George Watsky Joins APOCALYPTOUR in San Francisco Tonight, 5/25

Internet sensation Team StarKid will be joined by special guest rapper/poet George Watsky for one stop of APOCALYPTOUR, at Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco tonight, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. As previously announced, "Glee" star and StarKid co-founder Darren Criss will join the tour for two performances at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. and the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, Sunday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for these performances, priced $30 - $35, may be purchased via Ticketmaster.com or LiveNation.com (additional outlets for other cities noted below).

In APOCALYPTOUR the StarKids face-off against the "Mayan God of the Apocalypse" in an epic battle to save the planet. This brand-new concert experience includes songs from the hit comedy musicals A Very Potter Musical and Sequel, Starship, Holy Musical B@man, and more. The set-list features songs not included on the company's first national tour – The SPACE Tour – as well as fresh arrangements and "mash-ups" of fan favorites. APOCALYPTOUR launched at the House of Blues in Chicago on Wednesday, May 9, and will culminate at the Roseland Ballroom in New York on Sunday, June 10.

A San Francisco native, Watsky is a Brave New Voices National Poetry Slam champion whose quirky, funny, and honest lyrics have netted him over 44 million online views and counting. He has appeared on "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry" and "Funny as Hell" on HBO, "Last Call with Carson Daly," and the "Ellen Degeneres Show," twice. George's debut album "Watsky," cracked the iTunes hip hop chart Top 10, and he was recently confirmed for the Rock the Bells Festival Series in Los Angeles (August 18 & 19), San Francisco (August 25 & 26), and New York (September 1 & 2). His latest EP, "Watsky & Mody," featured a collaboration with StarKid ensemble member and fellow San Francisco native, Dylan Saunders. This summer, Watsky will embark on his debut concert tour, "Nothing Like the First Time," covering 23 stops throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information please visit www.georgewatsky.com/tour.

Darren Criss, star of the FOX hit series "Glee," will join his fellow StarKids for two shows at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. and the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, Sunday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. Prior to his role as "Blaine Anderson" on "Glee," Criss was best-known to StarKid fans as "Harry Potter" in both A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel, for which he contributed to the musical scores. He also conceptualized the story and provided the music and lyrics for the company's hit musical Starship. Criss made his Broadway debut earlier this year as "J. Pierrepont Finch" in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, when he replaced Daniel Radcliffe for a limited three week engagement in January 2012.

Music and lyrics for featured songs on the APOCALYTOUR were composed by StarKid co-founder Darren Criss (A Very Potter Musical and Sequel, Me and My Dick, Starship), A.J. Holmes (A Very Potter Musical, Me and My Dick) and Nick Gage and Scott Lamps (Holy Musical B@man!). The touris directed by Julia Albain (The SPACE Tour), with music direction by Clark Baxtresser (The SPACE Tour), production design by Corey Lubowich (Me and My Dick, A Very Potter Sequel, Starship, The SPACE Tour, Holy Musical B@man!), lighting design by Sarah Petty (A Very Potter Sequel, Starship, The SPACE Tour, Holy Musical B@man!), costumes by June Saito (Starship, Holy Musical B@man!), and choreography by Katie Spelman (Holy Musical B@man!, Goodman and Paramount Theatres).

Returning for APOCALYPTOUR is the original cast of The SPACE Tour including Jaime Lyn Beatty ("Ginny Weasley" – A Very Potter Musical, "Rita Skeeter" – A Very Potter Sequel, "Sally" – Me and My Dick, "Neato Mosquito" – Starship); Brian Holden ("Remus Lupin" – A Very Potter Sequel, "Flopsy" – Me and My Dick, "Junior" – Starship); Lauren Lopez ("Draco Malfoy" – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel, "Bugette/Taz" – Starship); Joey Richter ("Ron Weasley" – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel, "Joey" – Me and My Dick, "Bug" – Starship); Dylan Saunders ("Dumbledore" – A Very Potter Musical and Sequel, "Tootsie Noodles/Pincer" – Starship); Meredith Stepien ("Mega-Girl" – Starship); and Joseph Walker ("Lord Voldemort" – A Very Potter Musical, "Dolores Umbridge" – A Very Potter Sequel, "Dick" – Me and My Dick, "Up" – Starship). They will be joined by two new cast members - Jim Povolo ("Goyle" and Various Characters – A Very Potter Musical, Sequel, and Starship) and BrIan Rosenthal ("Professor Quirrell" – A Very Potter Musical and Various Characters – A Very Potter Sequel). The cast will be accompanied by a live band of Charlene Kaye (guitar), Clark Baxtresser (keyboard), Megan Cox (keyboard), Dave Scalia (drums), and Tomek Miernowski (bass).

