Hudson Theater for one weekend in November).