Returning to open for Team StarKid on tour will be Charlene Kaye and the Brilliant Eyes. Equally inspired by classic pop greats such as ABBA and Blondie as well as current luminaries such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Rufus Wainwright, Charlene Kaye's music is a mishmash of generations and genres, and retro with a contemporary edge. Since her move to New York, she has toured relentlessly, played CMJ and SXSW festivals, opened for acts such as Minus the Bear, Holly Miranda, Big Boi and Darren Criss, and had her music featured on MTVU, The Huffington Post and NBC's "Chuck." Her new album "Animal Love," for which her fans raised upwards of $33,000 to fund on Kickstarter, was released on May 1 and hit #15 on the iTunes pop charts. The LP was recorded with the Brilliant Eyes – Megan Cox (keyboard), Dave Scalia (drums), and Tomek Miernowski (bass). For more information visit www.charlenekaye.com.

The remaining performance schedule for APOCALYPTOUR is as follows:

Saturday, May 19 at 12:00 p.m.: Anaheim, California (House of Blues)

Sunday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m.: San Diego, California (House of Blues)

Tuesday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m.: Los Angeles, California (House of Blues)

Wednesday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.: Los Angeles, California (House of Blues)

Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m.: Los Angeles, California (House of Blues)

Friday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m.: San Francisco, California (Nob Hill Masonic Center)

Sunday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m.: Portland, Oregon (Roseland Theatre - www.roselandpdx.com)

Monday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m.: Seattle, Washington (Neptune Theatre - www.tickets.com)

Tuesday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m.: Vancouver, BC (Vogue Theatre - www.voguetheatre.com)

Thursday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m.: Denver, Colorado (Summit Music Hall - www.ticketweb.com)

Friday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m.: Kansas City, Kansas (Uptown Theater)

Saturday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m.: St. Louis, Missouri (The Pageant)

Monday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m.: Ann Arbor, Michigan (The Michigan Theater)

Tuesday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m.: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (NEW VENUE - Tower Theatre)

Thursday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m.: Silver Spring, Maryland (The Fillmore Silver Spring)

Saturday, June 9 at 5:00 p.m.: Boston, Massachusetts (House of Blues)

Sunday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m.: New York, New York (Roseland Ballroom)

Originally hailing from the University of Michigan, and now based in Chicago, Team StarKid is a true Cinderella story for the modern age. To date, StarKid has garnered over 124 million views and 240,000 subscribers on YouTube, 188,000 Facebook fans, and over 106,000 Twitter followers worldwide, and captured the attention of national media such as Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair, Billboard, "Access Hollywood," "Entertainment Tonight," NPR, VH1, and MTV. Based in Chicago, StarKid Productions remains committed to pioneering the internet as a new outlet for theatre distribution.

StarKid first invaded the internet in July 2009 with A Very Potter Musical – afan-made parody that premiered on YouTube and immediately went viral. Filmed during a live performance through University of Michigan's Basement Arts, the show was an instant hit with fans of the Harry Potter franchise and quickly garnered nearly 2 million views. In March 2010, StarKid's second production, Me and My Dick, debuted at #11 on the Billboard charts for "Original Cast Recording" – a first for a college production. The show not only solidified StarKid as a real player in comedy musicals, but also grabbed national attention. In May 2010, StarKidreturned to Hogwarts with A Very Potter Sequel, receiving over 4,000 ticket requests for 400 available seats. The production – which wasnamed to Entertainment Weekly's "Must List" – premiered to packed houses with fans from across the country lining up for hours. In February 2011, StarKid's first Chicago production, Starship,sold out in less than one week. After its premiere, the show debuted to sold-out screenings in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago before hitting the internet in April of 2011. The cast album, featuring original music and lyrics by Darren Criss, went to #1 on Billboard for "Original Cast Recording" and peaked at #4 on iTunes.

The SPACE Tour DVD, featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the first tour, is now available via the StarKid store at www.teamstarkid.com. The film was shot, edited, and directed by Liam White throughout November 2011. A live album is also available via iTunes. The album hit #4 on the iTunes Pop chart and debuted at #2 on the Billboard "Cast Album" chart.

Team StarKid premiered the online version of their latest show Holy Musical B@manon YouTube on Friday, April 13, 2012. The cast album, as well as a second greatest hits album, is currently available on Bandcamp. Holy Musical B@man – which features a book by Matt Lang and Nick Lang, music and lyrics by Nick Gage, and additional lyrics by Scott Lamps – was presented to packed houses at Chicago's Hoover-Leppen Theatre, March 16 - 25, 2012. Fans were selected via lottery to attend the free performances. Holy Musical B@man isa parody musical produced and performed solely for the enjoyment of its creators and other comic book fans. The show is in no way sponsored, approved, endorsed by or affiliated with DC Comics, Warner Bros. or any of their affiliates.

For more information about Team StarKid or APOCALYPTOUR please visit www.teamstarkid.com.

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